Airtel mobile money - Mr Money

Pat Gill of Dublin’s market-leading FM104 is my guest in this edition of the Earshot production podcast.

Pat’s been at FM104 for eleven years and boasts a string of awards for his audio work. In the podcast Pat plays a bunch of FM104 production – from morning show jingles and music imaging to punchy and provocative trailers.

FM104 itself is living proof that market leading doesn’t have to mean narrowly-focused. The playlist is hit music with a few surprises but the station also broadcasts a comedy-rich breakfast show and a real appointment listen in the late night phone show.

I always love to meet creative people who are happy in their work and Pat is a wonderful example of that. Hear how enthusiastic he is about the station and his creative work in our half-hour converstion recorded in Pat’s production studio.

Earshot: Pat Gill in Dublin

Remember when commercial local radio sold itself on the strength of its news team?

Beacon Radio news song from 1986

Composer Les Reed explains the origins of the County Sound theme song and jingles. From a documentary produced by Steve Martin and Rob Wallace to mark 25 years of County Sound.

The original County Sound jingles by Les Reed

BT TV Heart Toby

BT BB Capital Pandora

BT BB  Jenni Falconer

BT BB Heart Mark Wright

5 Live and 2FM imaging

Explore two strikingly different approaches to radio station imaging in this edition of Earshot.

Pete Maguire from RTÉ Ireland explains how 2 FM's new imaging completes a modernisation journey for the station and Paul Fernley of ReelWorld describes the search across Ireland for vocalists and voice artists led to a highly original and authentic sound for the national CHR brand.

Ollie Raphael of Delicious Digital demonstrates the thought and musicianship that his organisation put into new work for BBC Radio 5 Live. Hear how the new package unifies the network's wide range of news and sports programming and learn about Delicious Digital's approach to media branding.

Hayley Hayes is in the house too with Hayley's Homework, answering a listener's question from the previous edition.

BBC Radio 5 Live and RTÉ 2FM imaging

Three of the world’s leading entertainment radio imaging producers join Steve Martin to discuss their craft and play their work. The Reelmix imaging event was held in September 2016 in Miami, Florida USA by ReelWorld and the Mix Group.

See more information at http://earshotcreative.com/2017/05/earshot-podcast-david-konsky-victor-lisle-and-ron-tarrant/

Konsky, Tarrant & Lisle at Reelmix

Direct from the heart of London’s Theatreland, some of the UK radio’s leading creative producers and commentators play their favourite promotional audio of the year and discuss why they love it so much.

Download and you’ll hear great audio from stations like BBC Radio 1, URN, Capital FM, Choice FM and Classic FM, Norway’s P1 and Xfm.

You’ll also hear the informed views, expertise and experience of James Cridland, John Myers, Nik Goodman, James Stodd, Lou Nash and Jacob Rickard.

Earshot Creative Review - 2011 festive show, part 1

It’s the Earshot Creative Review radio podcast for April 2010. Once again, we recorded it in a pub.

This month you’ll hear the voices of Arden Hanley (coughing like a jet plane in an ash cloud), myself (carrying a cold so heavy it got checked into excess baggage) and Chris Nicoll (as beautifully uncongested as Britain’s airspace).

Arden leads the imaging teams for 95.8 Capital FM, XFM and the Hit Music Network of which he said: “You can’t dictate from London something that will work in Nottingham, for example or something that will work in Wales.”

Arden also runs the Ruptured Spark imaging house. Chris, meanwhile, is a freelance writer and producer who operates as WizzFX and is currently working for Global Radio, Jack FM and other stations. He  arrived in the UK from New Zealand last year.

In the podcast we play and talk about loads of great audio from the UK, New Zealand, Germany and Ghana. We also consider what the Sony Radio Academy Award nominations mean for radio producers.

Earshot Creative Review, April 2010

In this month’s edition, you’ll  hear a great selection of audio production from TalkSPORT when Peter Gee delivers a masterclass in engaging, memorable ideas, sharp writing and clever casting.

Russ Williams from Wise Buddah is also with us, showcasing the music imaging he’s created for BRMB in Birmingham, the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 and music stations who wanted to embed World Cup content into their output without diluting their audio brand.

Earshot Creative Review, July 2010

This month, the sound of London. Paul Hilton runs production at BBC London 94.9 while BBC Radio 7′s Ben Motley has spent the last year at BBC Global News where he produces promotional campaigns heard on the English language channels of the BBC World Service. If you’re confused, I’ll draw you a diagram.

You’ll hear a huge range of production designed to appeal to both local and global audiences of speech radio. Discover how BBC London tries to position itself apart from LBC, how to connect with listeners overseas who speak English as a second language and why comedy and Christmas means pulling out the creative stops at BBC Radio 7.

There’s also music from Coldcut, brand imaging heard on speech radio podcasts and we endure a tortuous play on words which helps you remember a text number.

