You Tell Me What's Next

Tara Sands (Voiceover)  0:02  
The sound off podcast, the show about podcast and broadcast starts now.

Matt Cundill  0:12  
Let's start this episode by wishing the podcast a very happy birthday. It all started nine years ago, and I've been putting out one episode a week since 2016 roughly, the show has evolved in a lot of ways. For instance, the sound has improved. The Tech has come a long way. We've got dynamic ad insertion. We got sponsors. We hired an external editor after episode 265 and in recent years, I added video reluctantly, but I did get around to adding video because, well, we live in a scrolling world. I love working in the podcast business because it's exciting to wake up each morning and see what the future brings. The content of the show has changed too. The show is rooted in traditional broadcast, but today we focus on bringing in people who can help, anybody who's going to be creating audio, whether it's for a podcast, radio, YouTube, voiceover, doesn't really matter, and media is moving faster than ever. I think this quote from Rob Greenlee, which I shared a few weeks ago on my other show, the podcast Super Friends, is worth hearing just one more time, even if you're going to roll your eyes at this. You know, he's right.

Rob Greenlee  1:22  
If you want to create a show, it's going to be a lot easier for you to get off the ground as an audio program, and then as you kind of grow that show, maybe grow and develop into creating like maybe shorts, but you try and offer value on these other platforms to get attention to you. Really, more importantly, because I think the personal branding part is really more important than the show right now, getting your name out there, getting your expertise out there, getting your face out there, it's just a matter of getting started, and that's our conversations, because everybody wants to be Joe Rogan in the first month. And if you don't hit that, if that's what your expectations are, then you gonna quit

Matt Cundill  2:02  
what I say and what I do is generally two different things. I really try to avoid scrolling. But let's be honest, I see a bunch of shows on Instagram reels or YouTube shorts, and it makes me feel connected, and yet I've never downloaded the shows or listened to them. Back in the old days when radio listeners filled out paper diaries. Actually, they're still doing that the key wasn't what you listened to, it's what you remembered listening to. Now with video, we're seeing all kinds of content, some good, some bad, but essentially it's really being used to market something else. Looking back over the last nine years of this show, it's exciting to see how it's grown. I love it, but then I look at radio and I see something else. I see it being pulled in two different directions. Remember Stretch Armstrong, that stretchy rubber toy from 1976 Well, that's what it feels like to create content in radio today. The business side wants you to do more voice tracking and basic on air stuff, but at the same time, they expect you to build channels and expand your reach and distribute your content everywhere. So it's no wonder people in radio feel stretched. There's a huge disconnect between management, the big corporate owners, and the people on the mic, and this is why it feels radio is struggling. There's a huge disconnect between those who own radio stations and those who perform on radio stations. Don't just take it from me. Jacobs media surveyed 35,000 radio listeners across 500 US, station email, databases, and for the seventh year in a row, the number one reason listeners say they tune in, it's not the music, it's for the personalities. So why aren't personalities talking more being more personable? Why are we still getting 12 songs every hour? Why are we still telling advertisers and sales teams that music is the main driver? Take a moment and listen to a local radio station. Is the station any good? Are the voice tracks being drowned out by the music or vice versa? Does it even blend or mix? Are you being served six minutes of ads every half hour? Is the alleged personality saying that was this is and coming up the weather? Now I want to be clear that voice tracking isn't necessarily the problem here. There's some amazing talent out there that don't need to be live or local to be relevant and amazing. Yes, it does happen. Radio is still a top choice for many, but the user experience, I feel it's declined, and that's bad news for a business that largely depends on recall. I consider myself to be a heavy user of radio at home and in the car. Here's what I tuned into last week, Fox Sports Radio, 98k u, p, d from Arizona. 107, the peak from Hudson Valley, New York. 98 rock, Tampa Bay. Two. Q, 104, Halifax, 89.3 the current from Minneapolis and alt, 98 seven, Los Angeles. Just one Canadian station on that list. Some weeks it's more. Other times, none. I can basically have a can con listing free experience anytime I want. So what is this thing the CRTC is doing trying to establish what is CanCon. I took a look at the commissioner's resumes. The word radio appears zero times in all their bios. Yet these people are going to come together and come up with some sort of manufactured on air can con outcome. I'm really not sure they know how the technology of radio even works today, or how listeners are truly engaging with it. I'm not advocating for zero can con Canadian radio shall and should be good citizens and stewards of the Canadian music industry. But if I can skip a song with one tap on Apple CarPlay, what's the point? And here's the takeaway, for radio, I'd be far less likely to leave if I felt connected, say to a host. So here's a wild idea, play less music, talk more. It's something I've been advocating since September of 2020. The spoken word is beautiful and more in demand than ever.

