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10
Commandments of Airchecking
Kesha Monk 98.7KISS FM New York
We've
all heard the saying about first impressions.
You only get one chance to make them. Think back
to the first date you went on with the guy that
you thought was your Prince Charming. You
probably went shopping to purchase that bomb
outfit, stopped at the salon to get your hair
and nails done and really went the extra mile by
spending an extra $25.00 on a pedicure. This is
the same mentality that you should have when you
are sending out those airchecks!
I. Thou shalt NOT produce an aircheck
longer than 4 minutes.
The average attention span of an average program
director isn't even 4 minutes. You can't afford
to lose him/her!
II. Thou shalt NOT include soundbytes of
artists or listeners giving shout outs which may
consume more than half of your demo.
If an aircheck is designed to demonstrate your
ability on the air, then why would a program
director want to hear 3 minutes of someone
else's voice?
III. Thou shalt NOT utilize a 30, 60, or
90 minute cassette.
In fact, you should get with the times and have
your aircheck produced on CD. This will reduce
the chances of your demo being damaged or erased
in the mail. But if you absolutely must use a
cassette, use a C-10 or C-5. Neatly print your
name, phone number, e-mail address, and station
affiliation on the label.
IV. Thou shalt honor thy PD's request.
If you are responding to a job opening and the
ad says NO PHONE CALLS, this basically means DO
NOT, under any circumstances pick up the phone
and call to confirm receipt of your package. You
should e-mail them instead!
V. Thou shalt not submit a poorly produced
aircheck.
In life, you only have one shot at making a
first impression. So, if you submit an aircheck
containing poor sound quality and loose breaks,
what does that say about your on air work?
VI. Thou shalt attempt to demonstrate a
wide variety of breaks.
Try to demonstrate a wide array of breaks.
Include creative phoners, (they'll love that!) a
portion of an interview, some weather, a
humorous break, a serious break, a break that
will tug on their emotion, etc. Your aircheck
should be a 4 hour shift, compiled into 3.5
minutes or less.
VII. Thou shalt attempt to be different.
Compare a program director to a top record
executive. He/she probably receives hundreds or
airchecks per month. You must make yours stick
out in the bunch. If this means a polka dotted
CD cover with Christmas lights on it, so be it.
Do what you gotta do to make yours stick out in
the bunch.
VIII. Thou shalt be as brief as possible.
I've never been a PD, but I've worked for a few.
They despise personalities who tend to go on and
on and on and on like Erika Badu. Keep those
breaks as brief as possible, remain focused
during those breaks, and at the same time, be
personable! (Go read commandment # 1 once more!)
IX. Thou shalt mail airchecks often for
critique purposes.
Even though I've been on air for several years,
I can never stop learning! Value the opinions of
your fellow industry heads, whether small,
medium or large market. Send your aircheck to
PDs and non-PDs alike. Don't sit at the crib
waiting for a particular station to start hiring
before you send your tape. Realize that the art
of job getting starts WAAAY before sending that
1st demo. Be ahead of the game. Competition is
fierce.
X. Thou shalt update thy aircheck often.
Try to do this at least once a month. I know
this is a tedious task, but it is very
necessary! Have that aircheck ready to be
shipped ASAP in the case of an emergency. If a
PD request an aircheck from you, it should be on
their desk yesterday and not a minute later.
In the words of Sista India Arie . . ."this is
all my opinion ain't nothing that I'm sayin'
law." Happy Airchecking!
Kesha Monk
Kiss FM
98.7 WRKS
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