The Sound Off Podcast

iHeart Media's Tony Coles was not immediately drawn to radio. It came later after he was let go from a radio job and competing program director, the late Dave Robbins showed compassion and reached out. Tony will tell the story in the show better than I can write it, but it was clear that Tony could relate to Dave's compassion, recognition and empathy for "those moments" in radio. I have had the chance to meet Tony on a few occasions and if you want to get better as a programmer, or air talent, follow him.In this episode, you will hear about a few of his early stops in radio, the decision to pivot to programming, working with talent, finding new talent for radio in 2020, and the assembly of the Black Information Network which launched earlier this year. The network was built in the pandemic for 2020 consumption. You can stream it from the website, or the iHeart Media app. (And good news Canada, yes you can listen to it too) Finally, we wrapped the episode up with a few thoughts about Thanksgiving. Tony loves Thanksgiving and I wanted to have him on in between both Canadian and U.S. Thanksgiving to talk about what he loves about it.(Full disclosure, I have been celebrating both for years)There is more about BIN and its personalities on our show page. You can also connect with Tony on his Linked In page. Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week including:PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When I started this podcast in 2016, it was as simple as uploading audio to Soundcloud. Then I saw what tech offered and I was hooked. Dynamic ad insertion opened up a world of possibilities as we could increase our ad inventory by selling spots tailored to regions. Ad tech has come a long way in the last few years, and I reached out to Bryan Barletta to give me a crash course in ad tech. He helps companies at their formative stages build up and effectively execute on their solutions in mobile rich media, digital/podcast attribution, and podcast monetization & data infrastructure. On the heels of me Sounding Off about radio diaries, some ideas about how to count and monetize your audio.Sign up for Bryan's newsletter here.Bryan also referenced his latest work which you can find here. It discusses transcription and context.There's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week including:PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last week on the Broadcast Dialogue: The Podcast, I was listening to Numeris CEO Neil McEneaney provide an annual update. I had to stop listening when he expressed confidence in the TV paper diary method for gathering listening consumption. This is 2020, but the exit plan for the paper diary should have started back in 2007 when the decision to bring PPM to Canada was made. No, I am not advocating for PPM in Kelowna, but radio and advertisers should have been on lookout for a comparable measurement system. Fast forward to 2020 and we are hanging on to this archaic methodology. The pandemic has expedited so much including the inevitable death of the diary.In this episode I sound off about how radio got here and what we should do next.I don't carry a donate button but if you find any of this useful, please send me what you can and I'll send you an invoice for a 9 minute consult.There's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week including:PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Things got a little weird at a conference a few years ago. There was a Michael Jackson impersonator, then the next conference it was Prince, then Madonna.... what was going on? Turns out those impersonators were a stunt by the people at Throwback Nation, a newly created syndicated show that was going to be targeting Classic hits stations across America. The former Entercom PD of great radio stations like Star 94.1 in Atlanta, and 99.7 the Point in Kansas had worked his way up through Go Radio and Saga working on air and in the programming department. (Yes we even get a little nerdy discussing music systems)In this episode, you will hear all about Tony's career path through the midwest and eventually down to Atlanta. And then came the moment when he jumped out of radio and being an entrepreneur. Throwback Nation airs nightly across America. If your station would like a piece of the action, you can call Tony at 414-841-3243.Follow TB Nation on FacebookFollow TB Nation on TwitterFollow TB Nation on InstagramAlso we had Chris Cruise on a few weeks ago and he is the host of Throwback Nation 2K which will be launching in the new year.There's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week including:PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I always have a strong sense about what's going on in P.E.I. Every morning I wake up and Corey Tremere's twitter account has all the latest from Prince Edward Island flowing. I'm two hours behind in the central time zone, so his midday show is my morning show. Ocean 100 has been the Island's #1 commercial radio station since it went on the air in 1974 at the 1190AM position. It then got a new address at 720AM in 1987, and a new frequency at Ocean 100.3FM in 2006. There's something wonderful about working at the radio station you grew up to, and Corey tells the story of how he started working in radio in Junior High, and worked his way up.In this episode, you will hear our very first guest from Prince Edward Island talk about how Canada's smallest province is coping with the pandemic, what lies ahead for radio in the future, and how the approach of local and social continues to pay off in the era of the smart phone.I might have mentioned that Corey is a great twitter follow. Also check out the episode page to find out more on Corey, and more on PEI on the Episode page, including an interview with Prime Minister Trudeau from November 2017.There's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week including:PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Chris Cruise never had a radio career; he's always been a content creator. The Detroit native was let go from Entercom's Amp Radio 98.7 and attempted the sales thing before returning to his roots as a teacher at Chris can be heard on a number of station's across America already, but you're about to hear a lot more of him with the launch of Throwback Nation 2K in January. The original classic hits juggernaut Throwback Nation is a the creation of Tony Lorino, and will now branch out in the next millenium with the music millennials grew up with. (Yes I had to ask - that's Brittany, NSync, Soul Decision.In this episode, you will hear about Chris' radio journey through great radio