There & Back Again: a Radio Story Voice Work for a Cup of Coffee
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November 23, 2015, Issue 475 There & Back Again: A Radio Story In 1987, 25-year-old Tom Baldrica was managing a Minneapolis sporting goods store when a 19-year-old buddy called him home to help launch a newly inherited radio station. “It was like the ultimate class project,” Baldrica says. “We picked the call letters, slogan and just made shit up. We put it on the air as Country on April 8, 1988.” Twenty-seven years later Baldrica’s back at WUSZ/Hibbing, MN (launched as WCDK), not just in afternoons, but as Corporate Country Brand Strategist for Midwest (CAT 9/4). Country Aircheck wanted to know more about his full-circle return. For The Records: Baldrica spent 21 years on the label side, of course, leaving radio for records in 1993. “The station was a Gavin reporter, so I got to know the guys calling from Nashville Pull House: WKXC/Augusta, GA hosts its annual like Jack Purcell, George Briner and the late greats David Haley Kicks 99 Guitar Pull. Pictured (l-r) are Big Loud’s David Clapper, and Chuck Thagard,” he says. Intrigued by Baldrica’s passion for MCA’s Sam Hunt, Dot’s EJ Bernas and Maddie & Tae’s the music, Thagard recruited him as Southeast regional for BNA. Maddie Marlowe and Tae Dye, Black River’s Craig Morgan The label years were exciting, especially early on. “What we and Megan Boardman, Elektra/WAR’s Jana Kramer, the accomplished at BNA with [Kenny] Chesney and Lonestar, and just station’s Chris O’Kelley, Hill’s Jeri Cooper, UMG/Nashville’s the group of people who were there, that’s what I loved most,” he Royce Risser, Valory’s Thomas Rhett and Ashley Sidoti and says. “And the first decade of the 2000s were just off the charts.” WAR’s Tom Starr. Water Tower Town: Midwest’s Tom Baldrica on the shore of Voice Work For A Cup Of Coffee Silver Lake in his hometown of Virginia, MN. For KYGO/Denver PD Eddie Haskell, it started when he was writing a promo for a London trip his station was giving away. “I thought, ‘Man, I’d really love to have a British person welcoming you to their country,’” he says. “I was thinking it would be nice if I knew somebody and then it hit me that I’d seen an article about Fiverr not too long ago.” If you’re not familiar, Fiverr is the site where, for $5, you can find almost anyone willing to do almost anything. When Haskell typed “British voiceover” into the search box, he sorted through hundreds of demos until he found the right one. “I wanted more of Eddie Haskell (continued on page 1) an elegant, almost snotty British,” he says. “I ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 23, 2015 Page 4 went through all the demos and found the lady. The promo was basically [voiceover talent John] Willyard doing most of it, then she PAGE THREE PIC comes back and does the details of the trip. I had her end it with, ‘Good luck and we look forward to seeing you.’” A $5 Paypal payment and four hours later, Haskell had a British read in his inbox. “It just added color to the promo,” he says. “It underscored the fact that it wasn’t just a normal flyaway, it was in London.” With hundreds or maybe thousands of people willing to read copy for $5, it begs the question: is this a threat to professional voiceover talents like Sean Caldwell? He says no. “If you needed to get your car painted, could you find somebody who would get a spray paint can and do it for $5?” he asks. “Yes you could, and you might have a car you’d be ok with, but most people wouldn’t.” Caldwell says among voiceover pros there are no worries about competition in this vein. “Fiverr is kind of the joke we use when we hear a horrible voice,” he says. Steele Imaging owner/voiceover talent Dave Steele agrees, with No Doubt About It: Then-KYGO/Denver personality a caveat. “If you’re operating in an environment where $5 is your Tad Svendsen (l) shares the studio with Neal McCoy budget, Fiverr is great,” he says. “But the people I work with expect in the early 2000s. Share your own nostalgic quality and that’s just something you’re not going to get on Fiverr.” moments at [email protected]. Steele says there are uses for it, like Haskell’s, comparing it to running to Walmart. “You want something cheap, you can go to Walmart,” he says. “You could pay more somewhere else and that need extra