R.A.P. Launches New Social Networking Community
Radio And Production is proud to announce the launch of the new RAP Community, a place for RAP’s readers to mingle, share and learn. The community features many Facebook-like functions including Groups, Likes, Friends, Messaging and more. Some of the initial groups already added include Imaging, Commercials, Voiceover, Pro Tools Users and Audition Users with more to come as users request them.
Anyone may access the Community by signing up for a membership, offered at three levels including a free Bronze membership. More details can be found at https://rapmag.com/signup.
Q It Up: Mac Vs. PC in the Production Studio
Q It Up: In the August issue, we interview Chadd Pierce, who had an interesting comment. He said he felt Mac hardware is far less friendly to the professional editor than it used to be, putting PC ahead. Chadd actually works with Pro Tools on Mac at work and on PC at home. What’s your take on Mac vs. PC in the production studio? And if you have experience on both platforms, be sure and let us know.
R.A.P. Interview: Chadd Pierce, Krash Creative, PierceVoice.com, Raleigh, NC
It’s been 14 years since RAP’s last chat with Chadd Pierce who caught my attention with a promo he submitted for the then, RAP CD. What sounded like something from a major market actually came from market #103, Fort Wayne, Indiana. The station was WBYR, his first station. There was no question his skills would treat him well, and they have. Chadd caught our attention again when he won our recent “Audio Adoption Contest” headed up by our longtime columnist, Trent Rentsch. We catch up with Chadd in this month’s interview, get some insights into the creation of his winning piece, get a peek inside Krash Creative, and more -- including some comments about Mac vs. PC in the studio, which spawned this month’s Q It Up question! Be sure to check out this month’s Soundstage for an awesome montage of creative from Chadd.
Radio Hed: Reinvent Your Client for Fun & Profit
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Your client works hard, but they’re not getting the same results or the same increases in business they used to get. Their response: “We’ll do even more of what we’ve been doing, or we’ll work harder, or we’ll sell for less.” Instead of supporting them in a futile endeavor, maybe it’s time to step back and examine what their customers are asking for, but that your client isn’t delivering or communicating to them. People change, markets evolve – your client needs to change and you can help.
Production 212: The Perils Of Thinking WAY Too Much
by Dave Foxx
After I finished last month’s column, I went back and re-read it and had a thought: What if I were to point out all the mistakes I’ve seen programming/promotions/production people have made? My second thought came immediately after: Nah… that would take an entire book. Besides, I might hurt somebody’s feelings. My third thought came a bit later: So what? This isn’t something where everybody gets a participation trophy. This is business, and there are winners and losers. My fourth thought was: Stop listing your thoughts Dave, just list the top 10 mistakes and explain why they’re so awful. So, here we are.
Hunger and Humility - A Commentary From the Frontlines of Freelancing
by Joshua Mackay
Voiceover and audio production are performance arts. Let’s not forget it. One year into freelancing, I found myself almost ready to throw in the towel. I had left my cushy corporate job at a small market radio cluster, and had failed to elevate my income to an acceptable level. I was ashamed and loathing the idea of walking back into the job market with my tail between my legs. It looked like I was going to fail. This dire scenario drove me to discover the two most important words in my career as a professional voice talent and audio producer: hunger and humility.
"....And Make It Real Creative!”: All Done By Kindness & Ink
by Trent Rentsch
Once again this week, I heard someone tolling the death knell for radio. It’s the same noise I’ve been hearing, well, since I started in the business. “NOBODY listens to radio anymore!! WHY would I waste my advertising dollars on a dying medium?” Lord... if I had a nickel. I think we can all agree that, while there have been endless changes and increased pressure from other advertising mediums, radio is doing just fine... loyal following, decent revenue, good advertising value. So why do the naysayers keep insisting that radio is nearing its end? Probably for the same reason people have been insisting that print is dying since the inception of radio -- people are quick to move on to something new, and seem to have no tolerance for the old medium. Personally, I think Digital Marketeers could learn a lot from radio... and honestly, radio could still learn a few things from the days when print was King.
The R.A.P. Soundstage
Up first on the August Soundstage is this month’s Editor’s Choice Award winner, Adam Venton at UKRD for his great job at pulling the heart strings on this Mother’s Day promo! This month’s interviewee, Chadd Pierce, hits us with an awesome montage of some of his creative work at Krash Creative. Dave Foxx treats us to someone else’s work this month as he spotlights some 3 second sponsorship sweepers from KBPI in Denver. Read Dave’s column for details towards the end on page 15. An excellent collection of creative spots are on tracks 4 through 11. Track 8, from Dave Savage, contains three PSAs from a campaign done for Potcake.org. The first one received a Mercury nomination! Just a couple of promos for you this month on tracks 12 and 13, and we wrap it up with some cool sweeper montages on tracks 14 and 15.