by Flip Michaels
If you thought outfitting your neighborhood rats with tiny antlers for the holidays was the most creative thing you'd ever done before, think again. But this time, think really hard. With the Internet at your finger tips, you're capable of much, much more! Imagine the sparkle of floating votive candles in the guest toilet. Allow yourself the luxury of installing plumbing in your gingerbread house. Or, to add a festive glitter to your pasture, envision sheep and cows dipped in egg white, then rolled in confectioner's sugar! Point is, creativity is all over the Net. Suggestions like these, from sleepless production peers around the world abound on the Net. You just need to know where to look.
members.tripod.com/~mixerman/DIGITAL.HTM, The "Digital Warrior" is a great place to begin. It's the well done home page from Tom Anthony, Creative Services Director for The Point and WFOG, Norfolk, Virginia. Check out the COOL LINKS button and introduce yourself to a whole world of resources geared specifically toward radio production people. In fact, Tom's page has links to most of the sites I am about to share with you. "This represents hundreds of hours of net surfing., says Tom. "If you look up DIGITAL AUDIO on a net search engine like Excite or Yahoo, you'll find over ten thousand Web sites referenced. Only a person who spends far too much time on the Internet can afford to weed though all that to find something useful. Needless to say, I have too much time on my hands."
It's efforts by interested production pros like Tom and others that you can take advantage of to make your own on-line time really pay off.
www.radio-online.com, "Radio Online...radio's starting point on the Net" is another great example. Here you'll find a full directory of radio stations on the Web, both national and international, plus addresses of home pages maintained by radio personalities and their fans. There's even an e-mail directory of those employed in the radio broadcasting industry or related fields!
My favorite links from the "Radio Online" site include the "PD's Office," a virtual library of programming resources, consultants ideas, software, music, networks and more. "The Production Room," featuring audio clips (for on-air use, remember the copyright infringement deal), drop-ins, SFX, sweepers, studio software, etc.. "The Airchecks Library," similar in concept to RAP's The Cassette, but accessible for downloads to your PC. And, "Marketing & Promotion" with an "Idea!Banc" of some 7,000 poignant pieces that Program Directors, Promotion Directors and salespeople will buy you lunch over! Unlike many show prep resources on the Net, there is no charge to peruse this site.
www.production.net, "Production. Net... THE creativity source for the Radio Production/Creative Service Director" is another great FREE pit-stop. First, you'll need to fill out their simple registration form. Don't fret, this only gives 'em a data base of radio pros like you, to send the notices of site changes to. From "Tech Resources" and "Message Board" to both a "Script Library" and "Voice Library," Production.Net has a lot of useable info. It's a great place to do your homework on new gear, shop music and production libraries, and find help for image production. On my last visit, I found threads on what some of our peers are using to edit phone calls, discovered sources for getting "drops" off the Net and noticed someone needing a good air monitor.
www.440int.com, "440 International... Radio Biz Avails" is a tremendous pool for voice talent on the World Wide Web. If you have a believable voice and want to get your name out, better point and click your way on over here. 440 also has pages of "Promo/Copy writing" resources and a section on "Ideas & Problem Solving," just great for proving yourself AGAIN to your sixth PD in three years.
205.216.138.19/~websites/scape/radio.html, "Interscape...THE radio pages" is another full featured site. You'll find pages on "Show Prep & Production," "News & Employment," "Radio Resource Links," and another "Station Directory." Interscape also features a great "Job Listings" section. I should mention at this point that many radio related Web sites have an employment section. You do need to pay attention to how often these listings are updated. Not only are there a lot of duplications, but don't put much weight in sites that do not offer date references. You could find yourself applying for a position that has been filled twice over.
In my experience, www.rronline.com, R&R, is the most timely site. Along with Interscape, it is one of my priority bookmarks for who's needed where.
www.broadcast.net, "WWW .BROADCAST.NET... broadcast connections - worldwide" will get you to the home page of just about every equipment distributor and/or manufacturer on the Net.
www.station2000.com, "Station2000" is a Net-only radio station outlet. With the advent of technologies allowing real-time audio on the World Wide Web, live "Net Casting" is growing exponentially. Other stations heard only on-line include www.audionet.com/radio/classicrock/gdead. Yep, you guessed
it - Grateful Dead 24 hours a day. www.audionet.com/music/hardradio - hard rock music,interviews, chat, concerts and premieres. crux.marion.org - alternative music (non-mainstream). www.grooveradio.com - dedicated to electronic, techno and house dance mixes.
www.netradio.net is credited as being the first Net-only broadcasting outlet, started in October of '95. Here you'll find 10 music formats (planning to rise to 40) like classical, country, and vintage rock, plus concert dates, venue links and performer sites. As a production professional it may not be useful strictly as a work related resource, but for anyone with a sound card and an unlimited internet account, it is one COOL bookmark!
Other notable URLs for you to take some time to visit include: Radio Surfers Headline News at www.cris.com/~om18/radiosurf.shtml. This site features daily radio news summaries and links to the sites with full stories.
Finally there is one bookmark every production person absolutely, positively, MUST have! www.rapmag.com. Remember, there's no place like home page!
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