It’s ok if you can’t make your show. It happens every now and then and we have ways to work around it.
There are some important things to consider, though.
What should I do if I can’t make it?
You have a few options.
If it’s a one-off…
1. Offer up your slot
As many do, you can offer up your slot to someone else. You can request someone carries on in your theme, or let them have full creative control. This option is a really great one for giving opportunities to new presenters to have a go, or to curious current presenters who may really like what you do and want to give it a try.
The most effectual way to do this is by posting about it in our WhatsApp group (Follow this link to join). Otherwise, you can post it in our Facebook group, or reach out to Rich Moffat (programming@mainfm.net) to let him know. Rich keeps the closest tabs on who’s ready and waiting for opportunities.
2. Load a pre-record
You can record your show ahead of time and load it into the system to play when you’re not here.
For more on this, check out this instructional video.
3. Let Autoplaylist takeover
If for some reason you just can’t arrange an alternative, it’s not a terrible outcome to let our autoplaylist play our pre-programmed music selection. You don’t need to do anything for this to happen, but it would be ace to let Rich Moffat know what’s happening via email if you can.
What if it happens a few weeks in a row?
As always, we need to consider the listener. Here are a few things to try to avoid:
Don’t let the same pre-record repeat multiple times.
It’s irritating and disengaging for listeners to hear the same show week to week. If you load a pre-record, it’s your responsibility to remove it once it’s played. If you’re unable to, just ask someone at the station to do it for you. If you don’t, and a repeated pre-record is noticed or the station receives a complaint about it, a staff member or volunteer will remove the repeating show from your sequence.
Keep promos up to date in whatever pre-record you load.
Loading a pre-record must be done using that week’s current promos. This means removing the old ones and inserting the current.
Preference offering up your slot (temporarily) over autoplaylist.
In the spirit of sharing the love, if you can’t arrange a pre-record or another suitable alternative, put your slot out there for others to use in the meantime. Live presenters are way more engaging than the autoplaylist.
Any questions or wonderings about any of this, Rich Moffat, Alex Playsted or another staff member or handy volunteer will be happy to help. Just reach out.
Rich – programming@mainfm.net
Alex – volunteers@mainfm.net