Voicetrack or no Voicetrack ?

[KXRX]

Greetings to all. So I was driving around today and I had KMPS on. I noticed whomever the lady was that was on the air at the time kept talking over the starting of the singer singing many times. So I thought to myself it must be voicetracked. My question is to those in the know....what stations....at what times are voicetracked? I just thought it would be interesting to see. Thanks!

 

[crainbebo]

They do that a LOT. Talk over the beginning of the song (instrumental part) with listener talk via phone or a contest bumper. I find that annoying sometimes. And then both Pat Garrett (KMPS) and Wingnut (KKWF) do some stupid things at the end of the song (sing along in the mic, or give his opinion over the song playing!)

-crainbebo

 

[bossbill]

First of all, I know they do it because they can, but it doesn't make it right. How does a station that grosses $10 million a year find it necessary to voice-track? Worse, even the networks are doing it.

Secondly, all the big automation companies allow perfect "talk-up" to vocals. Why then would the voice-track talent be so careless as to not do it.

Thirdly, I had fun this week listening to a competitor who claims to be "live and local". Over the course of an hour, used up all the voice-tracks for the afternoon, then it was a jukebox with liners for another two hours, until 3pm when tracking started again as if nothing had gone wrong.

 

[Bongwater]

First of all, I know they do it because they can, but it doesn't make it right. How does a station that grosses $10 million a year find it necessary to voice-track? Worse, even the networks are doing it.

Secondly, all the big automation companies allow perfect "talk-up" to vocals. Why then would the voice-track talent be so careless as to not do it.

Thirdly, I had fun this week listening to a competitor who claims to be "live and local". Over the course of an hour, used up all the voice-tracks for the afternoon, then it was a jukebox with liners for another two hours, until 3pm when tracking started again as if nothing had gone wrong.

Voicetracking has it's place but it shouldn't be a resting place. And I agree with Bill, if your station is raking in $10 million, you don't need it at all really.

 

[AQH]

Voicetracking has it's place but it shouldn't be a resting place......

I think someone hacked Larry's login.

 

[Wonderfulwino]

My last boss (and it was my last boss) in the biz said something long ago in a sales staff meeting I was sitting in on that told me it was time to go find a real job: "Live announcers playing records all day and nothing else is a total drain on our operating budget".

 

[bobdavcav]

First off, answering the question, I'm not sure about CBS or Entercom, but I would assume they are live an local when they have DJs on the air. I do know for sure that KQMV is live and local around the clock from at least 5 A on Monday through at least midnight on Saturday and they are live and local during most dayparts on weekends. However, having only stayed up all night once and that was on a Thursday night, I'm not sure about, say, 1A-5A on Saturday or Sunday. KRWM is live and local in all dayparts but evenings and overnights. KLCK is live and local I think 5A-midnight. KPLZ is live and local 5:30A-7P weekdays, 6A-7P Sundays, and 6A-midnight Saturdays. As for CC, I know that KBKS is tracked 7P-midnight and syndicated 11A-3P weekdays or have they moved it to 10A-2P? KJR-FM is tracked middays, though she is local, Laury lives in Aweburn I was told and tracks for CC from her home studio. Dan Roberts I would be surprised if he is not tracked, but he is also local, one of the 3 audio producers at CC. I know that KKBW is mostly tracked, not sure if they have any local personalities or if they are jockless at all. I am not annoyed when the DJ talks over the song, except when they open the mic a good 30 seconds or more before the song is over, I heard Shelly Heart do that several times during the Christmas season. Yes voicetracking has its place, but if CC is going to use it like they are, they should distribute that product as a 24-hour format through Premier Radio Networks rather than killing all of their owned stations. As for costs, I really don't know why stations don't have their DJs record spots or do other work during breaks. I am friends with Mason who does afternoons on KQMV, and when she is supposed to be working is when I see her on Facebook most often. The problem with radio today is what a typical break consists of. "(station name, slogan, and jock name) getting a lot of calls and textts for (song,) we'll do that in about 7 minutes, and (band) tickets coming up at (time). Whatever else you want to hear give me a call (number) or text (number). Right now here's (song.)" Honestly, that's not very compelling radio. Sometimes they will read a text, and sometimes you will hear a call from a listener, but it's usually "When is this going to happen?" There's not a lot to draw the listener in.

 

[Mike Brewer]

How does a station that grosses $10 million a year find it necessary to voice-track?

Same reason any other station chooses to - to cut costs. Gross sales has nothing to do with it.

Voicetracking has it's (sic) place but it shouldn't be a resting place.

Agreed.

Voicetracking is a TOOL. Much like a hammer is a TOOL. Some people split the wood when they try to hammer something. Some can create masterpieces. All with the same TOOL.

If DJs didn't mail it in when they VT - meaning they prepped for the show like they would if they were doing the full shift - you couldn't tell the difference between a tracked show and the live one. (Bill's competitor's gaffe notwithstanding). A good example is JJ Hemingway's KJR-FM shifts. He put time and effort into making it sound live - and it DID.

 

[bossbill]

How does a station that grosses $10 million a year find it necessary to voice-track?

Same reason any other station chooses to - to cut costs. Gross sales has nothing to do with it.

Of course it is done to cut costs, but I beg to differ. Gross sales does have something to do with it. When my electric bills are higher than a single Seattle FM, 5 transmitters, 5 antennas, 5 studios, etc cost more than a single Seattle FM, my total revenues for five stations crammed into one building are but a small fraction of the revenues of that single Seattle FM, then I have no other options except to use voice-tracking and/or network sources, or cut operating hours.