Earshot Creative Review, October 2010

This edition of the Earshot Creative Review was recorded in March at the RadioDays Europe conference held in Copenhagen and features three eminent radio leaders:
Clive Dickens, Absolute Radio‘s Chief Operating Officer. In this podcast, recorded before reports circulated of a possible sale of Absolute Radio, Clive explains how he considers the radio group’s imaging and production to be a significant part of its value.
International radio consultant Sam Zniber who’s also vice president of Radio Intelligence. Sam began his career in the production studio and remains as passionate as ever about production’s contribution to station success.
and Mark Barber of the UK’s Radio Advertising Bureau, a key figure behind RadioGuage who was in Copenhagen to introduce the measurement service to broadcasters in new territories. You’ll hear what RadioGuage can teach station producers.
Other discussion themes include remote working and achiveing flow in CHR formats, plus we all listen in awe of work by production legend Jeff Thomas.
In addition to our chat you’ll hear bags of production from Absolute Radio and Absolute 80s, KIIS and Kiss, and RadioGuage-proven ads from CocoPops and Autoglass.

Earshot Creative Review, March 2011 at RadioDays Europe

Recorded at the height of London’s recent Indian Summer heatwave this podcast brings together radio creatives from India, Kenya and the rural British county of Lincolnshire.

You’ll hear Jardin Lobo explain how spot advertising and live talk-ups work on Indian FM stations and get a wider sense of the changing nature of radio in that huge country. 

You’ll also hear Gillard award-winning producer Tim Johns from BBC Radio Lincolnshire play his promos and show production. Together Jardin and Tim compare their work and generally try to keep a conversation going over a flaky Skype connection.

Also this time, Nairobi-based radio advertising consultant Simon Rushton says we should always prioritise effective advertising over creative advertising and he explains how to do it. On a beach.

Earshot Creative Review, October 2011

Nigel Williams looks back at the first 25 years of County Sound, Surrey and Hampshire's original radio station. The documentary was commissioned by UKRD from Steve Martin who co-produced it with Rob Wallace. It was broadcast on County Sound on 4th April 2008.



We'll always be here - County Sound radio documentary

Composed by Muff Murfin and arranged by Tom Merriman. 1990.

BBC Radio 5 station theme from 1990

Adam Burgess and Tom Cross are two thirds of the production house Contraband Media.

Together with Music Director Small Paul, Adam and Tom have built Contraband into one of the UK's leading independent radio imaging companies with market-leading clients here and in the US, New Zealand and Australia.

This year they were nominated in the 2017 Audible Audio Production Awards. Business advice for you if you fancy leaving your salaried job and setting-up your own production company or entering the freelance world.

How they made the transition from Tech Ops on Southern England's Power FM to Imaging Producers and then directors of their own business.

Production secrets of their branded song intros from BBC Radio 1, the Nick Grimshaw Breakfast Show openers and their Imaging Blueprint CHR imaging service.

Their work for Radio 1 is puzzle of micro-editing, pitch-shifting, tuned voices, soft synths and the cheekiest individual syllables smuggled from song lyrics.

We also enjoy an award winning radio ad for one of the most famous FMCG brands in Britain.

Tom Cross and Adam Burgess

Explore new creative opportunities in programmatic advertising and dynamic audio in the company of two highly knowledgeable and likeable pioneers in this emerging field. Steve Dunlop and Sam Crowther run A Million Ads, the London-based agency that leads the world in dynamic, personalised audio advertising.

With patience and clarity in this Earshot podcast, Steve and Sam take Steve Martin through this emerging growth area and how it works. They also demonstrate some new creative routes to more effective communication through personalisation with real-life campaign audio from their early clients. What's more, they do all this in a pub.

If you listen to online radio or streaming music services that carry advertising you may have already heard dynamically assembled ad spots that take account of the data advertisers know about you.

A short route to increased effectiveness or a little bit spooky? Download this edition of the Earshot podcast and hear for yourself.

Full details at http://earshotcreative.com/2018/01/earshot-podcast-a-million-ads/

A Million Ads - personalised and programmatic audio

Composed by Tim James. Produced by Steve Martin. Copyright BBC.

The brief was make the station sound friendly, welcoming and good company for a 55+ local audience. We made versions for BBC Radio Wiltshire and BBC Radio Swindon.

Listen carefully to the travel news bed at 5'09". It features a sample from the theme to The Magic Roundabout - a cheeky reference to Swindon's famous road junction of the same name.

BBC Radio Wiltshire jingles, 2002

Bernard Achampong of BBC Radio 1 Xtra, Neil Cowling of Fresh Air Production and Chris Howell from Eagle Radio.

This month we meet three radio producers whose recent promotional and imaging work has been recognised by this year's Sony Radio Academy Awards judges. As our guest producers wait to discover whether their nominations will be converted into coveted awards we hear their nominated audio and the stories behind its development.

