Voicetracking Sucks?

...and your point IS?

This post is not directed at any one person though I wrote it as if speaking one on one. Call it a 'radio-habit.' Also, this is my last post on this topic - at least for this week - hopefully for the month. It's pretty obvious where everyone stands. Those who can adapt remain competitive. Those who can't are probably making soda can rings on their computer desks at home while reading this. Slurp slurp, read read, fume fume. Actually, that's not fair. It's probably bottled water these days. See that? Change happens, though I'm sure many of us do miss those bubbles.

VOICETRACKING. Can radio people finally quit arguing about voicetracking? ...as if anyone cares about voicetracking... Good frigging lord. I'll keep your nose on ice for when you're done spiting your face. They're doing amazing things with plastic surgery these days.

"when the auto industry started installing robots to do the work of people and people started losing their jobs en masse, the employees weren't posting on industry message boards supporting the robots."

A: there were no message boards back then

(have a tissue.)

B: American cars are of a higher quality today than they were in the 80's.

(here's another if you need one.)

C: Why would anyone dwell on VT? Who really cares about voicetracking? There's a whole forest out there & you've got your face pressed against a pine tree as if it represents all.

There are millions of people entertained every day by radio. If you look at the industry that is radio and all you can see is voicetracking... well, that speaks volumes, but not about radio.

I see good and bad in our industry today. I post here in hopes of inspiring people to do great radio - to focus on their listeners and what it takes to entertain them... to throw away the ideas of how it's supposed to be done and instead think it through from the listener's point of view. Listener: "Entertain me." I try to pass along any wisdom I have in hopes of helping others. Bitching and moaning about the glory days of way back when accomplishes nothing. If anything, it pushes the complainer deeper into his or her own self pity and doubt. And wow do I see a lot of that here lately.

There will always be change. Some will be good. Some will be bad. The only constant is change. And yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same for those who have the ability to see the big picture.

Technology changes. Methodology changes. Who gives a rats ass about either? I mean, really? Who cares so much about doing it this way or that way that they'd be willing to end their own career prematurely because they can't play 45's on the air anymore? Damn those kids and their compact disks! Please.

"Voicetracking sucks." I nominate he who says that for the No Shit Sherlock Award. Here's a cookie. By the way, the sun is hot. Very hot. And water is wet. But look more closely at each and you'll see there's more to them than that.

CONSTANT: There will always be people to entertain. Just because some entertainers have chosen to take their ball and go home as the rules change doesn't mean we all have. Entertainment will come back as a focus of radio in years to come. It's already happening, though I imagine it's harder to spot such change from the living room couch.

The old days and old ways are gone. Get over it already. With the old ways being gone, we've lost some good and some bad. That's right. We've lost some good and some bad. I miss night jock wars - like Alan Kabel and Bobby Wild in the twin cities. But I don't miss hearing music for 40 year olds on CHR's. Old timers may long for the days when they could play Michael McDonald on CHR. That was never a teen hit, but some CHR's in those days cared more about women in their 40's. Today, if you take your eye off your core, somebody will sign on and force you out of your own format. And frankly, I congratulate the station that does it. To hell with anyone who forgets their P1's. I love well run heritage but hate stations who coast on it. Want listeners? You need to earn their time every single day in every possible way. The better you get, the more you need to seek room for improvement.

Yes, many heritage CHR's could have evolved into Hot/AC's. I ask why so many of them lost sight on their listeners in the first place? I've seen CHR's bonus their air talent higher on 25-54 numbers than 18-34's. Yeah, that's a winning strategy. Good riddance.

If you don't like the way the game gets played, get involved and change it.

A great place to get involved with change is Hot/AC and AC radio. Those two formats are so ripe for tremendous growth. Depending on the market, one of these could easily evolve into the 500 pound gorilla mass appeal format that CHR once was. (I'd put my money on a really well run Hot/AC personally) I predict that it will happen, and I also predict that many who could have been part of bringing about such change will instead still be complaining about VT from the comfort of their own living room couches, as if anyone gives a rats ass about voicetracking.