Guests

Matt speaks with the host of Productivity Straight Talk about handling the mess that is your inbox. It just doesn't have to be this way.

Blair Bartrem is the program director at Toronto’s Q107. Over his 30 plus year’s in radio, Blair has worked in promotions and as program director at legendary brands like CHOM-FM, Q107, Mix 96 & Mix 99.9 in Montreal and Toronto. His promotions have ranged for award-winning to haven’t always rubbed everyone the right way. What goes into a making a great station brand? Hiring great people and not “boxing them in”, writing fun and catchy promos, and having a passion for what you do. Blair also shared parts of his personal side including growing up in a household with creative siblings, and how he fell for his wife, Karen Steele who programs a competing station, Virgin Radio.

In this week's episode, we visit with Dave Bannerman, one of the richest sources of intel on Canadian radio in the twentieth century. He retired earlier this year from his role as radio-TV-journalism instructor at Nova Scotia Community College.

Matt Cundill speaks with now former morning host at 92 CITIFM in Winnipeg, Dave Wheeler

Jeff Vidler’s company Audience Insights teamed up with Jeff Ulster and conducted a deep dive n podcasting. The study was commissioned by the Globe & Mail. The study’s goal is to help podcasters develop content strategy, increase opportunities for monetization and create a road map for growing a young and diverse new audience. There were questions about the types of podcasts consumed, where they listen to them, demographics, and the most interesting stat – when they started consuming podcasts. I’ll spoil it now – 74% of respondents said it was within the last 3 years, and 41% in the last year. Numbers like that speak volumes to podcasting’s ascension. You can download the podcast study here: https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b9f0d2_8411a2fefd7948399be55f1197f28a85.pdf Jeff will be appearing at the OAB Conference and offering insights on Generation X. This is an ample opportunity to take about the generation sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials. Now that they make up the 35-54 demogr…

Seth Resler has just released a new podcast called the D-Brief. He has experimented with everything from backstage podcasts at conferences, to travel podcasts, and finally realized that he really hated audio post-production, and that having your hard drives full of audio created creative clutter. The D-Brief is a Detroit-centric podcast that has little post production, and co-hosts with strong role definition. If that sounds like the characteristics of a morning show - that was the plan. If you are in radio and considering an idea for a podcast, Seth tells you that yes you can keep it local, and he shares his processes for launching the D-Brief. Yes - there were practice episodes involved. Seth also spoke about his podcast episode with talent coach Steve Reynolds at the World Wide Radio Summit. You can check it out here on Apple Podcasts. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/2-3-steve-reynolds-of-the-reynolds-group/id1036229375?i=1000376526341&mt=2 Sponsored by NLogic - http://bit.ly/2…

The Sound Off Studios are being renovated this week, so I took unloading some house keeping. Namely, I answer questions that I get asked a lot about podcasting. Can I make money podcasting? Should I do a podcast? How long should a podcast be? Also, I play two never before heard stories from two of our most popular episodes. Charles Adler recounts the story of how he almost became Terry Dimonte’s co-host at Whom in the late 80’s. And Broadway Bill Lee reminds radio never to give the listener programming that they don’t expect. Seems simple right? But yet it happened. The show is brought to you by Promosuite. Please visit their site and go paperless. http://www.promosuite.com/mattcundill I also promised you a lot of podcast information. That has been posted on the show blog for this episode here. http://bit.ly/2z7RskP Evan’s Voiceover site: http://www.evanvoiceovers.com Amanda’s New Website: http://www.amandaloganVO.com The Audience surveys is here http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey…

Sheri Lynch bought her own show. Yes, I know that sounds really weird considering that her name is in the Marquee, but she essentially got tired of trying to manoeuvre her branding through radio station filters, that she take ownership of the whole thing. In this episode, Sheri will share the reasons why you might want to start down a similar road; or at the very least understand just what digital properties you own, and which one belong to your employer. The Bob and Sheri show is headquartered...

When the NFL announced they had a partnership with a British company to carry what was NFL Sunday Ticket via streaming, major alarm bells sounded in my head. Not one to rebuff change, I welcomed our UK overlords and their streaming television idea because frankly - what choice did I have. After 5 weeks of Canadians paying for a service that often doesn't work, I reach out to Sean Meade, owner of the @DAZNSucks Twitter account, and defacto leader in our quest to bring NFL Sunday Ticket back to cable. So far, two cable companies have struck deals. After 5 weeks of NFL action, Canadians are wondering how they are going to cope with this for the next 5 years; while I try to answer the obvious question: How does this even happen? This episode is powered by Promosuite - check them out here. http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff Take our audience survey. http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&ver=standard

Donna Halper is an associate professor of media at Lesley University. She is also in the process of leading an incredible life in radio as a music director, later as a consultant, and now as a professor of media. She is largely credited for breaking new bands including Rush when she was the music director of WMMS in Cleveland.

