It was a tough week in radio for many and combined with a never before seen pandemic many many lives are turned upside down. It hurts me to see my fellow radio brethren on pause via and exit or a furlough. I always keep my hand in many things and wanted to pass along some suggestions to anyone who has made the choice to stick with this crazy profession we all love so much (but never loves you back quite as much). If you are currently on pause:
-Are you making use of the internet? I teach radio at a local college and tell my students that you USED TO need to have a radio station to have a means to be heard. Not the case anymore. Yes everyone and their grandmother has a podcast. You may not be Joe Rogan, or able to monetize it to pay the bills but starting a podcast or some sort of social content is a great way to stay sharp or creative. It is a great exercise to put out some kind of content. Why cant you do a :60 second daily dirt report? An artist profile? Whatever- be you and send out that content. Stay engaged even if you currently aren’t on a frequency. By the way, broadcast quality equipment and home set ups are so easy and becoming more economical. No, you don’t NEED to splurge on Rodecaster Pro Unit. You can but see what you can find. I like Sweetwater.com. They are great and will help you choose what is right for you. All else fails? We all know cell phones are more than ok.
-Do you have a website? Somewhere to sell yourself in addition to social media? Website building and domains are very cheap. Set up your space on the web as a landing spot for your content
-What skill have you always wanted to learn but never had the time to? Now you may have time to learn Photoshop, Adobe, even GSelector via RCS classes.
-Have you considered gigs that are radio but “not radio”? Recently there was a posting on Allaccess.com for a prep sheet writer. You work at home and still are in touch with pop culture. RCS is hiring for remote support techs. Look into Wide Orbit support techs as well. There are voice tracking gigs. I work for 3 mom and pop companies and track for stations in Wisconsin, Connecticut and Tennessee. They are not always the easiest to come by but do some research and reach out to smaller companies. There is no need to touch base with a large broadcast company for tracking if you aren’t already working for them. Chances are they have talent in their system to cover those bases.
If you don’t have your microphone or airwaves to broadcast from, keep your mind and skills as active and sharp as you can and create content on your own as if you were fully employed. It is not the answer to your financial problems nor does it necessarily ease the mental sadness of not working at something you love but going thru the motions as a creative can help ease this tough period.
