Voice Tracking\Still Cutting The Fat?

[John FL]

Excellent point, Froggy.

Overall I have a lot of issues with using voice tracking no matter how good it is - especially during critical dayparts.

Advertising was touched in this string too and one has to ask that even in an economic downtown, if the radio product was better, do you think there would be more interest on the part of advertisers to use radio in their marketing strategy? Personally, I don't think they get a good bang for the buck in what passes for normal business operations today.

Over the years, I can't tell you how many times I tried a product, service, restaurant etc. based on a jock's recommendation. I always thought reading a commercial live on the air had a lot of merit and often the talent made the ad more interesting than not. I think the tune out factor was not as great either. When listeners have a special bond with the on-air talent, it meant a lot. Anyone in sales will tell you that when the public perceives the "pitchman" to be trust worthy, reliable and credible, the sale is easier made.

All business cuts fat but when it crosses the line that makes the product a shell of what it once was, don't complain about the resulting diminished income stream.

 

[pocket-radio]

Everyone here needs to realize that radio is a business in transition and under attack from several angles. Internet, IPod’s, Cell phones...etc.
I am not sure cutting your sales force is really that simple, maybe they are just losing the dead weight.
Evolve or die!

It’s been said by many in this group radio is a business. Dah.. So radio wants cheap, part-time, no benefits. The current groups of managers are actually worried that they’ll get fired if the numbers don’t add up. And their focus is short term, this week, this month, and today. Like it or not, MORE voice tracking and cyber-jocking are the trends for today and the future. Voice tracking can be made to sound live but frankly it’s boring as hell. Voice tracking sounds live but there’s a difference between a voice that’s simply filling dead air with mindless sweepers and a voice that entertains. Big Difference! So radio depends on voice tracking because it’s cheaper and makes the music the star. Radio goes about its business as a wireless jukebox and limps along as a former shell of itself.

And around the corner technology provides more and better jukeboxes. And these jukeboxes will connect to the internet through local wifi hot spots and mass coverage access points called wimax. Take a sure bet to the bank, this technology is only going to improve and competition will drive prices down. Meanwhile radio’s greatest strengths local and relevant have all but been forgotten. Radio believes HD is their future, I think internet access in your car will be the must have gadget. And why would you need HD?

 

[gchasse]

I agree with the internet assessment. I have already thought about the possibility of being able to listen to Boston Sports talk in my car on the internet or Kearth101. No more having to put up with the subpar stuff we have locally right now. Wimax will make this possible, and it couldn't come soon enough.

 

[McCloskey981]

Here's the bottom line, and as a station that works in satellite a fair bit, I've debated this as the hundreds of resume comes across my desk..... can this person make me more than they cost, directly.

Far too often, the answer lies between sat and live. Someone who can promote my promotions (shocker), gives me the locality that I need at a cost less than I pay to have someone sit there for 4 hours hitting F9 six times.

But I'll agree with the person who said it's better to be at 17 than 1. I have several clients (as the morning-guy/de-facto problem fixer) who laugh when a 300-book arbitron gets thrown at them. We've sat and built the brand, we've contemplated market forces and we've kept them from matching the 400% declines that is their industry norm.

We do this with qualitative not quantitative. Who can buy a car? Who can buy a boat? Who can go to dinner? It's not the 12 year old listening to CHR, nor the person who is a passive listener to TED/BILL/BOB/JACK/JILL/HILL/ANDRE.

Too many CC and Cumulus reps live and die by the fax machine. It's not the fault of radio, it's the fault of society where the new breed of sales person is being brought about by the path of least resistance.

 

[alcapone]

No here's the bottom line. Corporate radio got greedy and happens to be paying for it five fold in a terrible economy. When I hear a formatic going into a stopset such as the jocks on APE only being allowed to say "That was Plain White T's with Delilah" and not being able to add anything else, that's what I call dumb down radio. I know the purpose is to cut down the raps going into spots but that's because the rest of the station is so overly produced it BOOOOOORRRING

 

[wkrpfm]

statement above mine:

jocks on APE only being allowed to say "That was Plain White T's with Delilah" and not being able to add anything else, that's what I call dumb down radio.



I have said this once and I will say this again....if a VT show stinks, it's because the jock didn't take the time to do ANY show prep because they believe a VT show is less important than a live show..not all djs feel that way...you would be surprised that some shows are VT that sound as if they are really live..it all counts on the amount of show prep the DJ does for the VT show

 

[pocket-radio]

If a voice traced show can be made to SOUND LIVE, then why would the bean counters at any radio station have the need for local talent? Unless someone can prove me wrong wouldn’t it pay for the greed mongers to call 800-rent-a-jock? I mean if some guy/gal in Texas can do all the prep work and do it so good that listeners believe the jock is live and broadcasting from beautiful downtown Jacksonville. It’s scary to even think.

 

[wkrpfm]

(insert sigh)...you are obviously not getting the point

 

[alcapone]

The point I mad in a previous "reply" ... jocks on APE only being allowed to say "That was Plain White T's with Delilah" and not being able to add anything else, that's what I call dumb down radio.", should probably had been on another thread. When PD's ..ok the consultants only trust their jocks enough to pigeon hole them into a break like that, then they obviously don't think there's much talent there. This has nothing to do with voice tracking. Managment encourages "dumbed down radio" voice tracked or not. Sad for radio. If ninety percent of consultants hadn't been able to blow smoke up someome's $%#@& about how great they are, they'd be working at K Mart

 

[Brother Bear]

vt's right on the money. Corporate Knuckleheads (Great band name!) have issued the edict that jock chat be kept to a minimum on formerly high-profile stations like WAPE & WQIK. The live jocks sound no different than the voice-tracking because of some bird-brained initiative that makes them sound like satellite piddle. The jocks get no more than 10-15 seconds to indifferently blather about a song or a 'personality' with little if any mention about the station or the product.
For as little effort as they put into it, you may as well listen to satellite.
The bean counters minimalize the human touch on the station so when the day comes for the Big Liquidation Sale, jocks can be eliminated all together and an otherwise sorry-assed bottom line can look less bitter to a new buyer.
I hear CC calls it the Soggy Bottom Initiative or some such nonsense.
Way to think it through.

 

[vadar]

Radio blows when you hear stuff like this, sorry, I'm downloading more tunes for my iPod, gotta run....

 

[pocket-radio]

I know by today’s pitiful radio standards voice tracking can be made to sound live and listeners can’t tell the difference. And that’s exactly the problem, no one can tell the difference between a live human being and voice tracking. But there was a time in radio’s not to distance past when the human being behind the mike had the ability to surprise and captivate the imagination of listeners.

And voice tracking can't do that. sorry..