Tara Sands (Voiceover)  6:15  
Transcription of the sound off podcast is powered by the podcast Super Friends, five podcast producers who get together to discuss

Matt Cundill  6:24  
podcasting, sharpen your podcast and creation skills by following the show on the sound off podcast, YouTube or Facebook page, the sound off podcast with Matt Cundill last week in Ottawa and Vancouver, we saw more talent let go and replaced with the cheapest, easiest alternative. In the case of Ottawa, it's not even people already stretched too thin and now being stretched even further for the same or less money. It's turning the transmitter off completely. I used to tell corporate radio they could get their expenses down to zero if they just turned off the station. I never meant for them to take that advice. The chorus building in Ottawa is now empty. I asked someone what was going on, and they said they were having trouble selling the station. I couldn't tell if they meant selling ads on the station or selling the stations themselves. I didn't even bother with the follow up question. If you have been caught up in a layoff, I've got two episodes for you. One with Seth Ressler called solutions for the dislocated, and another with Mac Pritchard called find your dream job. That's also the name of his podcast, which you should subscribe to, tons of information and hacks on getting out of radio completely or finding your next job in media, broadcasting or any form of communications. So I know I'm repeating myself here from before the break, but one of the big reasons radio is here is because it relies too much on music. Why is it that FM is so regulated around song quotas? In Canada, you can get those songs anywhere. In 1989 I paid $17.99 for Fascination street from the cure today for a monthly price of 1799 I can have their whole catalog, along with every other record ever made on Spotify. So it's time for radio in Canada to break its music addiction. No listener is fooled by iconic hits. You can get that anywhere and AI it's just gonna wind up curating music to the listener better than you. So go where the creativity is, make incredible audio, make the listener experience awesome. Again. That's what I'm trying to do, and it's why I've put up a listener survey right now at soundoff podcast.com you'll also find it linked in the show notes, and I've got questions like, What do you like? What do you like on this show? What don't you like? How often do you listen? Would you pay for an ad free version of this show? What industry are you in anyhow, and who do you want to listen to as a guest on this show? In return, you will get my top 10 podcast hacks for 2025 I know what you're thinking. You'd prefer an Amazon gift card, but I'm running this podcast on the exact same promotional budget I was given for seven years. A couple more things to mention, the Winnipeg radio reunion was last week.

Racoon Carney  9:14  
It is exactly 930 in Winnipeg from your number one music station, ckrc, with Iraq is breaking every radio

Matt Cundill  9:25  
so much talent in the room. Randy Renaud from shome, Alan Cross from the Ongoing History of New Music, were both in town visiting family and made time to come by. Those guys were rooted in the city. Randy was on 92 city FM. And Alan, who is from Stonewall. Manitoba started his career at q 94 legends in the room included brother Jake Edwards, Terry DeMonte, Don Percy, Raccoon, Carney, Howard, Krueger, Russ Tyson, the legendary Howard manche, Tom Milroy, Alex Michaels, Courtney James and many, many more. And I'm sorry if I left your name out, the feeling in the room was. Was definitely rooted in the past. Felt like we were living in the rear view mirror, and I'm not always comfortable with that, but I will admit that I do that too. I've got a history degree, so I know to succeed in the future, you need to understand the past. And the past, it was created by great people with a microphone and something to say, and those stations, especially 92 city FM, still live on with the legacy that those people helped build. Here's the lesson, find great talent, nurture them, pay them well, and then charge more for ads. Alan Cross wrote about the event and the nostalgia involved with it, and I've linked that in the show notes too. And finally, something I mentioned on the sounding off newsletter a few weeks ago, I made a big purchase at the podcast show in London. It's a studio bricks voiceover booth. After moving recently, I just felt I couldn't get my sound right. It was good, but it wasn't right. But now, if you listen closely, I think you might notice a difference. There'll be more changes being made as I renovate the studios going forward, I figured it was time to invest a little bit in the voice over side of what I do. I don't often plug the voice over side on the podcast, but I am the station voice of some great stations like the Super Q in Columbia, Ohio, wmqa the island in Minocqua, Wisconsin, and seven other stations across America. If you want a sample for your station, send me some copy, happy to read it for you. If you like it, we do business. That's it for now. Please take the survey at sound off podcast.com or via the link in our show notes, and if I made you feel uncomfortable or offended you in any way, well, that means I did my job. The

Tara Sands (Voiceover)  11:41  
sound off podcast is written and hosted by Matt Cundill, produced by Evan sirminsky, edited by Taylor McLean, social media by Aiden glassy, another great creation from the sound off media company. There's always more at sound off podcast.com you.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai