The Future's So Bright...

Always loved that song by Timbuk 3- remember them?

Had the privilege to speak to first and second year students at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario this week- a smart and passionate collection of future content creators! And, I've said this many times and here it is again; Fanshawe has one of the best media programs on the planet!

2 things surprised me;

1) Not much has changed- the questions are still "what should I include in my demo? How long should it be? What do I put in my resume? And what's the number one thing you look for when hiring?"

The last one is easy- Positive Attitude.

2) Very little interest in "Sales"; Most students still want to be on-air and I get that- so did I. But, as I said to the class, the future jobs in radio and the media industry will be directly related to either generating content or generating revenue (no more mid or senior level managers). And, even the content creating "stars" will be responsible in the future (or should be) for finding clients to be involved with their shows or podcasts or social feeds, etc.

Yes- the time has come for Talent to use that high profile the transmitter helped them create to directly generate revenue by making a few sales calls each week. Advertisers love to see the "stars", the stars love to make more money and radio has a BIG revenue problem- especially in the ratings dependent larger markets. Seems like a win-win-win to me.

So, to students everywhere- Yes, being on the radio and in the spotlight is fun, but a career in "sales" can also be creative and VERY lucrative and pretty much bullet-proof. Program Directors, GM's and VP's are vulnerable (I know this from personal experience), but those who can directly generate revenue have a very bright future! Continue to learn how to create unique content that audiences want to consume- but also learn how to sell it!

And, thanks to Brian Nuttall and the team at Fanshawe College- you're doing a great job!