Question About Making A 30 Sec Radio Ad

[FinnArild]

So - I'm making a 30 seconder radio ad for my latest album Testament.

I should probably play clips of some songs:

- how many, how long?

I should probably say something:

- what?

I should probably tell them where they can buy the album:

- I have a distributor in UK - should I say "quality music stores" or something? Should I mention CDBaby? Should I mention my webshop? Should I mention iTunes?

Other stuff I should fill the 30 secs with?

[Steve]

I would suggest playing a few clips and saying what you think is important, and see how difficult it is to fill 30 seconds! Then work backwards taking out stuff and putting in other stuff!To me, the most important thing is going to be the music! So I would suggest playing a few dramatic passages and voicing over in between! When you get your audience hooked with the music, they'll want to know where to get it! So that should be stated a fw times just in case they miss it the first time!

[Retrosaurus Rex]

So - I'm making a 30 seconder radio ad for my latest album Testament.

I should probably play clips of some songs:

- how many, how long?

I should probably say something:

- what?

I should probably tell them where they can buy the album:

- I have a distributor in UK - should I say "quality music stores" or something? Should I mention CDBaby? Should I mention my webshop? Should I mention iTunes?

Other stuff I should fill the 30 secs with?

I'm no expert either, but I'll weigh in... I'm thinking clips of at least 2 songs, but 3 is probably already a stretch in 30 seconds. Obviously, these should be clips that are most likely to blow people away at the first listen, I'm sure you've gotten enough feedback by now to what to pick from... also, if you have an interesting instrumental passage (and I know you do... )... you might be able to talk over that. The more music the better. Your music speaks for itself, and your audience won't be much influenced by hype anyway, so you say the minimum, some back ground and where to buy. Be sure to mention your name and the album title 3 times. Seriously.

Having a distributor doesn't always guarantee you're in stores, YMMV... plus, I'm not sure how much distributors care about getting a plug... but retailers sure do, especially in this shitty economy... so if there are any major stores that you know you're in you might offer to mention them by name and see if they don't comp you with a counter-card or some premium rack space.

[FinnArild]

I just ordered a 3 letter domain name that's gonna be perfect for this ad. That's 3 letters with the country part ... I'll let you know when I've confirmed the order.

[FinnArild]

f.no

[Retrosaurus Rex]

f.yeah!

[maxtor2290]

I'm not an expert either, but, I have done some successful radio promotions. At least, we met the goals we set, so I will call them successful. This is also in the U.S., so, take what you need out of what I say and apply it. Throw the rest away.

Start the ad out with the coolest part of the best song you got. The first 10 seconds is crucial in a radio ad. This will probably last about 7 seconds before a fade to a lower level. Then mix pieces of the other songs together and play them "lightly" in the back ground. Make sure to not disrupt your voice message in any way. It needs to be clear and extremely understandable. The listener will hear the music, even if it is at what sounds like a low level. Then, say what you have to say and finish off with a fade-in back to original level with the last few seconds of the song you started with. Make sure the end is at about the 29:20-30 second mark. Your only going to have a few seconds of each song, so, make the transitions smooth and make each piece count by delivering the parts that fit together and not the parts you necessarily want everyone to hear. Fade the ones you can in and out over the top of each other.

30 seconds is a long time in radio.

If you end it the way above, you won't have the radio guys cutting your ad off in places you really don't want it cut and your message will get out. And, sometimes they will fill dead air space with an ad that matches their time criteria. It's like a bonus.

Most of the radio folks, here any way, time the ad's out right down to the last fraction of a second and the cut it off. If it's not completed at the mark, they just cut the ad short.

Anyway, my 2 cents.

Brad...

maxtor2290

[maxtor2290]

As for what to say, I don't know anything about your album so I can't tell you that. Just be vivid in your choice of words and don't try to put too much into it. Shorter more vivid and actionable type words is better than a lot of them that don't say anything but try and create hype.

And yes, I know your wanting to create a "buzz" with the ad, you just don't want to sound like it. Keep the BS to a minimum and just describe the album and contents in a visual way.

It's like writing a song. Say it but in a different way than it has been said before and you will get a response.

I wish you ALL the best with this endeavor!

Brad...

maxtor2290

[Roymega]

You should just say your album title over and over and then start chanting the URL to buy it in the background....... Sorta hypnotize your audience into buying it......

LMAO....... jk!..... kinda!

You'd be surprised at what works, local love will go along way, especially in radio (I used to DJ for a local rock station for ~2 years before going off to school), so if you have any song or lyric or anything that mentions a well known area of the city or something, use that! I know that would jump out right away to me.. And that's really the fan base you want to grow, they're the ones that are gonna be going to the shows, supporting you throughout your career, etc.. And although 30 seconds is a lot of time in radio (as stated before), it's impossible to describe your entire band/music/message in such little time (hell it's hard for me to get my message across in a 4 minute song!)... So again, anything that's gonna make people associate your music with a place locally is a major plus!

[john]

hey Finn

First off I would get someone other than you to do the voice over. They can then say things that give it more credibility and can be more of \ hype nature. For example if you said "This is the best prog rock you will ever hear" people would thing you were deluded and not listen to your stuff. If someone else makes that claim they will not have that opinion of you, and people may be inclined to give it a listen out of curiosity.

I'm not saying you should say that, just giving a demonstration of the difference of perception... it's more effective for others to big you up than it is for you to do so.

Next I would include your best, most commercially appeal songs to form the backbone of the advert. I would also include a couple of very progressive sections. Obviously back the voiceover with instrumental sections.

Why not post your script up and we can work on it together?

[FinnArild]

Loads of good tips here - thanks guys!

I was thinking of getting someone else to do the voiceover .. that's one way at least. The other way I thought about doing it was to do the ad more personal ... "Hi - I'm Finn Arild from Norway - check out my latest album Testament" ... but I'm in doubt about that (it actually looks strange now I saw it in writing).

Anyone with a nice voice here on the forums who feel up to the task? I'll do some writing tonight and let you know.