Okay, so I haven't jumped into many topics in the past, but I do have something to add. When I started in radio, I had no idea what the job I was doing was worth. So I asked around and nobody would give solid figures. I barely got a salary range. But because I figured if I work hard and get some experience, my pay would go up.
I was hired on the verbal promise that my salary would go up in 6 months. 4 months later, the PD was fired, and I was stuck at that figure for 3 years. Stupid, I know, but once again, work hard, get experience, pay raise.
One of the resources that I did find was R&R's salary chart, that broke down average salaries based on position and market size. I figured out I was grossly underpaid for what I was doing, so instead of asking for a raise, I decided I needed to upgrade my position. I moved up to middays, and got a $10,000 raise. Sweet! Well, except for I was grossly underpaid before, so now I was very underpaid. So once again I didn't worry about the money. I decided to keep getting more experience and try to keep moving up.
When I became PD/Afternoons, I figured NOW it's time to get paid! I paid my dues, worked to get the necessary experience and was rewarded with PD stripes! So when I met with my GM, I was ready. I had my R&R salary chart (by this time it was 3 years old, so I thought those figures would be a little low). I did as much research as I could on other afternoon personalities in top ten markets to see what they are getting paid, and I came in with a figure that felt was fair. I understand that many PDs in smaller markets also did airshifts, but I don't know of one in Boston. So I used the PD figure without adding in the afternoon numbers. (I'll give you all the numbers at the end)
I ended up with less than 1/3 the average salary of PDs in top ten markets! Yes I was an inexperienced PD. Yes this was my first afternoon position. Yes it was Boston, not New York, Los Angeles or Chicago. Yes my station underperformed financially (I think… that's what was always told to us). But I was being paid like a PD in markets 101-150! But because I didn't know what my counterparts REALLY made, in Boston, other top ten markets, other stations in my company, other Urban stations, etc, I felt I had no wiggle room. If you are passionate about radio, can you really walk away from a golden opportunity to be a PD/Afternoon personality in a major market because of money, especially if you don't really know if their offer is good or not?
And that is my major point. Owners don't want you to know what other people are getting paid because if you have that information, you can use that against them. If you don't know where the ceiling or the floor is, you have no idea what salary to negotiate. Usually an air personality doesn't know what the billing of the station is, so it's impossible to know if the amount you are asking for makes sense. And an owner can always say they are not making enough money to pay you what you want, so you have a choice: take what they give you or walk. If you don't know your worth, you don't know if walking make sense. It's almost like buying a car. If you have the invoice price of what the dealership paid for a vehicle, you can negotiate a much better deal than if you just pay what the dealership says what you should pay. If there was an Edmunds.com for radio salaries, I would gladly pay for that information!
So knowing salaries for specific people is great if you are using it as a guide. Obviously you can't say "Matty makes over a million, so I should make a million too." But at least if you know what he is making, and you are honest with yourself, you can figure out a number you are comfortable asking for.
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I know putting my figures out there makes me look stupid for taking such little money, but if I can help other people have a little more of a clue in dealing with their negotiations, it's worth looking stupid.
Urban Contemporary Station (market dropped from 8th to 11th in 5 years)
Year 1: Morning Show Producer of nationally syndicated show—$22,000 (yes, I know, in Boston that is crazy!)
Year 2: Morning Show Producer/Fill-in midday personality for 13 months—$22,000 (they saved a whole year's salary using me; they gave me a $1,100 bonus for doing middays)
Year 3: Morning Show Producer—$22,000
Year 4: Midday Personality—$33,000
Year 5: Midday Personality—$33,000 (oh, I forgot: there just happened to be a wage freeze EVERY year I was with the company!)
Urban Contemporary/Urban AC Hybrid in market #11
Year 6: Program Director/Afternoon Personality—$55,000 (no ratings bonus)
Year 7: Program Director/Afternoon Personality—$55,000 (station was sold in August 2006)
Rhythmic Station in market #59
Year 8: Program Director/Afternoon Personality—$66,000 ($50,000 base—potential $2,000 per quarter bonus for #1 18-34 overall and afternoons) BTW in Dayton I made what I should have made based on the research I did, and I received the maximum bonus for every book overall and afternoons!
