MusicMaster Blog

by Dave Tyler

One of the greatest bits of wisdom I’ve ever been given was to never stop learning, but it really goes further than that. The key is to always be a student. Those two things may sound like they are the same, but they are not. One just means to keep looking for knowledge, while the other means to humble yourself – to learn not just the information, but the how, who and why. To give up the ego that wants to say, “Yeah, I already know but…” or “Yeah, I know that part…can we move faster?”

I had some great teachers who taught me patience, the importance of granular details, and the power of disciplined practice and effort. Mike Tyson was a great fighter because he did all of the little things – the fundamentals – at a master level. Just as a house built on sand will surely fall, the foundation your skills are built on is either the strongest or weakest part of the system.

As a former Navy man in Korea, my father was a solid disciplinarian. When he did things, he always did them “right”. I have joked over the years, but it is 100% true that my dad would tell me, as a six-year-old, to dig a 1 x 1 foot square hole. This meant 12 inches wide and long, and 12 inches deep. Edges were to be straight; you could take a ruler, and it would be true on each side.

In my later teen years, I got a part-time job digging holes for a company that installed in-ground Jacuzzis. I had to learn the dimensions of each model because the fit had to be good. If there was space between the ground and the base, then someone could step too hard and punch through it. They dropped me at my first dig, and when they came back several hours later, the owner and my supervisor started laughing. I thought I was in trouble, but I wasn’t! They said, “We could plumb that hole and it would work because you formed a perfect Jacuzzi in the dirt!”

I was not a great student in school. Learning was difficult for me, and it continued to be until I was about 20 years old. I struggled to slow my brain down enough to focus on a subject for an extended period. Things started to change at the age of 16 or 17. At about the same time I got my first part-time job in radio, I enrolled in Karate classes. I loved the physicality of it, but there were kata (forms) to learn and lots of Japanese terminology that I had never heard before. In martial arts, you cannot move forward unless you reach a certain level of proficiency. After a little more than three years, I tested for and passed my black belt test in an art called Shinote. I recall being exhausted, absolutely spent but excited. I received my certificate and belt and then my instructor kicked me out of his school!!!

It wasn’t quite that aggressive, but he explained that the first requirement to begin moving towards my 2nd-degree black belt was to leave his school and go get a 1st-degree black belt in a completely different martial art. I could still practice Shinote of course, and did weekly, but I had to go start to study another art. I enrolled at a Ji Do Kwan Tae Kwon Do school and after about 2 ½ years, I got my 1^st degree black belt in that, and was able to resume my progress in Shinote.

Over 40 years I’ve spent in the martial arts, I have been able to earn my 5th-degree black belt in karate, 4th-degree black belt in Kobduo (Okinawan weapons), 3rd-degree black belt in Goshin-Budo Jujitsu, and 2nd-degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do as well as a Brown belt in iaido (Japanse sword drawing).

I trained in Kobudo (Okinawan Weapons) many times with the late Kiyoshi Yamazaki of Japan. I even had the honor of him asking me to lead a Gashuku (intense training) class of high-ranking black belt instructors for Bo (Staff) & Tonfa. This pic below includes my instructor Ricky Adams as well. Yamazaki was a national treasure of Japan and was even the man who taught Arnold Schwarzenegger how to use a sword in the Conan movies.

This is a picture of my young son (he’s now 34) when we trained small circle jujutsu with the legendary Wally Jay. Jay taught Bruce Lee jujutsu.

The picture below also includes some legends. I am in the black gi at the very back 2nd from left (next to the big guy in the white gi). Back when I had actual hair! The two instructors in white at the front are Takashi Kinjo (honored as a living treasure of Japan by the emperor!) and Mikio Nishiuchi. We were training in a style of weapons known as Matayoshi Kobudo that featured Bo, Tonfa, Sai, Nunchaku & Kama (twin scythe type weapon).

Not to mention, this kid with a learning problem has also written more than a dozen historical articles on the martial arts for magazines like Black Belt, Karate International, and Inside Karate. I say none of this to pat myself on the back, but the key was the desire to always be a student and to learn for the knowledge, not for rank or prestige.

I know I’ve made the eyes of my family roll every time we would go on vacation because if there was a dojo (school) in the town that taught something I had no experience with, I would call them and see if I could visit and train. Almost all said yes, and even with my higher ranking, I would wrap a white belt around my waist as a show of respect. I was not there to show them how much I know, but to hopefully learn a little of what they know. Such is the tradition in karate. Most often the instructor will thank you and demand you put on your black belt out of mutual respect.