markets like Fort Wayne, Indiana and Boise, Idaho. The social media strategies that made him an industry leader, and what's ahead for his YouTube Channel and Throwback Nation 2K which launches in January.I referenced other podcast episodes about these markets. I am thinking specifically about the one with Big Rick Daniels who spent some time in Boise, and Scott Howard who continues to sell at WOWO in Fort Wayne, Indiana.As promised, here are the connection points if you want to have Throwback Nation or Throwback Nation 2K on your radio station. Also subscribe to Chris' You Tube channel for video suggestions. There's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week.PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paul Kaye is the VP of Music Brands and In House Production at Rogers. When he was hired in July of 2017, it was mentioned that his position is an evolving one. True to that statement - his position remains as fluid as ever given the accelerating change for the medium and for the content creators who work in it. The last time we had Paul on the show, it was December 2016 and he was fulfilling a role at Newcap Radio. We haven't felt the need to have him back because the episode was very evergreen and stood the test of time resiliently. However, with the pandemic - it is time for a catch up.In this episode, we spoke about the differences between "Big Bits" and "Conversational". (Spoiler: The former is passe) We also debunked some of the truths and myths surrounding live and local, and how the pandemic will result in better radio content quality, even if the economic indictors do not reflect that right now. We also talked about the future of morning radio citing two recent changes in the Winnipeg market with the bringing Brock and Dalby to afternoons on 92.1 CITI, and transplanting Roz and Mocha into the morning show on 102.3 Kiss FM. Both are glimpses into the future for radio talent... and yes they should be excited about the possibilities. And yes we did discuss what he looks for in demo. I'll even let you cut right to that part but you really shouldn't because there is so much other great stuff you'll likely need to know from the episode before you send him an mp3 or .mov of your work.[13:40] What goes into a great demoThere's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week.PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Kevin Getz is the swing announcer at 102.1 The Edge in Toronto. He recently came out with a brand new album. What makes the album unique is that it is a spoken word album full of his radio breaks. The collection of audio is an attempt to make his audio more durable, sustainable, marketable, and less disposable. In this episode, Kevin and I talked a lot about how breaks are put together, but what happens after that break is aired. He admits he is a hoarder and that he keeps everything he airs on hard drives. By keeping all his audio, he finds there are different moments for different pieces of audio. It's also a great opportunity to be self-checking your work. We also discussed show prep and the uncomfortable subject of digital rights. This was where I used the audio super power of reaching for a past piece of audio which has context for this episode. No one has done a better job of explaining digital rights to performers than Sheri Lynch. Our episode with her in 2017 was epic.To buy Kevin's Album - go here. Net proceeds go to Thank Dog I am Out. Kevin also appeared on the Broadcast Dialogue Podcast.There's more on the episode page on the website.Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week.PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lili Wexu is a voice actress based in Los Angeles but started in Montreal. You might say this is all Howard Stern's fault. Back in the late 90's Howard Stern was syndicated to Q107 in Toronto and CHOM in Montreal. The result for the former was a failed venture, the latter was a near disaster. CHOM's longtime competitor at the time was Mix 96, who courted disenfranchised francophones to their station but using Lili as imaging talent. Rob Braide was general manager at Mix 96 and had been apart of a bilingual era at CHOM in the 70's where French and English co-existed in harmony on one frequency. Lili grew her business with the help of afternoon Drive personality and voiceover talent Rob Wreford who mentored her.In this episode, we hear about Lili's evolution through the voice industry and discuss how it has changed throughout the years. She also provides us with some incredible tips and tricks to steer through the tricky world of voiceover in 2020. As promised, here are the links to access her e-book series.If you would like to book Lili to be the voice of your brand, you can go to her website which has demos and so much more.Part 1: Get Clever About Voice Acting & Announcing Part 1, Becoming An Artist Kindle EditionPart 2: Get Clever About Voice Acting & Announcing Part 2, Recording & Editing Voiceovers Kindle EditionPart 3: Get Clever About Voice Acting & Announcing Part 3, Running Your Voiceover Business Kindle EditionThere's more about this episode on our show page!Thanks also to the people who make this show possible every week.PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I never realized how lucky I was to work alongside Maureen Holloway - until I no longer did. Mo is now the morning host with Darren B. Lamb on 98.1 CHFI in Toronto. Maureen is brutally honest about her career, her family, her relationships and her 2005 battle with cancer. I was working in Montreal at the time and she was quite open with the Mix 96 audience at the time. I did not know that she had not shared that with the rest of the radio affiliates outside of Montreal and Toronto.In this episode, Maureen and I grapple with what we could get away at the turn of the millenium and the unforgiving nature of cancel culture. That includes this episodes where we might have cracked a few jokes between us that would hold up well in this day and age. We also got into the silliness of gender reveal parties, not getting her name on the show marquee until later into her career, and some career advice for those coming up in radio. Practice fearlessness and get into what the late John Lewis described as "Good Trouble". Maureen is also the originator of working from home (the Last Word was done from her home studio) but she misses the camaraderie of working together with other creatives. There's more about this episode on our show page!Please support our sponsors including:PromosuiteMatt Fogarty VoiceoversJustin Dove at Core Image StudiosMegatraxSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.