Job roles

1. JOB ROLES FOR COMMERCIAL
RADIO PRODUCTION
Adam Grundy

2. CREATIVE PRODUCER
A Creative Producer is responsible to create content and manage the production
process for both live and recorded radio programmes. They are the sole purpose
of the operation from generating ideas to carrying out thorough research. They’re
key role to a radio station in creating what is heard by listeners but they are
usually not heard on air themselves. As a Creative Producer, you are closely
involved with the business and technical aspects of programmes as they are
responsible for managing budgets and for ensuring the efficient use of resources
and it is their responsibility to listen to the comments or complaints that are put
towards the content. As a producer, you will work with broadcasting assistants,
presenters and DJ’s as well as engineers and IT Staff. It is the job of the Creative
Producer to make sure the content runs as planned and that it is tailored to their
audience demographic. Starting salaries vary depending on the employer and
location, a Local Commercial station may start on £13,000 to £16,000 where as
within the BBC salaries tend to be higher with a minimum of £15,700 for local
stations or £20,000 within London whereas senior producers with significant
experience on larger scale programmes can earn over £45,000. To get into the
role as a creative producer, a degree is not necessary but most are graduates
but a way of getting onto a entry level role without a degree would be by doing
work experience around the specific role.

3. RECORDING ENGINEER
The job of a recording engineer is not only to record audio but edit and mix it in
such a way as to make the audio sound the best it can possibly be. As a sound
engineer you would make high quality recordings of music, speech and sound
effects. In this job you would need to have a good sense of hearing in which you
would need to understand musical pitch, timing and rhythm. The first job of the
Recording Engineer would to make sure that all of the studio equipment is
working correctly and that it is set up for the recording session. The goal of a
recording session is to get a clean recording of the audio and if the equipment
isn’t functioning properly, that includes everything from microphones to the
software then you’re going to waste a lot of time of the artist time on lousy
recordings or downtime in the studio. Starting salaries can be from £13,000 a
year with experience, that could raise from £20,000 to £40,000 or even more
depending on the amount of experience. To enter, you would need good
knowledge of the music and the recording technology, this may be from taking a
music technology course at College or Univeristy.

4. RADIO COPYWRITER
A Radio copywriters job is to write scripts for radio advertisements. They are
hired on both freelance and permanent roles to develop advertising concepts,
this may include generating the words, slogans and audio scripts. Their job is to
create attention-grabbing, informative script that best describes and promotes
the products. A copywriter must understand about the product that they are
advertising so this includes learning about the product meets, and who the
intended target audience is. Additionally, copywriters must be aware of pop
culture and slang as well as industry-specific jargon. Copywriters must also be
able to proofread and edit the copy that they have submitted while they may
pitch their original ideas and expand upon them, this may involve polishing up or
starting over. Starting salaries for a junior copywriters fall between £20,000 and
£25,000 a year and as you gain experience can raise to £45,000 with senior
copywriters with up over ten years experience can earn £120,000. Their job as a
radio scripter includes casting actors for radio work and listening to voice tapes
and working under several campaigns at once which sometimes under pressure
and often to tight deadlines. The area of work is open to all graduates, though a
degree is not essential for a career as an advertising copywriter, subjects may
include Advertising, Journalism and Communication or Media Studies.

5. VOICE OVER ARTIST
 A voice over actress or actor lends their voice to the role that they are taking
part in whether it be a animate TV shot, Movies or a Radio advertisement.
While education isn’t necessary, many voice actors have had training and
experience as a voice actor. The role may also include singing, although it is
not uncommon for a second voice actor to be cast as the characters singing
voice if the voice actor performing cannot sing. Regardless of your talent, It
will most likely take the voice actor a few years before they are fully
established in the voiceover industry and their sole means of income. In the
beginning, the voice actor would be ineligible to join a union and non-union
jobs pay anywhere from £30 too £200 per commercial depending on the
market and if the advert runs on TV or Radio though Further down the road,
well established voiceover artists have the potential to make six and even
seven figure incomes. There are plenty of responsibilities since the company
has put their trust in you, so constantly expanding your range of voice
characters and keeping your voice healthy is key to staying within the
industry. There are many key skills that are necessary within the industry and
that is having a clear pronunciation which separates the professional from the
amateur, and having the ability to act helps as having an actor who has stage
fright doesn’t provide any benefits

6. MUSICIANS/COMPOSERS
There are many forms of musicians within the industry; such as Composers(Also known as
Producers) and Musicians. A producer is someone who makes sure when recording a song
or making a record, the end result is as good as it can be. Some producers are musicians
and some are engineers. Though being a musician means you are involved within the music
industry for creating or performing music in a wide variety of genres, a musician may work on
their own as a freelance artist or in a collaboration with others or even as a full time job in a
orchestra or a band. The competition in the music industry is high and musicians need to
dedicate hours of practice and develop their skills to their preferred style. There are many
forms of income for musicians whether this be in the form of royalties which have been paid
by PPL or PRS for Music which is paid whenever their music is broadcasted to an audience.
Other forms of income vary enormously whether the musician is working freelance or within
a full time job, the money of an artist can also vary on how well known and popular the
musician is as a well known artist would not be making the same salary as a musician who is
just starting out, most salaries can vary depending on the experience, the location, the
company and the indusry. Most Musicians and Composers start with some sort of academic
background such as going to college and getting a degree, though some may be self taught
and learn their craft through practice, some musicians and composers begin training when
they are children when they learn to sing or play an instrument then continue to play
throughout and eventually write their own music