Featured Article: Should you outsource your radio station imaging?

The UK radio industry has gone through its ups and downs in recent years and with the recession still hanging over our heads radio stations tend to be laying talent off and closing down rather than hiring.

Many radio station programmers will, at one point or another, consider outsourcing all of their radio station imaging needs or perhaps a part of it to an outside company but can you really get a unique sound for your radio station by outsourcing production?

There are many reasons that outsourcing production of radio station jingles, promos and voice over liners could be a great idea.

1. Saving money

Money can be a tight issue at the radio stations especially when there is no sponsor to pick up the bill. When times are tough radio station imaging, that some would perceive as a luxury, tends to be one of the first expenses that simply disappears. Stations tend to use their in-house talent to both voice and produce audio as there’s always plenty of talent out there ready to take on a new challenge! And you can always turn to sales office for a helping ‘voice’ and get them to record a line or two – right?

With all of that in-house talent available why would anyone even consider an outside company?

You can actually save money by doing so. Plenty of companies that do offer you an ‘all in’ service also cover S&P activities. Those promotional adverts can be sold for a fee which could simply cover all the costs.

2. Access to more talent

Unless you’re the BBC it’s unlikely that you’ll have producers, singers, musicians and even an orchestra at your radio station when you need them. If you outsource to a company that already has the talent and team to make it all happen you can relax in the knowledge that the audio production skills you need are just a phone call or email away.

It is and always will be about a great sound – taking your station to that next level has never been more important than now especially with the option of alternative media (such as podcasts, internet radio and on demand TV services) available to your listeners.

Audio production companies will have access to a variety of accents, languages and styles not always available to a radio station using in-house talent.

3. No worries!

Once you’ve found an audio production company that you like the sound of and know you can trust there is no need to worry about or micro-manage projects. You know that you can provide a brief and top quality audio will be back with you, fast.

The likelihood is that your radio station is already using an outside company (or companies) for all commercial production needs – why not do the same with your station imaging and promos? Simply leave it to a company that lives, breathes and eats audio production.

It might not all be so easy however. The are many challenges a radio station may face when trying to find the right company for them. Some of the questions that will most probably be going through a radio station programmer’s mind are:

• Are they going to be able to deliver fast? (It’s all about ‘I need it for yesterday’ in many cases when it comes to getting audio on the air).

• Will they be able to provide me with good quality recordings and a variety of voices?

• Will they understand what I need without being here at the radio station?

• Will I actually save money by doing this?

The truth is – you will need to do a good amount of research and as with anything out there it will be a case of trying before you buy.

There are production companies out there (such as Music Radio Creative) that offer a free one off taster production so that you can try them out first before you commit to any type of relationship and they also offer a money back guarantee should you be unhappy with the service.

You can get your production needs covered for as little as £400 per month.

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