Having a “radio voice”

One of my pet peeves in life is when someone tells me either "you have a good radio voice" or "you don't have a good radio voice". The reason these statements get under my skin, is because there is NO such thing. I understand that most times when people tell me that I have a "good radio voice" they are trying to be complimentary. Subsequently, when they tell me that I "don't have a good radio voice" I understand they are politely telling me that they think I suck. Either way, the statement of "good voice" does not mean anything in 2014 radio, and has not meant anything for many years now.

When I first got into radio in the mid 1990's, there was still a strong "dinosaur" contingency in our industry that believed having "good pipes" was the end-all and be-all of a successful jock. As the years passed and many of those "dinosaurs" died off, so-to-speak, successful radio programmers have to come realize that the value of content and execution of a DJ's show far outweighs the value of just having "good pipes". Radio today has to compete with so many other music and entertainment outlets, that if a jock is not giving listeners a truly compelling reason to stick around, chances are those listeners are just going to fire up Spotify or Pandora and leave the radio station behind.

So next time you see me, if you enjoy listening to my morning show, just tell me that. If you hate what I do on my morning show, feel free to flip me the bird...just don't tell me I have a "good / bad" radio voice, because such a thing does not exist!