voices for commercials, but I don’t see it as a probably get better quality but if it just fulfills your need for $5, threat any more than some guy in the Congo who has pliers is a spend the $5. There’s no sense in spending the kind of money on threat to dentists,” he says. my rate to get one line if you’re only going to use me one-off and Haskell points to other uses that still wouldn’t take away from it’s going to cost you too much.” But he stresses those uses don’t the pros. “You may not want somebody who’s so polished that affect him. “The people I work with would never go, ‘Hey, give me it sounds like a promo,” he says, mentioning the ability to set up that $5 guy.’” phoners. “Maybe you just want someone with a quirky voice to Caldwell can find a non-competitive place for it, too. “The sound like street audio, and you can find somebody who fits that service might be useful to small market stations with limited staff sound and tell ‘em what to say.” ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 23, 2015 Page 6 And kudos to Shane Allen and the Capitol team on securing NO SHAVE NOVEMBER CHARTS 42 adds for Luke Bryan’s “Home Alone Tonight” featuring Karen Fairchild, topping this week’s board. NSN4SJK Overall Teams TW Name Total Reporting Panel Changes 1 Team Q $7,730 KSJO/San Jose is no longer a Country 2 Team WFRE $5,030 Aircheck/Mediabase reporter. 3 The Backwoods Boys $4,730 Weights for KKIX/Fayetteville, AR (1.9); 4 W. P. Carey $3,870 WGH/Norfolk (2.1) and WUSH/Norfolk 5 The Gumbo Guys $3,415 (1.8) were inadvertently omitted from last week’s 6 Leg Hair Don’t Care $2,350 weights page. Several Activator omissions were 7 Cat Country 107.3, Atlantic City $2,240 corrected as well. See the full updated weights 8 Curb Records $1,920 page here. 9 Sea Isle City Police $1,900 10 BBRMG $1,580 News & Notes Capitol’s Darius Rucker will guest host the United Stations’ NSN4SJK Radio Teams Tony & Kris morning show Friday (11/27). TW Name Total WKTI/Milwaukee and WPTM/Roanoke 1 TeamQ (KRWQ/Medford, OR) $7,730 Rapids, NC are new affiliates ofSun ’s The 2 Team WFRE $5,030 Hit List with Fitz. WEBL/Memphis has added 3 Cat Country 107.3, Atlantic City $2,240 The Country Club with Dee Jay Silver. 4 Team US101 $1,553 Songwriter/Producer Tommy Cecil has 5 Slacker Radio $740 signed a worldwide co-publishing deal with Sony/ATV and Missi Gallimore. NSN4SJK Label Teams Songwriter Sarah Beth Terry has signed a TW Name Total publishing deal with Creek Valley Music. Darius Rucker 1 Curb Records $1,190 Everlert, Inc. has acquired an 2 BBRMG $1,580 ownership position in Billy Ray Cyrus’ record 4 BMLG’s Beards For My Horses $1,120 label and publishing company Blue Cadillac Music. 3 Warner Whiskers $260 Watershed Music and Camping Festival will take place July 29- 5 Sony Music Nashville $80 31 and Aug. 5-7 at The Gorge in George, WA. More here. But for everything else? “If Eddie ever gets more money in the Artist News budget and wants to talk about voiceover work, have him call me,” Florida Georgia Line have joined the lineup for Carolina jokes Steele. Reach Haskell here, Caldwell here Country Music Fest June 10-12 in Myrtle Beach. More here. and Steele here. In addition to his Aug. 26 date at Foxborough, MA’s Gillette –Jess Wright Stadium, Kenny Chesney has added a second show at the stadium Aug. 27 as part of his 2016 Spread the Love tour. Chart Chat Jessi Alexander, Bobby Braddock, Lee Brice and Chris Congrats to Carrie Underwood, Steve Stapleton will headline The First And The Worst to benefitMusic Hodges, Lesly Simon, Andy Elliott and the Health Alliance Mar. 1 at Nashville’s City Winery. Details here. whole Arista team on landing this week’s No. 1 Craig Morgan has been nominated for Favorite Show Host for with “Smoke Break.” The song is the first single Carrie Underwood Craig Morgan All Access Outdoors at the 2016 Outdoor Sportsman from Underwood’s current album Storyteller. Awards. Voting is open to the public here through Dec. 6. ©2015 Country Aircheck™ — All rights reserved. Sign up free at www.countryaircheck.com. Send news to [email protected] November 23, 2015 Page 8 There & Back Again: A Radio Story MY TUNES: MUSIC THAT SHAPED MY LIFE (continued from page 1) Kimberly, Neil and Reid Baldrica rose to BNA VP in 1997 and served as VP/Marketing for Perry of Republic Nashville’s Sony/Nashville from 2006-2010.