What You Need To Know About Making A Radio Demo
1. Focus. Work out what type of presenter/producer you want to be – always tailor your demo accordingly. Take inspiration from your heroes, but don’t imitate. Remember you can always have more than one demo, like a tailored CV.
2. Always keep a record or your shows. Your demo is a three-four minute collection of your best bits. It’s your only chance to make an impression, so be harsh with yourself.
3. Don’t start the demo with the opening menu of a show and finish with goodbye. Don’t welcome the audience to the show – you’re joining them. There’s no need for more than three-four seconds of music when introing and outroing tracks.
4. Think about making a demo in the style of the station you want to work for. It demonstrates passion, effort and that you understand what the programmer is doing.
5. Don’t send CDs. Those days are gone – create a SoundCloud link and email it. Some stations want you to email mp3 attachments too. The key is to make it easy to listen to. Keep the email short – A cover letter and your CV.
Become a star before you get on air. Make sure you have a social media profile and that you’re interested and interesting.