Musicians: Podcasters Need You

Podcasting, in case you didn't know, is now experiencing explosive growth across the internet... and where there's entertainment, there's cash!

I used to make jingles for two or three online radio shows a few years back but it was more for fun than anything else. However, over the last few months or so I've been getting enquiries - completely out-of-the-blue - from people who remembered I used to do it back in the day. These people are either in the process of starting their own podcasts, or have begun already and realise they need some flash-whizz-bang intro with their show-ident thrown-in.

All of them offered cash!

Making Jingles

Jingles are fairly easy to make musically - they're usually just a few seconds long and have snippets of music overlaid with "whooshes" and "stabs". The hardest part is the actual voice.

With a bit of practice, though (ie, sitting in front of a mic contorting your voice like a breast-end), and a few effects like delay, reverb, (excessive) filtering (oh, and obligatory compression of course), you should be able to get the hang of it. The trick is voice intonation really.

But my best advice really would be to have someone else do it if you're not a "natural" with fairly good voice-tone. Obviously, if you know a singer (or are one), then you're onto a good start. If you're not a vocalist - and you don't know one - try asking a friend; someone might surprise you. I remember asking someone to just say the show-name over the phone whilst recording - it worked a treat.

(Tip: females are always good to have (right lads!).

Cut a revenue-sharing deal; do a few testers; set your rate and put yourself out there. Given the sheer growth of podcasts at the moment, I'd wager demand must be outstripping supply.

Hey, it's work... and it's work doing what you love most, music!

Here's a jingle I produced for a now defunct internet radio station back in the day, mainly for fun:
MNR Radio Jingle

Props to Kate for her cameo part.