Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 4/18/2010

Question
I have been in the radio business as an on air personality for 8 yrs. with the best ratings through my career. My show is "out of the box" type but the ratings were so great they couldn't fire me. So the sales team dropped lot's of my sponsors and I got let go. Ever since then, I would get job offers, then at the last minute, I would receive an email or phone call with various excuses on like "we decided to go into a different direction,also,"we can't hire you at this time" after they offered the gig to me a week before starting.,etc..  I now do my own show, but are those signs of being blacklisted in my field of work? It definitely feels like it to me.

Answer
Hi Skye,

Recently an actor friend of mine asked me if he should changed agencies. He was complaining that it seemed like he hasn't been getting any action and maybe he is being ignored. Thing is, it's always hard to tell. The only way to to tell is either wait to see if it turns around, or change agents. Problem is, it might not be a bad agent, just the market, then you just burned a bridge with the agent and often the agents know each other and word spreads that you are an agent hopper.
So, do you waste time only to discover missed opportunities and life, or risk ill will?

Now your situation is quite different. Do you use a business agent/manager? If so, are they causing any issues? What is their reputation? I have known some who don't know how to be delicate but firm or just are so annoying that they come off like a stage parent that is more trouble than they are worth dealing with. I would not like to be in your industry right now. Just like newspapers, radio and the music business everything is changing and who knows what it will look like in the future? While technology is responsible for a lot of the change, I think the record industry did itself in. Not lowering CD prices as they promised to do once the technology was established, not listening to what the kids wanted to hear, exploiting and not supporting artists, then complaining that they don't have many new "catalog artists" to reap continual profits, etc. Sad thing is, when one link breaks in a chain, the rest falls.

For your situation, it may be indecision on the station's part, or as a highly-rated local morning drive time duo here in the Austin market (for at least the last 20 yrs) is discovering, it's ratings verses hiring cheaper in the contract. The suits think you just need mildly amusing chatter between songs, something any schmuck can do. Personally, I need to be able to relate to them, care about them, and be truly amused...or give me robot radio that talks as little as possible and lets me wake to music. Please God, no "family friendly" drivel!

You need to be able to find out what your former station is saying about you. Do you know someone who is really sharp and personable, or just really good, who can pretend to be a program director from an obscure station far enough away that no one could possibly know, or maybe just a fictitious station, so they can ask if you are hire-able, etc. Depending on state laws, you may be able to record the telephone call for later use. BE CAREFUL! in some states, only one party needs to know of the conversation being recorded, but Washington DC, for example, doesn't allow recording, period. (What are the odds?) You could consult an attorney to cover your bases, but if they are trashing you, that could maybe be a LAWSUIT! Cha-Ching!

Best,

Taylor