Lauren Hunter from Sonic 102.9 in Edmonton is in the hot seat this week. Apart from a brief stint in Kelowna, she has been in Edmonton her whole life and knows the city well. We talk about everything from how to tackle the social media beast, to what makes a post go viral, and, of course, Connor McDavid and the Connor McPortrait. This episode is brought to you by Promosuite, who has been proudly shredding paper for over 25 years. Tackle the pile of paper on your desk by visiting http://promosuite.com/soundoff Production imaging is provided by Core Image Studios http://www.jd2.ca/ Voiceover by Amanda Logan. http://www.amandalogan.ca/voicework/

This week Jason Barrett from Barrett Sports Media joins us after a tumultuous summer that saw Sports and Politics further collide. There were also a number of sports personalities making the news for all the wrong reasons, and ESPN found itself at the center of most national headlines for layoffs or damage control. With the new NFL season upon us, there is no better time to reach out to Jason Barrett to get us ready for the upcoming fall sports season. We spoke about the changes in NFL Sundays with the additional of Tony Romo, and the subtraction of Chris Berman. As well we try to make sense of the NFL's decision to sell all the Sunday Ticket and Gamepass Canadian rights to a digital company in England. aka. The DAZN Debacle. Please follow Jason @sportsradiopd on Twitter; his podcast on itunes here - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/barrett-sports-media-podcast/id1203576506?mt=2 The podcast is brought to you by Nlogic - http://go.nlogic.ca/l/130651/2017-04-26/m2xt4 If your radi…

Sometime around 2007, it became about websites and monetizing them. The company I was working for started to remove the digital parts our station was using. The preverbal shit hit the fan and I knew that the people in charge didn’t have a clue on how to use digital to monetize the future. Sadly, the problem persists to this day where there are people in charge who don’t have a digital strategy. Their stations were probably down in revenue from year to year; bolstering their profit margin with some cleaver cost-cutting that masks the problem. In the years after, I was honoured to work with the team at Socast to strengthen our brands via social media, website and the host of other tools. I found that brothers, Elliot and Sandy, along with others that I worked with including Eric Eisen and Sanford Lui, were excited about those who were in radio. In this week’s episode, I speak with Socast CEO Elliott Hurst about why his company LOVES radio and how your station needs to shift into the dig…

Jamie Watson is more than a station voice. He works with imaging producers, program directors, and morning shows. He started writing and voicing commercials, and parlayed those talents into becoming a leading voice for radio imaging, commercials and cartoons. In this episode, Jamie tells us about the writing and voicing process, and the importance of creating a promo that isn't going to waste the listeners time. I had the joy of working with Jamie for a number of years and over that time, I quickly learned the value of writing strong promos. This episode is brought to you by Promosuite Next! http://www.promosuitenext.com/soundoff To contact Jamie to be apart of your radio station - https://www.jamiewatsonvoice.com/ Take our audience survey. http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&ver=standard

Matt Sutton worked with me in 2013 and 2014. On my trip home from Podcast Movement, we went to lunch.... and made a podcast at the same time. Matt Sutton is the afternoon host at Z95 in Vancouver. I got off the play just before 11am and we went to hit the Wicklow Pub where I pulled out my recorder and announced we were going to be doing a podcast. He didn't think it was for real. It was. We spent our time talking about the positives, perils and pitfalls of both broadcast and podcast. The podcast is sponsored by Promosuite. http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff Feel free to take our survey - http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&ver=standard

We wander the halls of Podcast Movement 2017 in Anaheim. I provide a few takeaways of things I have learned so far, plus catch up with some of the notables who have been on our podcast before, or are starting a new podcast shortly. I was speaking on a panel this year at the Jacob's Media sponsored, "Broadcaster Meet Podcaster" event. Radio had it's biggest turnout so far, and by all accounts are slowly find a place for podcast in the radio radio toolbox. Some of the people you will meet in this episode include: Perry Michael Simon from AllAccess.com - his new podcast is on Apple Podcasts and located here. https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-evening-bulletin-with-perry-michael-simon/id1274500557?mt=2 Amber DelaGarza is the host of Productivity Straight Talk. Her new podcast is here. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/productivity-straight-talk-how-to-improve-personal/id1239598006?mt=2 (By the way, that's Matt Cundill providing the voiceover) And Jessica Rhodes is one of the …

Peter Anthony Holder has interviewed a lot of people. From the famous to the quirky, his weekly show "The Stuph File" is syndicated on radio stations around the world and delivered in podcast form every Sunday night. Peter has a new book out now called "Great Conversations: My Interviews with Two Men on the Moon and a Galaxy of Stars." He picked up his interview craft working in radio at Montreal's CJAD. The show later was simulcast on CFRB Toronto before layoffs pushed the show to further syndication and podcast. Being a multi-platform form at 56-58 minutes, it fits nicely onto a radio station with a talk format late at night. To buy his book - https://www.amazon.com/Great-Conversations-Peter-Anthony-Holder/dp/1629331791 To inquire about acquiring the show to air on your talk station - email peter@peteranthonyholder.com This week's show is powered by Promosuite! Please support our sponsor simply by clicking on the link and seeing if their products would make life at your radio …

