A cautionary Tale by John Isherwood
Hi! I’m John Isherwood and whilst working for a bunch of stations I’ve pretty much done everything from news to DJ’ing to producing and of course presenting.
It’s been a strange old journey including a large chunk of time commuting from Manchester to Birmingham five days a week! I’ve presented breakfast and drive shows, produced network shows and been waxed and burned (in my mouth with spicy food, not actual fire) on the radio and have worked with Sony and Mobo award winners, it’s been some ride and a hell of a lot of fun.
Seriously I wouldn’t swap any of the past years for anything. I can tell you all about the good times, but I’d be here for ages, instead let me tell you a cautionary tale which I hope will provide you with some food for thought. I’ve have presented on a number different stations professionally during my career, all of these stations had me on as a freelance broadcaster. To be fair the majority of work that you will pick up will be freelance. Permanent contracts are hard to come by these days and when one comes up, I hope it’s the right opportunity to take.
As a freelancer, you’ll be given your shift rate/show fee and you’ll agree on all the dates of work and it’s all good. You’ll then do your work, love it (I hope) and at the end of the month, send in your invoice so you can get paid. This is where I want you to be careful. This is the point where I have a pretty nasty story to tell. As with anyone looking to break into the industry, getting that first show or new big show is an exciting time. You’re about to get PAID for doing what you love. That is amazing. Just make sure of a few things before you head in and do your show/shift.
· Make sure that you have agreed the rate with the PD
· Make sure that your hours are agreed
· Find out how and when you’ll be paid
· Find out who to send the invoice to
· Do your work, have fun and go home happy
This is all good for a few one off commitments, semi-regular work etc, BUT if your boss likes what you do he/she may say. “why don’t we make this a permanent fixture?” This is where I urge some caution. I’ve been burned recently because of this. In 2007/2008 I presented the drive show for Ashton FM in Birmingham. I was freely allowed to dictate the terms of my employment, which for me was excellent. I negotiated a competitive show fee and on the advice of one of my colleague managed to get a six month contract. I invoiced at the end of the month and was paid (by cheque, practically unheard of these days) bang on time every month.
With my latest show, (I’m not going to name names of stations/people, those who know me know what happened and of course, feel free to contact me and I will elaborate) I had a rolling ‘agreement’ with the station. I was offered an initial show fee when I did weekends and from there when promoted to drive, I was offered a pay increase and better terms. The only thing I was not given was a contract. This is where my problem lies. The station I was working for went into liquidation. On the 1stof April I was told I wasn’t going to get paid for the months work I had just put in. Shocked, fuming, enraged. I was all of those.
After discussing with the liquidators it turns out I’m in a queue now to see if I can get my money. The chances of this are pretty slim by the way. So it’s plunged me into a financial black hole as I lost other work from having this drive show. I didn’t get paid in April… at all. I still have to pay bills, buy food and all that though. Yes I should have pushed for my contract (which was promised and never delivered) but I was promised my money on time by a man I considered to be trustworthy. Sue me for being trusting! So my cautionary and perhaps patronising advice goes a bit like this…
· Get that gig and be excited by it
· Then step back and consider everything
· Has the show fee/shift rate been agreed?
· Have I got this in writing?
· Have I agreed terms of payment (If you invoice put at the bottom in massive letters, PLEASE PAY WITHIN 30 DAYS)
· If this is a long term arrangement (3 months plus) where’s my contract.
I don’t want anyone else hurt the same way I (and others I know) have been. We love this industry for a reason, but to put yourself in a bad financial position because of things like this, it isn’t worth it. The next blog I do will be happy, I hope. I’m still in the industry. I work for two of the big groups now and am enjoying it whilst pushing my career forward again. I may have lost money on my last gig, but I do have one thing to take away. I increased the RAJAR! Woop, that’s money in radio terms anyway!