My well-work black belt is pictured below:

My radio career started about the same time, and I was in a similar position of knowing nothing but being excited, and I took this “Student” mentality to work with me. I was/am never afraid to ask the stupid question or to admit that I do not know something…even if I probably should know it. I pestered every radio person who had so much as a day’s more experience than me for information on how to talk right, how to develop from being an announcer to being a personality, how to splice tape (a skill I no longer need LOL), how to do digital editing, how and why music is scheduled the way it is, how to put together promotions…you name it. I attended every Dan O’Day Morning Show Boot Camp I could afford to go to and had an impressive collection of California Aircheck cassettes of my radio heroes, of which I listened to figure out what made them so relatable, so great.

In 2014, with a tad more than 30 years of radio experience, I was offered my position here at MusicMaster! Wow! I knew this was an elite team, but I had no idea just how bright and talented everyone here was. After 30 years as a morning guy, Music Director, Program Director, and Ops Manager, I was going into a new world. It took me about one week as a three-decade radio pro to realize it was time to put my white belt back on, shut up, listen, and learn. Many of those instructing me were much younger than me, but they knew this software like the back of their hand. Ask anyone senior or junior to me at MusicMaster and they’ll tell you I am not scared to admit when I need more info on a topic. I ask, ask, ask. I have a folder on my laptop called “Cheat Sheets”. This folder has countless screenshots and step-by-step instructions on areas where I might have or still struggle, and I add to it constantly.

In this age of radio, we need to not only be good at what we do on the air, but each of us will wear many hats in the halls of a radio station. We need to be really, really good on the air, at writing scripts, voicing production, live appearances, creating promotions, and of course scheduling our music. Every song is an opportunity for the listener to make the choice to stay or leave. We are being tested every 3 ½ minutes by the folks that can make or break us.

Our Music has to be stellar. Jukebox radio just doesn’t cut it, and as we move forward, I think local radio will actually cycle back around to being the big player because we know our markets better than anyone else. Music tastes are different regionally. Music Scheduling is like being a chef. You can’t just throw a bunch of things together and make it taste good (unless you’re in New Orleans…they can throw anything in a pot and make it taste amazing), you need to tweak the details to make somebody’s eyes widen when they take a bite. I remember the first time I tried legit Mexican Street Corn in Dallas…I was like “What in the world is this flavor”? Experiencing something fresh and new is memorable and exhilarating! Keep the sound of your station exciting. MusicMaster has everything you need to do it. The days of being a specialist like just a Music Director or only a Production Director and not also doing a shift are long gone in most cases. Your team at MusicMaster is always ready to teach you more about this wonderful, powerful, robust software.

No matter how much experience or what position(s) you hold/held, if you to continue to secure your place in today’s radio environment, you need to be a master in many areas. Where can you learn more? I mentioned earlier those morning show bootcamps. These were great learning places. If you haven’t, start to attend radio conferences locally and nationally. My love is Country music and as much as my butt has sat on a lot of barstools during the annual Country Radio Seminar, I also attended a ton of great panels to learn more about particular subjects, or to listen in on someone’s take on how they do their job at such a high level. From CRS to the big and regional NAB shows, CMB, NRB, Conclave, and more, these are fertile grounds for sharing and learning new things.

One thing I started doing early on was reaching out to my heroes and people that I thought had a unique take and asking them for more information. At my first AM radio job in Inverness, Florida, I would write and send aircheck tapes of myself to South Florida radio legend Rick Shaw. Rick responded EVERY time! He would send me two-page letters with a critique of the tapes and answers to questions I asked him. Reach out to people you admire with the questions you have, and you will be surprised that most of them would love to share with you.

Check out websites like Radio Ink, Inside Radio, and others. Facebook has tons of radio “Groups”. One of my favorite groups is Radio Broadcasting Industry. Join and ask questions. If you have a consultant…ask them questions. You are paying them for their knowledge, and I bet they’ll be more than happy to pass some on. Never be afraid to ask your peers. Everyone has experienced different things that led them to you. 20+ years ago, consultant Mike McVay came and visited the station I was working at because he was buddies with our Ops Manager, Shane Finch. We took him to lunch, and he probably had to get a big takeout bag because we all asked him a thousand questions and he took his time to answer each one… stuff that is part of my programming philosophy to this day!

And let’s not forget the massive resources offered at MusicMaster. Our website (MusicMaster.com) features a “Learn” section with Webinars, Walkthroughs, and hundreds of blog articles on just about every topic or question you could have about scheduling music. These blogs are often step-by-step “How-To’s” with screenshots to help get things set up right away.

However, the biggest resource you have is your MusicMaster Support rep. I spend my days speaking with clients of all levels about their music, how to do things, how to get better rotations, how best to code songs, etc. It is a dream job! We’re in this thing together to make great radio, get great ratings, and drive listenership and sales. When you win, we win. MusicMaster is a robust software package with tools inside to supercharge what you’re already doing. Use this to your advantage. Ask. Learn. Succeed. Lead.