Any Tips??

[djgary72]

Need to take my station on to another level and have some of the day to day stress taken off my shoulders! im thinking of taking on other DJ's any tips as to the best way to go about hiring DJ's???

[GKIye]

Internetradio stays something special

Station A has to much listeners and Station B has lesser or none

 

I guess in general 80s stations do it very good on the net ... so far I guess there are maybe to much of them

 

just my 2 cents of brainstorming

[Spinny]

Gary:

 

I've been involved with various Internet stations and one FM station for the last 7 years. As a manager, DJ, and training.

 

You have to be extremely careful. Once you do hire, keep one very important thing in mind. Before you fire anyone, always change passwords that you have given her/him. I've seen some crazy things happen to stations after firing someone.

 

On the application we asked technical questions that we felt were necessary for them to know about being a DJ, and, about their system. If they couldnt answer them, probably not worth hiring. But the bottom line is, you have to ask questions you are comfortable with that you believe will tell you whether they are trustworthy and capable of being a DJ.

 

Also, if your applicant has Dj'd before, find out what stations they were at and go talk with the manager of that station. No kidding....I've seen dj's say they have worked for someone and that manager told me they never heard of them. And than there's the drama kings and queens who thrive on causing hate and dis-content at stations. The managers of those other stations will tell you all about that. If the applicant has had alot of technical problems at other stations that could be an indicator of serious system issues that you don't want. On the other hand it could be that station only that the DJ was having probs with. Finally, if the DJ has been working at alot of stations over the course of a year, that is another indicator of serious headaches for you.

 

Ask for a clip so you can hear their voice. Trust me on this, some internet dj's sound absolutely horrible. And if they can't provide it or don't know how to provide it, thats a good indicator that you will be doing alot of training.

 

Don't be afraid to take on a first time DJ if you have the time to train. I've seen some very good first timers. In fact we just hired one at the local FM station, turned out to be fantastic. On the other hand, first timers require alot of training and feedback....you have to have the time for it.

 

Make sure the DJ's you hire actually like the music you are playing. I firmly believe that it makes them better DJ's and their knowledge of that music is on a increased level when they enjoy the music.

 

Put an application, one page in length on your site. Before interviewing, you can do all the necessary homework. Don't get personal right away, it turns people off. Keep everything about being a DJ and their history of being a DJ with questions about their system. When you interview do it via voice on skype or teamspeak. You can hear their voice and get an idea of what they sound like. Both of those systems are free and are a good way to have meetings, etc.

 

Make sure they have the necessary software, etc. Some DJ's want the station to pay for everything...LOL Yea right!

 

Don't be afraid to do your homework on applicants. It will save you alot of grief later on down the road. And don't be afraid to ask the tough questions. It's your station and your hard work. One DJ can indeed ruin it all.

 

Before you hire anyone, come up with a set of general rules you can hand out. Don't get to detailed with rules. Just general rules like "radio edit music only"....."you must be on time for your show".....etc etc. One important note here....if you run requests, make sure their playlist looks professional. Some playlists look horrible and it is a good indicator of how detailed the Dj is. How a playlist looks is also a good indicator of whether they are illegally downloading or not, that's a headache you don't want.

 

And finally, do they do multiple things like production. Now this is a sore subject with alot of people. For instance, I do production...am I good at it? Thats a matter of opinion, I know I am an amateur. But it is something you have to be careful of because of the professionalism of your station. If they do production have them send you samples and you can decide whether they are good enough for your station.

 

I could sit here and write a novel about this, but the bottom line is, you have to go with your gut feeling.

 

Spinny

[djgary72]

Cheers for that spinny .... Yes i remember what its like having worked for a station in the past now its my turn to try but still busy writing my DJ start up page atm !