Ok, so I’m at S. Mary’s University in Minnesota and my friend and I are doing our first radio show tomorrow. It’s going to be 2 hours and we’ll be lucky if we get ten people listening. We’re going to try to build a fan-base, mainly by word of mouth, but barely anybody listens to the radio station here. That’s alright because we both have great taste in music and know how to entertain people. I’m currently downloading some songs from iTunes to round out a CD that I’m going to burn, so does anybody have any suggestions? I’m looking for rock, maybe alternative, that isn’t too hard and isn’t too completely off base, but maybe something these kids haven’t heard before. I’d also like to know if you have any suggestions for what we should do when we’re not playing music? We’ve already got some ideas, but we’ll need as many as we can get. We’re trying to be somewhat interactive because we figure if we get people to call in a lot, we can make our audience grow. I’m excited about this.
What’s the population of your school? What type of school is it? What’s your broadcasting range?
I suggest already knowing a lot about music and knowing good music. Play stuff that’s good and accessible, while still being cutting-edge. Your station should have a current library of stuff.
Don’t play the same stuff that’s on commercial radio - it’s there because those stations are bribed hundreds of thousands of dollars to play it. Try playing indie rock, independent hip hop, creative electronic music, etc. and other stuff that doesn’t get played on commercial radio.
Whatever you do, don’t be a “shock jock” or “wacky personality.” That shit’s dead.
I meant to type “St. Mary’s University”. Now that I’ve said that, you’ll know it’s a Catholic college; though, like most Catholic colleges in the U.S., there’s some question as to how Catholic it really is. Anyway, I’m a seminarian, so I’m not planning any kind of shock jock, and I’m not cliche enough for the wacky personality. We are considering doing a good amount of “talk” though along with our music, so that it will be somewhat entertaining.
I have a fever…
…and it’s only prescription is MORE COWBELL!
Seriously, what college kid hasn’t seen the now-classic Will Ferrell SNL skit with Christopher Walken feature the Blue Oyster Cult spoof of “Don’t Fear the Reaper”?
Have a show that features songs with cowbell, cowbell and more cowbell, and you’ll have an instant reaction and instant fan base.
Most college stations get CDs from different promoters and labels, so you might want to keep an eye out for the good ones. This stuff tends to be music that won’t see the light of day anywhere else, and like everything, has a fair amount of crap, but also a fair amount of really good stuff.
You might also listen to different college stations to see what they’re playing to get some ideas.
Robin, host of The 80s Cheese Factory, WSYC-FM, Shippensburg, PA
Don’t just stick to the newer stuff. There’s some really fantastic music from the 80s and 90s that’s pretty obscure but will go over really well with a college audience.
I do a weekly radio show on WTJU here in Charlottesville Virginia. (The Hep Imp Show Thu. morning 1 to 3).
I’m particularly fond of theme shows, which always seem to generate more calls and a bigger response. A lot depends on the time of day you are on the radio, the general trend of your station, and how much freedom you actually have to program your show.
Do your research. There is an amazing amount of good music out there getting absolutely no air play. People will listen to the radio if you really give them something to hear.
Don’t stick too closely to a narrow theme. If you have a slightly broader theme, you can have some wonderful variations in the show. Plus, you will find some amazing music you never even considered before. Try to find some older stuff from within your genre, maybe the music that is considered its root.
-Lauren, sometimes host of The Global Cafe and fellow member of The 80s Cheese Factory , WSYC-FM Shippensburg.
One thing that annoys the hell out of me from all radio stations, especially the ones playing new(er) music, is they NEVER say who the artist is, or the name of the song!
How the hell are you supposed to support the artists, or find the music, if you don’t know who or what it is?
Sorry for the rant, but it also seems kind of unfair to the artist to finally have their music being played, and nobody knows how to find a copy of it. And just because it might be obvious to you who it is, doesn’t mean all your listeners know who it is. And plugging the name certainly shouldn’t offend those out there who did know.
Also, the internet is your friend…find some odd facts, or strange stories to slip inbetween the songs.
Have you considered a somewhat format-free type of show? College stations do that best, in my opinion. Why limit yourself to one genre? For example, pick a theme like “Rain” and do everything you can think of on that topic, from the blues to rap to folk to country to punk or whatever. (And like DMark says, be sure and identify the artist.)
Too many stations stick to the same format. What college stations have the opportunity to do is to expand people’s horizons.
Congratulations! Tell us how it went.
I had a show that aired for 6 years on a 100,000 Watt Community station, and 4 years on a 100 Watt college station, so I understand how fun and exciting it can be, no matter if a lot of people are listening, or only a few.
I hated to talk, so I can’t help you there. My viewpoint was to get music that might not otherwise be heard played, so every minute talking was taking away from that. I always backannounced though, since that was the point.
If you’re interested in female vocalists, you might check out my Happy Rhodes sampler page and see if there’s anything you might want to play.
Good luck!
The Stone Roses
As usual I will be parochial and suggest that you look for Aussie bands that aren’t big in the States.
I worked in the industry here and it is extremely robust. Local bands have to compete with the best American and British music plus whatever else is popular. Clearly many bands are as talented and interesting as overseas acts but for various reasons (many don’t even try) they don’t become successful overseas.
You could look here and check all the related lists.
For an idea or two, here’s the non-formatted, never scripted playlist of Vin Scelsa’s Idiot’s Delight.
The greatest radio program in existance today - Like BlueMit11’s, it’s also a Catholic University station: