Wednesday, 10 June 2015

LO3: Underground Sounds

Sheffield Underground Sounds

Written by Becky Jackson

These are not the final terms of the agreement between you and Sheffield Live! ALL aspects are negotiable. Both parties will agree upon the final terms. If interested, Sheffield Live! will contact you to schedule a formal meeting. 

Client: Sheffield Live! 

Names: Becky Jackson & Danielle Baggaley 
Section 1: General Information

Name or title of program: 
The name of our music talk show will be "Sheffield Underground Sounds". This name is appropriate as the majority of the bands featured on the show will be local; from Sheffield and South Yorkshire, and the show will be broadcasted on Sheffield Live! 93.2 FM. The "Underground Sounds" part of the name implies that the product will revolve around fresh, new, previously unheard of bands and artists. I made sure the name had not previously been used or copyrighted during my research so that we don't experience any legal issues. 

Length of show (minimum 60 minutes):
The show will be two hours long and will run from 7:00pm – 9:00pm in the evening every Friday. This is because this is the time when our target audience are most likely to be free and available to listen to the show as they won't be at school or college at this time. 

Genre or type of program:
Our audio media product will be in the format of a music talk show. The genre of our product will be indie music, as this is the type of music we will be playing and the type of bands we will be featuring and interviewing will belong to this genre.

Brief description / synopsis:
Sheffield Underground Sounds revolves around the Sheffield and wider South Yorkshire music scenes. It will give listeners the opportunity to experience new music from lesser known local bands, hear exciting, in-depth, inspiring interviews with the musicians themselves and give them the chance to contribute to topics debated on the show by using social media.

Production method:  Live Recorded  Both

We will pre-record our show in order to make sure that the program is perfectly and professionally edited before broadcast. By pre-recording the show, we can remove and re-record any mistakes made during the process. We can also ensure interviews with bands are appropriate for broadcast and don't contain any profanity. 

Section 2: Target Audience

Time of day: 
Our show will be broadcasted from 7:00pm in the evening until 9:00pm. This is because through my research I find this is the time period when our target audience are most likely to be available to listen to our show. 

Day(s) of the week: 

Our show will be broadcasted every Friday evening. This is because through my research I have determined that Friday is the day when our target audience will be most likely to be available to listen to our show. 

Intended age of audience: 

Our program will be aimed at people from ages 16 years to approximately 25 years. This is because people between these ages have the most free time available to listen to our show.

Other target details: 

The target audience of our programme will be both females and males of an equal ratio. They will most likely attend college/university in the daytime. They are incredibly music conscious and enjoy winding down by listening to music, but also . The music they listen to belongs to the indie genre, and they are constantly looking for new bands and music for inspiration. The target audience are local, live in Sheffield and are proud of their heritage. They listen to Sheffield bands including the Arctic Monkeys and Pulp. The demographic will have a spending power of B or C1, they may have part time jobs but most of the audience will still be provided for by their parents. 

Section 3: Presentation

Number of Hosts: 
There will be two regular hosts presenting our programme. One female and one male, to make the show seem of equal, to both men and women as their will be a mixture of bands that will be playing.

Name/Descriptions of hosts: 
There will be two regular hosts, one male and one female to represent the majority of the audience so that they can identify with them. They will both be from South Yorkshire and will have a keen interest in music generally, and the local music scene.
Delivery style: 
The delivery style of the presenters will be informal and will take a conversational format.

Resources required
Human: 
Two presenters and an editor who will all work together to create the product, in order to make sure the overall product is fit for purpose.
Equipment:
I have detailed this later in the treatment. 
Location: 
The location where we record and broadcast the radio show from will be in the Sheffield Live building, as that is where the majority of the recording equipment will be there.
Production time (recording and editing):
Each show will take approximately two days to produce. This includes writing the script, recording the content and the editing process. 
Additional information (Include schedule / structure):
We will record and edit the show the weekend before broadcast as this is the most convenient time for us. 
Content of show (items, features and articles): 
Our show is all about promoting local unsigned indie bands and artists by:
- Playing their music
- Premiering new tracks and singles 
- Interviewing bands and people prominent in the local music scene
- Featuring discussion topics encouraging the audience to get involved by giving their opinions 
  via social media 
- Reviews of local gigs and music

Examples of questions and issues to be raised for interviews:
Issues raised would include discussion topics including the closure of The Leeds Cockpit and the raising price of the Sheffield festival Tramlines.

Styles of music to be used: 
The majority of the music played on our radio show will belong to the indie genre. This is because the umbrella term 'indie' applies to a wide variety of bands and artists. We will try not to stray to far from this genre, for example by playing a rap or hard rock, but we will be able play a much wider variety by operating under this genre.

Future Developments 

The show would be hammocked between 'Talking Balls', a light-hearted low-down on local football results broadcasted between 6pm and 7pm and 'Da Beat Down', a music talk show featuring modern R'n'B and reggae that is broadcasted from 9pm until 11pm. Our show would replace Aaj Ki Shaam's slot from 7pm until 9pm in the evening. 

In regards to future developments, we would keep our audience keen and interested in our show by featuring new music and bands every week and making sure discussion topics are varied and inclusive. We would continue to provide an exciting weekly slot with new give-aways and prizes in every episode. If I refer back to my equipment list I now know that Sheffield Live would provide the majority of the equipment we would require to produce the show. It would be highly unlikely that we would have to pay for a PRS license as we wouldn't be playing mainstream music, however if in the future we decide to do this we could have to invest in a license. For now though that seems very unlikely. 


There would be two main regular presenters on 'Sheffield Underground Sounds' to provide continuity for the audience. We would ideally like one male presenter and one female presenter to represent the majority of our audience, as our demographic will be approximately half and half. We haven't yet decided who these presenters will be, but I would be happy to fill the role of the female presenter. Both of the presenters would be local and have a good sound knowledge on the Sheffield/South Yorkshire music scenes. They would have a friendly on-air relationship and would adopt an informal conversational style.  


Advertisers & Gap in Market 

Adverts featured during 'Sheffield Underground Sounds' would include advertisements by local record shops (LP Record Store and Record Collector for example) and vintage shops and independent businesses (such as Freshman's, A New Shop and Cow Vintage). Although our main competitor would be BBC Radio Sheffield's "Introducing" music talk radio show, I believe our programme would fill a gap in the market - this gap is a platform for unsigned bands to get major publicity, without a previous lucky break. In contrast, programmes such as "Introducing" play signed bands that already have a reputation and are generally known. Our show would play unsigned bands, providing them with a chance to get heard and providing the listeners with the opportunity to hear underground bands first. 

Additional Information 

The show will feature interviews and sessions with local South Yorkshire based bands and will play samples of their music on air. The show will also prominently feature discussions between the presenters and the public, with topics centring around the local music scene, venues, tours and issues that effect these. An example of this would be a discussion about the permanent closure of the Leeds music venue 'The Cockpit'. During the show, there will also be reviews of recent gigs and news of tours. Examples of the questions we would ask our audience would be: Are local gigs accessible? Favourite local unsigned band? Why don't big bands come to Sheffield? Which band shall we review next? We would hold polls and ask the audience for their input on our Facebook and Twitter pages, and then would reveal the results of these polls and feedback on air. 

The genre of music played will be primarily indie and we will feature musical pieces from lesser known subcultures including mod, punk and ska. The music played will be from local bands and artists, such as High Hazels, The Crookes and The Sherlocks from Sheffield. Ideally though, we'd prefer to give promotion to smaller, unsigned, upcoming bands that will bring new, fresh material to our listener's ears. The advertising featured on our program would be relevant to both the content of our show and Sheffield Live! Local independent business, vintage boutiques, record shops and gig venues would all be invited to feature in the form of advertisements on our show.
Will your program use advertising to make a profit?  Yes No  Maybe

Our program will not use advertising with the intention to make a profit because the radio station our show will be broadcasted on is a community venture and a government funded not for profit organisation. This means that the money potentially made from advertising is merely turnover and goes into maintaining the station's running costs. The money made from advertising is not invested in staffing as all of the people who contribute to the shows on Sheffield Live are volunteers. 

Additional Details: 
As Sheffield Live isn't a commercial Radio Station, we sacrifice making a profit for the unique and alternative content of our show. 

Profits/Costs

Write a summary of your costs and profits here…
Below is a list of equipment that we would require to create our radio show. We have estimated that it would cost just over £1400 to purchase the full range of quality equipment. In the long run however this money would be made back through turnover from the adverts featured on the show. Fortunately, Sheffield Live can provide the majority of this equipment so we won't require such a budget. 

Costs


- PC Monitor: £49.99: To view our software.
- Hard drive: £229.99: Used to store the play server and the music on as well as all the other technology needed.
- Microphones(x3): £497.97: To record our content.
- Audacity Software: Free: To edit our content. 
- Desks: £249.99: To place our equipment, scripts etc.
- SD Card: £12.00 each: To store our software and content. 
- Mixing Desk: £89.99: To help create our content. 
- PRS License: £300 a year: To be able to legally publish and broadcast content.

Our start up costs are quite expensive due to the fact we will be purchasing all of the new equipment to manufacture the show, but these costs will become less over the time as they will last us for years. This money will be remade through advertising. Out of all these resources, some of them will be already subsidised/provided by the radio station. We must pay £30 a month for four weekly shows to our community radio station. 

Radio Advertising





Source: http://www.radioadvertising.co.uk/costs​ 
​ 
Hallam FM charges £1500 for a thirty second advert on their radio station. This is because the radio station makes the advert for them and uses the money to put towards the costs of manufacturing it.  

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