Rob Greenlee is the Head of Content at Spreaker. Recently, I spoke with him on a panel at the Conclave Radio Learning Conference in Minneapolis. At the end of the session, the moderator and panelists all felt we had a few more things we could have gotten to if time had permitted. No worries. That's what podcast is for! Rob and I spoke about some of the things radio does well with podcast, and some of the things they don't do well. We catch up with some of the podcast headlines that have dominated over the past few months, including Apple releasing metrics, Soundcloud's woes, and whether Spotify is a contender or pretender in podcast. I also invite the program director of 93X, Derek Madden and his podcast co-host from KCBS Matt Kolski to talk about their podcast, The Toy Department. This is one of many podcasts "Made by Radio". More have been posted here. http://bit.ly/2w6Lqfl The podcast episode this week is brought to you by NLogic http://go.nlogic.ca/l/130651/2017-04-26/m2xt4

Dahlia Kurtz does not do things conventionally. She has worked in radio, written a national newspaper column, nearly went to the Olympics, and spent her first day in radio under water. And she lived to tell me about it. We worked together for a period when she was at 680 CJOB in Winnipeg and I felt the need to catch up with her. The link to her demo: http://www.dahliakurtz.com/my-uncover-letter Her full webpage is here - http://www.dahliakurtz.com/ This episode is brought to you by NLogic and their new cloud based application Lens for radio. http://go.nlogic.ca/l/130651/2017-04-26/m2xt4

Alan Burns has been consulting radio stations since the mid 80's, and knows a thing or two about change. His company Alan Burns and Associates has had long standing relationships with some of the biggest brands across North America. His company is well known for their "What Women Want" research which always creates more than one a-ha moment upon reveal. Now comes word that headphone listening is more pervasive than ever, which should sound more than a few alarm bells for radio stations who rely on PPM for their results. We discuss that and more. This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Promosuite - www.promosuite.com/soundoff

Ira Haberman is the host of the Sound Podcast and passionate about storytelling, and the Grateful Dead. Put it together, and that's a podcast. He has hosted the Sound Podcast since December, but its success has radio roots as he was working as creative director for Corus Entertainment's Deep Sky in Toronto in 2003, and segued to digital content in 2008, right when it all began to happen. We look back at the last 9 years of how digital has changed radio, what it has done right and wrong, and what the future looks like. If you are on the fence about your great idea - Ira will push you off it and get you going. (I think he actually gives you permission to do it) If you want to contact Ira to work with your new podcast or get some social media help, he is on every platform known to the internet - and through the podcast website. https://www.thesoundpodcast.com/contact/ This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Promosuite - www.promosuite.com/soundoff

The legendary Tootall from CHOM 97.7FM in Montreal.

Dave Farough has a lot of ideas about radio. Today he published some of those ideas on his LinkedIn page entitled "If I Had a clean Sheet of Paper" and I asked them if I could add them to my page - and then the only thing that was missing, was the companion podcast. On this Canada Day in 2017, we spent our time talking about radio and tossing out ideas that could move it forward. So of these ideas aren’t new - but they also haven’t been tried yet. This episode is why I started the podcast: To table new ideas about what radio could be. If you want to contact Dave to work with your stations, e-mail him at dfarough@cogeco.ca. This episode of the podcast is brought to you by Promosuite - http://www.promosuite.com/soundoff - Finally - take our survey for the podcast here. http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=c-pwg3hNJ1tz&ver=standard At the beginning of the show, you heard part of the new single from Skye Holland called, "We Could Be". Download it and bring it to your next mu…

Fred Jacobs is the president of Jacobs Media. Their tech surveys have become increasingly important as we progress through the digital revolution. The survey itself undergoes changes with the inclusion of new questions about personal assistant devices like Alexa. Which brings me to Podcast itself. Jacobs Media went all-in on podcasting a few years ago and I met up with Fred Jacobs and Seth Resler at Podcast Movement 16 in Chicago. This year they have partnered with the Podcast Movement Organizers to create Broadcaster meet Podcaster. You can read more about this exciting opportunity here. http://jacobsmedia.com/broadcasters-podcast-movement/ If you do wind up going to the conference in Anaheim August 23-25, please let me know so we can meet for a coffee or any of the other fine beverages served in the lobby bar. Of great interest to all radio people is this webinar that shows the relationship radio listeners have with podcasting. The webinar was done by Fred on June 15th and you can w…