How to be a good Disc jockey [DJ]

Read!: How to be a good Disc jockey (DJ); An announcer is defined by the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations, which runs the career website CareerPage.org, as the "radio station's 'voice'... with whom the public identifies." This person introduces shows and music, reads commercial copy and public service announcements, and helps with the station's overall public image.” Some of the responsibilities of an announcer, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, include taking listener requests, interviewing guests, managing listener contests, and preparing program content. This chapter discusses how to best prepare and present yourself as a DJ or on-air announcer. Headphones Headphones are worn by all good DJs. When you turn on a microphone in the on-air studio, the speakers are muted, so you can only hear what's going on through your headphones during an air break. When there are multiple people in the studio, this is especially important because the person in charge of the audio board must ensure that each voice is speaking at the same volume, adjusting fader levels as needed. Similarly, without monitoring the levels on the board and through his or her headphones, the DJ would not know if the second person's microphone was not turned on. Choose over-the-ear headphones over earbuds, clip-on, or headphones that wrap around the back of your head because they stay on your head much better. During an air break, the last thing you want to be concerned about is whether your headphones will fall off. For the audio board, you'll need headphones with a 1/4" plug. Most headphones are 1/8” and come with an adapter, which may or may not be included. The Sony MDR-V150 and Sennheiser HD 202 are the two most popular brands around WKNC. Also, good brands are Koss and Bose. When you do get a pair of headphones, make sure to label them with your name or initials so you know which ones belong to you. If you misplace your headphones, the adviser might have a spare pair that you can borrow or use for studio visitors. Deciding a DJ Name for You When choosing your DJ name, keep in mind that this is how people will learn about you during your time at N.C. State. Many DJs, in fact, may never know your real name. The only real restriction is that you CANNOT use genitalia in your DJ name—no C. Lit or DJ Deez Nuts, for example. If you're going to use something racy or suggestive, think twice. You also shouldn't use another DJ's name because he or she was the first to arrive. It is strongly advised that you do not use your full name. In Central Prison, Butner Federal Prison, and a half-dozen other inmate facilities, WKNC is extremely popular. Plus, especially late at night, a lot of strange people listen to the radio. You don't want them to look you up in the university directory. You can use a variation of your first or last names, such as DJs Bex, Chuck, Cioffi, Jenna, or Mick. Mz Kelly, May Day, Sweet Melissa, Uncle Paul, Cannibal Cory, Tommyboy, Filthy Rich, DJ More Music or Just John are all names that could be used to spice up your name. You can also experiment with a DJ name generator to see what you come up with! LoL! Personality The most important aspect of being a DJ is having a strong personality. It would be simple to have a computer select and play music all day, but the station would be devoid of personality without the DJ's voice. We can't explain how to have personality effectively by listing all the things you should do; if we did, you'd become a stereotype. Instead, we should tell you what not to do, and what remains will be your distinct personality. The most important thing is to sound like a real person on the radio. This should not be confused with being unprofessional; this is not the case. When you go on the air, don't change your tone of voice; your listeners will notice. Announcers changed their voices to what we now call the "announcer voice" back in the 1930s. The radio was the dominant medium at the time, and people regarded it as such a novel and grand invention that they expected that level of articulate perfection. However, in today's world of television and the Internet, radio is no longer such a revolutionary medium, and listeners want it to be more personal. This is why, during air breaks, we speak in our normal voices. One thing to keep in mind is that you should not rely on other DJs to do things correctly. There are some DJs who are better than others. Just because you hear something done by someone who has worked at the station for a long time does not mean it is good. Music Selection A word of advice: if you came to WKNC to play your favourite music, do so at home — we want to please our listeners. WKNC exists to serve the community, not to serve ourselves. It is a privilege, not a right, to be a DJ. When you accept an air shift in one of our four formats, you agree to represent the format's musical integrity. As a DJ, you are the face of WKNC to the general public. It is your JOB to make us look great during your show. We are not a radio station that broadcasts in a free format. As a result, you won't be able to play whatever you want whenever you want. You should definitely play songs that you enjoy, but you should not repeat your top twenty songs week after week. Play nothing that you played the week before during your shift. Include new music in your performances. You are a musical trendsetter as a DJ. There are many great older songs that you should continue to play, but it's critical to provide our listeners with fresh, awesome new music all day, all night, and all weekend. WKNC's mission is to provide an ALTERNATIVE to the Triangle's commercial radio stations. This is how college radio has always done things. If you can hear a song on a local commercial radio station by turning the dial, then you shouldn't be playing it on WKNC. One of the most common criticisms of commercial radio is that it repeats the