What Does an FM Radio DJ Do?
There are a lot of radio stations worldwide playing music. The FM waves are reserved for these stations (as opposed to AM radio, which is talk shows). But what do radio DJs do? Are there any special rules? First off, radio shows are broadcast from a radio studio. This is a specially equipped area that has an antenna setup outside to actually send the signal out. The antenna is physically shaped to specific lengths in order to broadcast on a specific frequency. Inside the studio is a room with microphones and a big mixing board. Special software is run on a computer and connected to the board. Audio signals from the microphones, computer, and any other lines in are routed through the board before being broadcast. This gives you fine control over many aspects of the signal. You can individually mute and unmute mics and lines. Songs, PSAs, and clips the DJ wants to play can be queued up on either the main computer or an external device like a phone, laptop, or record player. There can also be an automated computer that will shuffle through stored songs when there is not a radio DJ live on air.
There are several rules set in place that must be followed when live on air. These rules are established by the FCC for those of us in the US. Each radio station has what's called a station ID. This ID consists of the broadcast frequency and broadcast name. It must be stated at the top and bottom of every hour (each half hour). There's also the likely more anticipated rule about swearing. There is a list of swears you are not allowed to say, and there can be consequences if you do. Swears are allowed between the hours of 10 pm and 6 am though (non-prime-time hours), as children are less likely to be listening to the radio during these times. There is also a requirement that you play 2 minutes worth of public service announcements (PSAs) every hour. Logs must also be kept of meter readings. It certainly can be challenging sometimes working within these constraints. Each station will likely have its own set of internal rules as well.
I had my own FM radio show in college called 'Bass Face'. My hook was that I was a sherpa guiding the listeners through the massive mountain that is electronic bass music. I have logged 30 hours of airtime as I did 30 shows that were each an hour long. I mostly played dubstep and its subgenres, but I also played some other genres including trance, techno, drum and bass, house, and electro house. I would sometimes have a bit of a theme for the show, like when I played spooky songs in October. Many of the songs I played were songs I had recently grabbed and been enjoying. It was really cool to run the show knowing that my songs were vibrating the eardrums of someone in the distance. The tower at our station had a broadcast range of 40 miles. I would typically play about 15 songs each show, and I would state the artist and song name before each song I played, sometimes giving a quick commentary on how I felt about the song or what I liked most about it.
The show formats can vary wildly, though. Some radio DJs will only play music and have little to no talking. Other DJs will have a lot more talking or even conduct interviews on-air. Different shows will focus on different genres and some shows at the same station had a rock, a capella, pop, or metal focus. I was one of the few DJs who would play electronic music, as it is not very popular in that area. My hope was that I would spread the love and appreciation for this kind of music. I believe that electronic music has something for everybody because of the incredibly expansive genre list. Many people lump them together though and will refer to all electronic music as "techno" or "dubstep" because they have not yet been exposed to or understand the differences. I really did enjoy having my own radio show and may run one again in the future.
Author: Psidemica
Published: 2024-02-14
Edited: N/A
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