10 DJ Secrets Revealed – Brian’s Blog

A friend of mine in California recently wrong a piece about this recently and it inspired me to do the same. It is time to pull the curtain off of Oz. I love what I do for living but there are some things you may not know about what we do. I am here to reveal a few secrets of the radio world.

10. We do not pick all the music we play, most of it is already programmed into a computer and we just follow along. There are exceptions to this, like request hours and so forth.
9. We do not like every song we play and get tired of them sometimes too.
8. We do make fun of you to each other if you say something stupid on the phone.
7. Sometimes we prerecord bits of shows but make it sound like we are there.
6. We get to go backstage to some shows but I can tell you backstage is not a fun or glamorous place to be if you are a DJ. Most artists are very nice but there have been a few jerks here and there and most road managers are unpleasant to deal with.
5. We strongly dislike when people ask us for free tickets. We do not walk around with bundles of tickets to pass out.
4. We want you to sound super excited if you win a prize on the air. Nothing is worse than giving a cool prize to someone who sounds like they are still sleeping. Fake it if you have to but get excited.
3. We don't have time for small talk on the phone when you call. We don't mean to be rude but we are also planning our next break on the air or blogging or tending to social media. We do a lot more than just play music.
2. We don't make much money. There are exceptions to this in major markets but most of us need to use our change jars.
1. We are very passionate people who love what we get to do for a living and know how lucky we are to do it.