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November, 2006
 
Radio in the New World Era
No Wonder I'm So Tired! by Stace People ask me what the best part of my job is. Since it has a lot of different elements, it’s hard to pinpoint just one. Of course, the obvious answer would be the music. Music is, of course, the reason I got into radio. I loved everything about it—even the commercials. I spent hours with my little radio with the built-in cassette player, recording everything I could. Music was the start of everything for me. As an on-air personality, my day is never the same. I love that. I love the spontaneity of radio. I love the fact that I don’t have to send a camera crew and spend hours on a bit before it’s unleashed. I love the creative freedom that my job gives me. As a network music director, I love being on the cutting edge of the industry. I get a lot of satisfaction when I hear that a song I pegged as a hit begins to show that I was right. I love seeing the artist’s face when they come into the studio for the first time, or the first time that they hear their song on the radio. It’s making a dream come true. But most of all, I love the perks! I’m only half joking. Seriously, it’s very cool to have the heads of record labels vying for a small amount of your time. It’s such a cool thing to be flown across the country to hang out on a boat with some of your favorite artists doing a small acoustic set for 20 other people. And I love working concerts, proudly wearing my All Access pass. I’m tired but loving all of that as I am flying somewhere over Oklahoma, on my way back to Nashville from that very boat ride in San Diego. One of my labels flew me out. Thanks to the new rules set up by the New York Attorney General’s office, I am absolutely exhausted. Last year they would have flown us out on a Friday morning and back home late Sunday. Not anymore. Thanks to a few individuals, the labels are now only allowed to keep radio personnel 24 hours. Basically, if you’re flying from one coast to the other, it’s gonna be a lonnnng night. I woke up at 3 a.m. I got to the office at 4:20, was on the air from 5 a.m. – 9 a.m., then off to the airport. An hour-long layover in Phoenix, then a 4 p.m. arrival in San Diego. We caught the hotel shuttle bus and were promptly loaded into cars that would take us to the bay where our boat was waiting. By this time, it was 6 p.m. to me, but the thought of seeing an acoustic performance from my number one core artist was enough to energize me for a few more hours. Eight more, to be exact. We got back to the hotel at 1 a.m. For those keeping track, that was 3 a.m. to my body clock, or a full 24 hours. The next morning, we were treated to another couple of acoustic performers, new acts grateful for the chance to hang with some of the biggest programmers in the country. From there it was breakfast, then back to the airport. I was in San Diego a total of 20 hours. The New York Attorney General would be very proud. Am I disgruntled with the "new world order"? Not really. Sure, I’ve heard the stories of "perks" that were handed out in the old days. I’ve heard about music directors and programmers receiving computers, big screen TVs, you name it. How much of that is urban legend, I’ll never know for sure. But I do know that the Attorney General is doing a good thing as far as putting restrictions on perks. However, I think some are extreme. After all, it would have been nice to at least have eight hours to sleep. So ... what do I love most about my job? I love it all. I love the music, I love being a part of the process, and yeah, the perks are pretty darn cool! |