May 2002 RAP
Feature: My New Voiceover Business
By Tom Richards
"There's one sure-fire way you know you're getting blown out," they'd
told me. "The PD walks in with the Business Manager. He fires you, then she
gives you your severance options."
If it had happened years before, as it once or twice had, I would've been
right on the phone, lining up my next gig. But this time it was different.
Grinding out audio "product" intended to sell yet more "product" to an
indifferent audience failed to thrill me as it once had. So, now I knew my
opportunity had come, however backhanded, for me to change my life, take
hold of my future, and become my own boss. I was becoming a freelance voice
talent!
Interview: Steve Lushbaugh, WMMR-FM, Philadelphia
By Jerry Vigil
You've heard his work on numerous RAP CDs and Cassettes over the years.
He's been in the business for 30 years. He's been at one station for 22
years. He's been a finalist in several past RAP Awards competitions and
finally took home a trophy this year for Best Promo -- Large Markets. This
months RAP Interview steps into the halls of WMMR in Philadelphia for a look
at what sounds like one of the best places to work as we visit with
Production Director Steve Lushbaugh, or Lush as his friends call him. Lush
has maintained the position of Production Director at MMR for an amazing 22
years. We find out what the secret to this longevity is or isn't, and we get
a look at the station that nurtures this kind of loyalty. Be sure and check
out this months RAP CD for an impressive demo from Lush.
Test Drive: The Tascam CD-RW402 CD Recorder/Duplicator
By Steve Cunningham
Tascam's CD-RW402 CD Recorder/Duplicator presents a compelling argument
for adding a duplicator to your room, and maybe to mine as well. For $1249
list the CD-RW402 combines two CD mechanisms: its a full-featured CD player
as well as a 4X CD burner that can burn audio or data CDs at speeds up to
4x, and can do so unattended.
Production 212: Free Advice
By Dave Foxx
A wise man once told me that if I charge too low a price for my services,
people would be suspicious of the quality and not buy. So, here I am,
dispensing free advice to production people all over the world. Maybe I
should double my price. OK. Lets see, two times nothing is... uh, well. If
you're a guy or gal who's slaving away in market 943, trying desperately to
move up in the world, here's my free advice: learn to be a triple-double
player.
In the NBA, triple-double players are franchise makers. Any player who can
get double digits in rebounds, field goals and assists will invariably end
up as the team MVP every time. In radio, that could translate to writing,
voicing and producing.
Q It Up: The RAP Network Speaks - Copywriting Basics
By Jerry Vigil
Q It Up: This question is for the copywriters in the RAP
Network. If it were up to you to give a novice copywriter some training,
what would be some of the basic lessons you would try to get across? What
would be some of the items on your "Do" and "Don't Do" list? In what
direction would you point them for further training and knowledge in the art
of writing copy for radio?
Radio Hed: Specifics
By Jeffrey Hedquist
Which sounds more believable? "Hundreds to choose from!" or "We have 324
of these widgets in our showroom right now."
Want to give your commercials more power? Use specifics. Examine each of the
claims that you make in a commercial. Replace the generalities with
specifics and you'll have a more believable story.
Library Review: Hip Hop Nation 2 from AV Deli
By John Pellegrini
The crazed minds at AV Deli are at it again with Hip Hop Nation 2,
another set of imaging CDs for Rhythmic CHR and Urban Hip Hop Soul House
stations. As with all their libraries you get a ton of sounds for a bargain
buyout price. Hip Hop Nation 2 is six full CDs of the kind of stuff that any
modern music station would want. Though they're pitching it as mentioned
above primarily to Rhythmic CHR and Urban Hip Hop, much of this stuff could
be used by Hot AC and Alternative stations as well. Even intense sport talk
stations could make good usage of the sounds contained herein. Produced out
of the Chateau Brazil portion of the AV Deli kitchen, this is ass-kicking
stuff.
...And Make It Real Creative:
By Trent Rentsch
The more complex day to day life gets, the harder it is on a one-to-one
level, even with those closest to us, to communicate. Now add the problems
of being the disembodied voice of a complete stranger playing softly in the
background while the listener deals with getting ready for work or filling
out their tax forms or talking on the cell phone while driving in heavy
traffic or sigh. So many distractions, such a small chance to make an
impression. The same old tired phrases, the dull cadence of a voice reading
a script aren't helping the situation.
RAP Forum: General Motivation & His Plastic Troops
By Albert Berkshire
Its hard enough as a Creative to stay on track, to shake the funky
emotions that fill our hearts and heads everyday and make us think that we
could never do anything that's really worth a damn. For those of us who are
passionate about what we do, we need to feel good. And not having a General
in the field with us that screams "CHARGE" and leads it, just isn't much
help.
Personal Computing: Easing the Move from Old Computer to
New
By Reid Goldsborough
The only constant with computer technology is change. No matter how
comfortable you are with your current PC, at some point you'll need to move
on to a new one.
Perhaps you want to use programs that wont run on your old PC. Perhaps
you've run out of hard disk space and memory. You can upgrade or replace
these components, but with a computer more than three or four years old, its
often better to buy a new system.
"Migrating" to a new PC can range from hellish to exhilarating, depending
largely on how well you prepare, whether you're dealing with one PC or
several hundred.
Monday Morning Memo: How to Make Business-Morphine
By Roy H. Williams
Today I'm taking you on a high-speed chase down a one-way road to
nowhere. I'm going to teach you how to scam, flim-flam and deceive your way
to riches. I'm teaching you to do this, not because I believe you should do
it, but so you'll be able to recognize it, look it in the eyes, and call it
by name.
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