A program director I know said that brokering teaches you so many bad things that you have to unlearn before going back to "real" radio.
I echo your sentiments here, and do understand exactly what you are saying, but this doesn't speak to the premise I raised, which was concerning the passion of the talent in question. True enough, if they are lazy, and don't do the things necessary to appeal to a regular radio station, then you are right--they won't do well on regular stations. I believe that it's an issue of how badly the perspective talent "wants it". As I've previously stated, I do believe that one MUST have the necessary training and/or experience with the studio equipment, building a listener base, etc. PRIOR to putting their show on a brokered station.
The people who succeed in brokering are not the best talents.
This statement might be true, but you still haven't told us how should an aspiring talent approach getting his or her show on the air when regular stations are NOT hiring these people. They no longer want to take a chance of unproven talent, and to add insult to injury, many radio stations make the lazy decision to put on syndicated program after syndicated program. So I ask you, respectfully, how does an aspiring talent get on a station without investing in their own shows?
Rates are so high that you're either forced to a small signal no one can hear, or you're forced to spend half your day selling spots, in competition with real salespeople who've honed their craft.
This is ABSOLUTELY true, IF people went into this decision trying to make money right away, and NOT focusing on using this opportunity to gain experience, and build a solid listener base. I would much rather an aspiring talent go this route than do nothing and wait for a station to arbitrarily offer them a spot on their station. Again, an aspiring talent MUST take the brokered opportunity as in INVESTMENT--which means that they are expected to PAY their OWN money, and NOT as a venture that they should expect to make money from. I hope I explained myself well here. I enjoy discussing this with you.
You spend so much time trying to become a mediocre salesperson that you become a sub-mediocre host.
For those that do this, you are absolutely correct. Aspiring talents should STAY AWAY FROM sales unless they are doing this to be a salesperson. They MUST concede to paying THEIR OWN MONEY, and EXPECT nothing in return. This should be approached as TRAINING, experience, and the building of a listener base (i.e. support network). I currently pay to broadcast my show, and I WENT INTO THIS not expecting to make any money. I don't focus on sales at all--I focus on my show--ONLY. If I make money, I take it as a blessing. I do agree with you that you cannot waste energy on sales, when you are supposed to be focusing on being the best talent you can be. This should be treated NO DIFFERENT than attending college--where you spend money now to make more LATER. This is how brokered programming should be used from the client's perspective--to spend money now in order to make money LATER--not now.
They resort to cons and unkeepable promises to try to get some money rolling in. They do a half-arsed selling job and a half-arsed programming job. Their learning process becomes frozen in amber because what they've done has brought them a small level of success. They're so used to being "king of nothing" that their horizons become limited. 99.99 percent of brokered hosts never break out of that world.
If this is the case, then again, you are right on the mark. I do know, however, that I don't facilitate my show like that at all. I know what I'm doing this for, and there's NO WAY that I would waste energy doing anything ELSE. For those brokered talents that have aspirations to benefit from the fruits of their labor, they must take this opportunity seriously--even if they are NOT currently getting paid. Remember that passionate people are willing to do what they are passionate in for free with the same passion that they would have if they were getting paid to do it. If they are approaching this to make money right away, then they are in this for the wrong reason, and they aren't approaching this in the right fashion in the first place.
Brokered stations don't care about quality, so you phone your show in. Literally. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone do an entire show on the phone because they woke up on the wrong side of the bed. A real station with a PD wouldn't put up with that, ever.
True, very true... Let me tell you how I do shows when I know I'm not going to be there--I do a show from my home studio live, record it, and send it to the station to play. That way they have a fresh show, with the same quality as if I were in the studio. Again, it's all about passion, if you have it, you will do whatever it takes..... and take it seriously. People who phone in their shows have virtually NO INTEREST in succeeding in this business.
There is a Grand Canyon between brokered AM and Rush-Hannity AM.
I agree. I believe that brokered stations would be better served if they operated as training grounds for REAL talents that are truly interested in being a successful host, instead of "meter maids" that don't care who broadcasts on their signals--as long as they are paying the necessary fee associated with it. I think if they would start doing this, they would make more money, and provide a much more meaningful service to their listeners, and their clients... in the long run.
Great points! I'm enjoying this!
but I'm not sure... :-\