Running a small market radio station can be very frustrating. Small market radio stations over the years have struggled with the cost of operation and limited revenues. My first job was at a station that could only afford one on-air person aside from the two owners. They operated "specified hours" (12 hours a day) to make it work.

Today, many small market stations that could not afford to pay an automation baby-sitter are now able to run 24 hours using tracking, jukeboxing, or network feeds, and at least they're on the air in case of emergency.

Major market broadcasters do it because they can; small markets do it because they have to.

 

[Groove1670]

Major market broadcasters do it because they can; small markets do it because they have to.

Good quote, and true.

 

[Wonderfulwino]

Like it or not, small market radio continues to be real radio. It's a fishing boat in the Bering sea with 2 poles instead of 10 like the big boys. Small market won't chase technology as intensely if it means the going dark. Small market independent ownership is not dead, yet. Small market salespeople sell their station at a community level rather than the splatter and blast it method of marketing that major market broadcasters use. Most listeners are far far more tech savvy in the 21st century. They know when it's just a recording. Or, maybe they don't care..Is personality radio truly done for?

 

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

If a small(er) market station chooses to be local only one shift/day (even if only weekdays) I still give them full credit for being "local". It doesn't make economic sense to try to staff up to be round-the-clock reflection in those markets ... but at least giving SOME reflection to the community is a good thing. Doesn't even have to be a morning shift where you choose "local" ... in fact in many scenarios it may be better to get top-notch talent from bird mornings & afternoons, and talk to your community middays.

 

[IndigoCoyote]

I think there is a lot more VT in Seattle than we probably realize. If done well, the casual listener will never consciously notice. For example, I believe pretty much everything on CLICK is recorded- the announcers might be local but never interact with the actual music that is being played under them, they seem to have no idea even what time of day or what day it is, and they always hit the post perfectly every time. Every time. Like it was a 17 second bit inserted into the appropriate 17 second hole.

No wonder they are getting a 2 or lower in the ratings. It is just not compelling programming. (Well, that and they cannot figure out what format they are...there's that.)

 

[discjockeyjohn64]

Having done voice tracking for years during my DJ years at a Salt Lake City FM, I can tell you that if you never hear the time or weather in a given hour, then most likely the shift is being voice tracked. Music is queued up in the computer to fill the hour, usually 12-14 tunes depending on the format. It is unusual for a voice track to go over the top of the music too, unless this has changed in the last 2 years. I would look at the screen and there would be four to five songs in a row, then just prior to a commercial load, the screen would say "Talk." I would hit the button and say whatever I had to say and then hit finish. My talk was usually back announcing songs or announcing an upcoming event or a short liner describing our format. There would be three "Talk" settings per hour (so I would use about 60-90 seconds in an hour). I would do a six hour Sunday shift in about 30 minutes on Friday night. I had some people fooled though, as I would actually give the time. My PD didn't like me doing that, but I did anyway. I could usually surmise the time within a minute or two of being accurate. I would go to Church on Sunday and people would say, hey, I just heard you on the radio a few minutes ago and you told me what time it was. I used to get a good laugh out of this until I explained to them about voice tracking. Any more, I truly believe most stations are using canned satellite feeds with central hub DJ's just playing hits and talking and they distribute that programming to 100-300 stations at once. I know Clear Channel uses something called Premiere Choice, that is what I just described. They'll have a live morning show on most stations and then to Premiere Choice based on the format they are using for that station. Just for laughs, I remember one week I said on Friday night that it would be sunny and 45 on Sunday and I woke up to snow (about three inches), and I rushed over to the station to change my voice track to match the reality of the weather outside.

 

[bobdavcav]

I think there is a lot more VT in Seattle than we probably realize. If done well, the casual listener will never consciously notice. For example, I believe pretty much everything on CLICK is recorded- the announcers might be local but never interact with the actual music that is being played under them, they seem to have no idea even what time of day or what day it is, and they always hit the post perfectly every time. Every time. Like it was a 17 second bit inserted into the appropriate 17 second hole.

No wonder they are getting a 2 or lower in the ratings. It is just not compelling programming. (Well, that and they cannot figure out what format they are...there's that.)

My biggest complaint about 92.5 is they are the same way. That's the kind of programming I was describing on the previous page of this thread. It's even starting to happen at KHKS in Dallas.

 

[AQH]

.....They know when it's just a recording.....

If there are people in this thread, and others on this board, who are asking whether a specific shift or station is voicetracked, there are two conclusions to be drawn.

1. The person asking isn't in radio.
2. People are getting much better at voicetracking.

 

[AQH]

I can tell you that if you never hear the time or weather in a given hour, then most likely the shift is being voice tracked.

There are plenty of morning shows that do not do this, or if they do it, it's very sporadic. It's not the only way to tell if a show is voice tracked.

 

[bobdavcav]

I usually can't tell, though I'm better than I used to be. If I had no idea about voice tracking and I was listening to KIXZ in Spokane for example, I wouldn't guess voicetracking, I would probably guess they were running a satilite feed. If a jock only has one or two stations to track for, they could sound local in both those markets. It's when you have a national show that is on several stations where it gets easier to tell.

 

[dunno]

One thing for sure. If you are voice tracking, you don't talk over the vocals...Unless....
Yes, you can voice track over intro's. If done right, it's hard to tell if its live or canned.

Now back to DXing.

 

[bobdavcav]

You're right. I was actually told some years ago that KCMS is entirely tracked on weekends.