Bernard Achampong is station sound producer at BBC Radio 1 Xtra and his station is nominated in the Best Station Imaging category. Neil Cowling runs Fresh Air Production which has produced two entries for the BBC which are nominated in the Best Promotional/Advertising Campaign category. He's up against Surrey and Hampshire's Eagle Radio where Chris Howell has earned a nomination too.

Play the podcast to hear exerpts from the BBC Radio 1 Xtra imaging entry, Fresh Air Production's work on the BBC Comic Relief and Wimbledon campaigns, Eagle Radio's anti-car crime campaign for Surrey Police and a whole bunch of other audio that has inspired and excited Bernard, Chris and Neil to make great creative work for their clients, employers and listeners.

Earshot Creative Review, April 2012

This was a preliminary demo commissioned by the BBC from Jam productions and Steve England for the original Radio 5 AM station in 1992. The project was not completed, largely because the BBC announced its intention to replace Radio 5 with 5 Live shortly after this was delivered. The rest is history. Many of the cuts are resings from Jam's New York Fan package. This was more of a mood board for the tracks and vocal approach than a firm direction for the final cuts. It also reflected a growing realisation at the station that sport was the central focus of Radio 5's audience, even if the schedule was more eclectic. Jingle aficionados will note that the vocal sound was weighted male and included a mix of UK and US vocalists. Trivia fact: the late Caron Keating was the station controller's Goddaughter.

Copyright: Jam Productions / Steve England / BBC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_5_(former)

BBC Radio 5 Jam jingles demo 1992

Gordon Lundy, Matt Shields and Gavin Pearson share examples of their imaging work and explain how they make it. Recorded before a live audience at Scotland's Creative Media Network student festival

Gordon Lundy, Matt Shields and Gavin Pearson live in Glasgow

From the Cash Call to the Bong Game® to the Real Radio Renegade, Jonathan Lumley from East Coast Radio and Jacaranda FM in South Africa and international radio consultant John Simons from the UK reveal their favourite competition ideas, both as set-piece promotional moments and everyday benchmarks.

In conversation with Earshot's Steve Martin, they explain how their favourite competition mechanics work, the critical dos and don'ts for any promotion and how data from engaged listeners can help you demonstrate to advertisers the quality of audience you attract.

You'll also discover the 1% rule and why John's cousin hasn't been for dinner recently.

The world's best radio contests and competitions

Guests this month are Dan Mumford, Manager of Station Sound at BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1 Xtra and Absolute Radio Senior Producer, Brian Murphy.

You'll hear an "awesome foursome" promo from the winning BBC Radio 1 Xtra station sound entry and the Geoff Lloyd "complaints" promo from Absolute Radio that was awarded the top prize for Best Single Promo or Ad.

This month we also discover how Absolute Radio is promoting online listening, hear the demo of Radio 1's new imaging from Pure Jingles and why Radio 1 went overseas for it, and Dan Mumford reveals who does Fearne Cotton's segues. Clue: it's not Fearne.

Our producers' inspiration comes from Dollar Shave Club and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and... "from the mountains to the sea"... we mark the lost art of the local radio station song.

Earshot Creative Review, June 2012

Earshot Creative Review, May 2012

Just weeks after launching its new breakfast show, station sound producers Ben Stones and Liam Hadley share the production secrets of Radio 1’s imaging. We hear also from host Greg James and ReelWorld music director Erik Huber who created the show’s theme.

Ben Stones, Liam Hadley, Greg James and Erik Huber

In this exclusive half-hour interview, ReelWorld Music Director Erik Huber discusses his approach to radio imaging production, how the craft has changed in more than twenty years of ReelWorld and his personal perspective on the Radio 1 breakfast project which his company won in a hard-fought open pitch.

Erik Huber of ReelWorld full interview

Composed by Alan Coates and Kim Goody. Huge thanks to Alan for sharing this dub from the master. Check out Alan's business at http://www.sohosquarestudios.com

BBC Radio 5 Live - full TOTH - 1994 drive version

Michaela Hallam, Debbie Dillon and Kate Dinsdale demonstrate how the BBC’s in-house creative agency approaches radio.

They play trails that promote Audio Description for viewers with restricted sight, their Wimbledon 2018 campaign that was much-loved by Chris Evans and the launch of the corporation’s ambitious project to aggregate music, podcasts and radio together in one place, BBC Sounds.

Kate, Debbie and Michaela describe how they achieve consistency of message while creating bespoke executions to fit the sound of each BBC radio service to maximise the effectiveness of their work.

You’ll also hear how BBC Creative works with independent production houses like Mcasso Music and Audio Always, and the team share tips for you if you want to be part of a future production with the agency.

Inside BBC Creative

International ambassador of radio Steve Martin created Earshot to promote great ideas and technique in creative radio.  Promos, ads, S&P and imaging: we love it all and we share the best of it through the Earshot website and podcast. http://earshotcreative.com

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