same songs over and over. That is why we have a five-hour rule, which states that you should never play an artist on your show who has been played on WKNC in the previous five hours. Play a different song by that artist after five hours have passed. The excuse "but it's a request" isn't good enough to get around the five-hour rule. WKNC's mission is to provide an ALTERNATIVE to the Triangle's commercial radio stations. This is how college radio has always done things. If you can hear a song on a local commercial radio station by turning the dial, then you shouldn't be playing it on WKNC. One of the most common criticisms of commercial radio is that it repeats the same songs over and over. That is why we have a five-hour rule, which states that you should never play an artist on your show who has been played on WKNC in the previous five hours. Play a different song by that artist after five hours have passed. The excuse "but it's a request" isn't good enough to get around the five-hour rule. Play nothing that you played the week before during your shift. Include new music in your performances. You are a musical trendsetter as a DJ. There are many great older songs that you should continue to play, but it's critical to provide our listeners with fresh, awesome new music all day, all night, and all weekend. Getting ready (Or, Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance) Never speak into the microphone unless you know exactly what you're going to say. If you're going to talk about an upcoming show, make sure you have all the information you need. “That band is playing tonight at Motorco,” he says on the air. “I'm not sure what time the show starts,” indicates to the audience that the air brake was not properly planned. If you don't understand something, don't say anything about it. It's not uncommon for new DJs to plan out their air breaks in detail ahead of time. While this isn't a habit you'll want to keep, it is a great way to get used to speaking on the radio. Preparation also entails putting on your headphones and standing in front of the soundboard. Your microphone has been repositioned properly. If you're using AudioVault, it'll shut down when the current element shuts down. If you're listening to music on a CD or other device, make sure it's in single mode or that you're ready to fade down the channel before the next song starts. Anyone in the studio with you has been informed that you will be on the air, and they must remain silent. Your phone has been silenced so that it does not ring during your air break. You know what you're going to say, and you've got the next element cued and ready to go when your air break ends. Only then will you be ready for your air break. Keep an eye on the logs and the program clock Following the Program Log, which lists scheduled DAs and PSAs, is another way to prepare. The GTL Simple is a time check that causes the log to refresh and be ready for the next hour at 58:30 each hour. Whatever is currently playing will continue to play, but your top of the hour break will begin with the next element on the program log. If you only have a 20-minute break, try to take it as close to the hour as possible. Make a note on the program log if you arrive at your 20-minute break more than five minutes early or late. You can load your breaks by moving carts directly from the Music Log to the AudioVault decks. Make sure you're looking at the right page of the Program Log if the breaks in the Music Log don't match what's scheduled in the Program Log. If they still don't match, get in touch with the program director as soon as possible. When in doubt, it's better to play a donor announcement when you don't have to than not to play one when you do. Requests (also known as "I'll see what I can do") WKNC is one of the few stations in the area that will play listener requests. It's important to remember that if you're busy, you're not obligated to answer the request lines. Also, you are not obligated to play a song simply because it has been requested. Never guarantee a caller that you will play their request if you can't or don't want to. Because it's possible that a requested song isn't in our format, you should never play it without first listening to it. Always treat our callers with courtesy and respect. They are the most devoted listeners we have. Don't assume that what callers say reflects the feelings of all listeners. Only a few personality types will dial a radio station; some people listen to the radio all day without ever thinking about dialling. Make sure to announce the request line phone numbers frequently if you want people to call you. Crowds in the studio The on-air studio is a popular hangout spot. You might want to take a break with some other people in the room from time to time, but it generally results in a poor sound on the air. The on-air studio is managed by the DJ on duty. Even if it's the GM or the PD, if you're on duty, you can and should ask any extra people to leave the room. The only exception to this rule is that the engineering department may be required to work in the on-air studio from time to time, but they will do so in the most considerate manner possible. When your microphone is turned on, everyone in the studio should be completely silent. What Is The Best Way To Speak On The Radio? Remember that your audience is listening to the radio to hear music, not to hear you talk, no matter how cool you think you are. That isn't to say you shouldn't do a good job on your air breaks; it simply means you should say what you need to say before playing more music. Identify the Radio station Every air break should include at least one reference to our call letter and frequency – WKNC 88.1 FM. You don’t need to identify yourself as the DJ each time, but you should do so at least once an hour. Be Succinct Always remember: shorter is better. Listeners don’t want to hear a DJ ramble on for two minutes about nothing. Say what you have to say as quickly as you can. Eliminate useless words and don’t ramble. Always know what you plan to say before you go on the air, or the listener will know you don’t know what you are talking about. There isn’t time to think about new ideas while you are on the air. If your air breaks last longer than 40 seconds, they are probably too long. Back Sell / Front Sell After the front page of wknc.org, the most visited section of the Website is our online playlist. People want to know what they are hearing! Back selling refers to playing a set of music and then announcing the titles. When you do this, try your best to avoid the “before that” syndrome in which you announce a song “and before that” a second song “and before that” a third song “and before that” a fourth song. A good DJ has a bigger vocabulary. For example, “New music from The Decemberists on WKNC 88.1, it’s ‘Down by the Water.’ We also heard from Rilo Kiley with ‘Silver Lining,’ Bombadil’s ‘Honeymoon’ and a request for Max Indian’s ‘Now I Know.’” There is no need to announce more than four songs at a time, as your audience may not have been listening that far back. Instead, refer listeners to the complete playlist on wknc.org. Front selling is telling the audience what is to come. Doing this can create anticipation that will cause a listener to keep the radio on WKNC. For example, “I have music from Miniature Tigers and Avett Brothers coming up, but first here’s Prabir and the Substitutes with ‘Everybody’s Got Somebody’ on WKNC 88.1.” Promote the Next DJ Don’t promote the end of your shift; instead, promote the beginning of the next DJ’s shift. It does the same thing in a much more effective way. Time Checks and Weather  A time check is when you announce the time to your listeners. Time checks are especially important in the morning (7-10 a.m.) when people are going to work. The AudioVault computer displays the time in the upper-right corner. If you want to give a brief weather report and temperature check, use the National Weather Service at weather.gov. Never Draw Attention to a Mistake Start a song with the fader turned down? Pretend it didn’t happen. Didn’t have your guest’s mic on? Pretend it didn’t happen. Say you are going to play one song but actually play another? Pretend it didn’t happen. Maybe the audience didn’t notice your mistake. Using the Intros/Background Music  Each song in AudioVault should have an intro time, meaning the number of seconds between when a song begins and when the vocals begin. DJs can use this time, displayed as a countdown in the box in the upper-right corner on the AudioVault computer, as a tool to help them talk over the instrumental introduction of a song, ending their air break before the vocals begin. You can do this for very short air breaks that begin when the previous song starts to fade out and end before the vocals begin on the next song. DJs can also start a song right before the end of their air breaks, finishing up over the instrumental beginning of a song. Just remember to keep an eye on the countdown so you will stop talking before the vocals start. The BED category in AudioVault has a number of instrumental music beds that you can use during air breaks. Using music beds, when done correctly, sounds great and keeps your air breaks shorter because you will want to stop before the music bed runs out. Just remember to keep the music bed at a volume lower than your voice and fade it out when you are done. Moving the Microphone  Do not move your microphone when it is on, whether you are talking into it or not. Doing so causes a low rumbling sound known as “mic handling noise.” This sounds horrible on the air and should be avoided. Part of planning for your breaks includes positioning your microphone properly. Have any on-air guests do so as well. How to Tell if you are Doing it Wrong  You could be doing a better job if: * A friend asks you to say something “in your radio voice.” * You meet a listener who says you sound a lot different in person than you do on the air.  * If you emphasize little words like “and,” “the,” “is,” “can,” or “will.”  * If you sound like you are reading.  * If you apologize every time you stumble on a word or stop to correct yourself. Just forget it and move on.  Having Others On The Air Whether the people with you are fellow DJs or guests, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the person running the audio board is the person in control. If someone walks into the studio and sits down during your air break and wants to talk, it is up to you to turn his or her microphone on. You also have the ability to turn it off. A real conversation between two or three people can be interesting, but a lot of DJs will overdo it. Here are some guidelines for these kinds of situations: * Think before you talk, and talk with a purpose. You don’t want your break to sound rehearsed, but you should always let your guest know what you will be talking about so you both can be prepared. * Keep it brief. Just because more people are talking doesn’t mean you have more time to talk! In fact, you must be that much more conscious of the clock. It becomes easy to get distracted by the other person speaking. Don’t ramble. * Limit the number of people in the conversation. Having more than three voices can be confusing for the listener. Two people should never share one microphone; it sounds horrible. * Everyone in the conversation needs a microphone and needs to use it properly; while you may be able to hear someone standing in the studio doorway, your audience cannot. Therefore If someone is not on the mic, they do not exist to the listener and shouldn’t exist in your conversation. If your guest is behind a microphone but is too far away from it, non-verbally cue him or her to get closer. Multiple times, if necessary. * No inside jokes! They alienate anyone not in on the joke, in this case, your entire audience. » via DJ MoreMusic
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