Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

A missed opportunity for many shows is in not aligning with the music on the radio station.  I know this from experience – we often see our show as separate from the station brand and many times we are much more focused on our content.  The biggest thing you hopefully have in common with the audience is your love of the music you play.  I’ve launched numerous shows from that foundation and it always works to form a relationship with listeners.  It’s especially powerful at a classic rock station.  Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix know and love the music they play.  They found a local promoter who has had hundreds of encounters with the format’s iconic artists and convinced him to tell them stories about a few.  This clip proves the power of talking about the music and telling stories as the promoter tells a terrific tale about Lindsey Buckingham (from Fleetwood Mac) and how difficult he was to deal with.

There are very simple things you can do to make a good, very relatable break, even better.  David, Sue, and Kendra, Magic 106.7, Boston were talking about the toys that are due to be inducted into the Toy Hall of Fame.  This is very logical content, especially for their audience.  The team gets to reminisce about toys from their childhood, bringing back terrific memories for listeners.  Psychologically, retro content like this makes people feel warm and safe and reminds them of a happier time in their lives, especially now with all the craziness. What accelerates this break below and makes it even better for the audience is the simple use of audio.  They talk about a toy, and here’s audio associated with it (i.e. the TV commercial for it).  It’s in that audio that the content comes more alive and they are in a better spot to keep listeners engaged in their topic.  In every break you do, ask when mapping it out, what audio exists (or what audio can you create) that will help that break perceptually for listeners who bore easily with just conversation.