December 2008 RAP

by Dave Foxx

You already know that I get a lot of email every month from readers of this magazine. Some want a critique, a few take issue with something I’ve written although most are positive, and a few suggest a topic for my next column. Right before I went to Amsterdam and London to do production seminars, I got an email from a long-time friend, Ricky Correa, a freelance producer who specializes in Spanish radio. In it, he asked some very specific questions about Arbitron’s new PPM (Personal People Meter) technology, which is already in place in parts of Europe and has recently been introduced in the US in Houston, Philadelphia and New York He asks, “Please help me understand this new Arbitron game, specifically how you image your radio station now, or whether it has changed at all.”

Interview: Jerry Rohira, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, New York, NY

by Jerry Vigil

We recently came across a piece of audio circulating the net entitled “What Is Radio Imaging?” Maybe you’ve already heard it. Maybe not. It was never meant to leave the confines of Sirius/XM… but it did. It’s quite a piece of work, done by Jerry Rohira, one of five imaging producers at the satellite facility. Give the track a listen on this month’s RAP CD. That should be enough to get you to stop whatever else you were doing and read this month’s RAP Interview from beginning to end.

Technology: Terms and Conditions - Advanced Plug-in Parameters 

by Steve Cunningham

This month we’re going to tackle a number of terms that you have likely encountered on a plug-in, a piece of signal processing hardware, or a workstation. Many of us learn what these things do (or don’t do) via a trial and error process, or maybe we read about them in the manual (yeah, right!). But although you may know what the effect is, you may not know how or why it works the way it does. Hopefully this piece will fill in some gaps for you.

Q It Up: The RAP Network Speaks - How do you decide what to charge for your freelance work? 

by Ed Thompson

I sing terribly. Not so terribly that I couldn’t get on stage and jam with a band that knows “Sweet Home Alabama.” The willingness to throw myself up on a stage and let my heart and soul be my voice often made up for my lack of perfect pitch. However, don’t ever ask me to sing karaoke. It ain’t gonna happen. Still, when Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” or Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” comes on the radio I sing loud and I sing proud. More fortunately, those songs come on while I’m in the car and the world’s collective ears are spared, unless you’re riding with me. Then, it’s best that you start singing too because your voice will be the only thing you’ll have to filter mine. Yet, just as quickly, I’ll quiet myself at the first chord of Manheim Steamroller’s “Stille Nacht” or “O Holy Night” by Johnny Mathis. Christmas is like that for me. At one moment as loud and boisterous as any human can be, followed by hushed contemplation.

Radio Hed: Success Stories

by Jeffrey Hedquist

These are challenging times for all of us who advertise, or sell and create advertising. All around us we see fear, depression, and deer-in-the-headlights inaction. And yet, we know (or at least we’ve been told by some grizzled veterans) that the best thing we can do for our clients is to keep them advertising. This grizzled veteran has weathered some past downturns and I agree. Clients who continue will not only survive, but also prosper. BUT… what can we confidently tell our clients? How do we know what to advertise, who to advertise to, how to advertise effectively, or what will work in this interesting economy?