Pigeonholed in AP roles

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Hey, it’s Kattie again, taking over the newsletter while the incredible and talented Michal powers through a busy week!

Recently, we received some feedback from one of our wonderful readers asking us to talk about levelling up your career in podcasting – how to get unstuck from an Associate Producer role and finally running a show of your own as a full-blown Producer.

To be honest, everyone I’ve talked to at Vocal Fry has had a pretty unique and sometimes unexpected career trajectory – and that goes for me too. But whether they’re an AP, Senior Producer, or even Principal of the entire studio, I’ve noticed a lot of my colleagues' success has come down to three main things: unwavering determination, shameless passion, and luck.

Unwavering determination: It’s important to consider what it is that truly makes you tick – for all of us at Vocal Fry we want to make a really f*cking GOOD podcast. We want people to tell us how good it is, how creative we are, and we want to make a lasting impact on the people who listen to them. Don’t be apologetic about what will make you happy. For me, my engine is built from a combo of ego, curiosity and will power, but what fuels it is…

Shameless passion: A lot of people find success in the fields that they love because they won’t shut up about them. Tell your colleagues and literally everyone you know about the shows you’re working on, the shows you love and hate, and your opinions on the podcast industry as a whole. Find creative ways to do that. This makes it clear that you’re serious about your work and have a real love of the craft. 

Luck: Usually great opportunities come down to the right time and place, and some of us are just luckier than others. But I’m of the belief that you CAN take luck into your own hands by becoming a blatant expression of your determination and passion - the more you explore, create, learn, and meet new people, the more chance there is for luck to strike. 

If you’re a determined and passionate person to work with, the right producers will help and uplift you. Freelance clients are also where you can throw yourself into a producer's role. Half the battle is fighting the imposter syndrome and being confident in what you bring to the table.

These are just my thoughts on this, but I asked around for good measure. Here’s what some fellow fries thought:

Ren, Producer: “For me, starting out and growing into producing roles really was about building relationships with trusted colleagues. The people I met and had good connections with have been my guides and helped me network right from day 1. They've given me opportunities to grow from AP to lead producer & showrunning roles!”

Katie Jensen, Principal: “My advice is kind of tough love. If you keep getting offered the same kind of work, it might be because your portfolio is filled with easier or less technically-complex projects. Hiring managers can sometimes have a hard time picturing someone in a high-stakes, high-pressure role without seeing examples. I think it's good to know where potential skill gaps lie. Informational interviews with showrunners and EPs can also give a sense of the major differences in responsibility.”

max, Associate Producer: “I would say perhaps explore a niche! Something that will make you a needed part of a team. Are you particularly good a trauma-informed producing? What about an up-and-coming style of social media, like tiktok. It might take an extracurricular like a course to find the things you can specialize in, but it’ll make you more valuable I think – I see my advice is absolutely the opposite of Katie’s lol”

Jay Cockburn, Senior Producer: “Actually max I was gonna say exactly that lol"

See? We’re all still pondering this question. You’re not alone!

What else caught our eye this week:

Field Recordings are Music, Material, and Method: for bandcamp, George Grella wrote about the history and impact of field recordings. Of course, it caught the eye of VF music-and-sound-design-nerd-in-residence, Katie Jensen.

Applications are open for The Logic’s one-year program (2022-2023) for BIPOC Journalists. Applications are due by 6 p.m. ET on Monday, July 25.

The Canadian Association of Journalists' mentorship program is accepting applicants! If you’re early in your career, apply to be paired with an CAJ mentor - reduced membership rates available too!

We at the podcast would like to apologize for our comments that people felt trivialized and sensationalized recent violence. When we first started Thrilling Murder: I Love This Crime, our intention was to honor and center marginali

— Patrick Cosmos (@veryimportant) July 14, 2022

HEATED is hiring an enterprise reporter! It’s a full-time position with a salary range of $65,000 to $85,000 and reimbursements for health benefits.

Longreads is hiring for an audience editor to fine-tune their social media strategy. 20 hrs/week contract position; pay begins at $3K/month

The Globe and Mail is hiring for a Podcast Producer to join their content marketing division (likely a branded show). It’s a salary position, but I couldn’t find any other pay info. 

And applications are still open for the following positions: 

Gimlet/Spotify are hiring a producer for the Wall Street Journal’s “The Journal.” This is a full-time role working remotely from anywhere but on Eastern time. No salary is listed, but Gimlet’s union agreement stipulates a minimum salary of $87,000 USD for producers. They’re also hiring a supervising editor for the same show. Apply by August 1.

East Coasters! CBC is hiring a producer for East Coast Music Hour. Closes July 22.

More Nova Scotian CBC opportunities, this time in Sydney for an associate producer/technician. Closes July 20.

Radiolab is hiring a part time, remote intern at WNYC for the coming school year. It is only paid $17.50 USD/hr, you have to be a student or recent graduate, and there’s a weirdly restrictive list of US states that you must be living in while you work, but this is a huge show and one of the most fun outlets for audio journalism out there, so if you’re able to meet those criteria then perhaps it’s worth an application! Apply by July 20.

JP Fozo at the Toronto Star is looking for freelance mixers to work on their podcasts. Our own Michal works on It’s Political with Althia Raj, so you might even end up working with her, you lucky thing. JP can be reached at jpfozo@thestar.ca

In the UK, Sony Music, who recently acquired one of Britain’s biggest audio producers Somethin’ Else, are looking for freelance producers with experience in entertainment podcasts.

I came across a recommendation for this podcast in Podcast the Newsletter, where Lauren Passell described it as, “both enjoyable and difficult to write about. You just have to listen.” Immediately curious, I listened to the latest episode “The Coolest Man Who Ever Lived” and was pleased to spend an hour and 20 minutes outside of our chaotic world laughing and screaming “OH MY GOD” (a truly delightful car ride). Lauren couldn’t have described it better. Each episode, Ross Sutherland uses sound design and really creative writing to tell an audio fiction story in a unique way. This podcast took me on a wild ride between hilarity and some really heartfelt moments, not to mention how inspiring the scale of its production is. 

Building Good is well into production for our next season, all about what it means to build an inclusive economy! Follow the show and check out our last season, Zero by Fifty, about the sustainable construction sector in the meantime here. 

We want to hear from you! What are you looking for in your podcast news? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram, or by email at info@vocalfrystudios.com.

Thanks to Emily Latimer for editing this newsletter, and to Katie Jensen for designing it.

We’ll see you again on July 22! Michal will be back next week, but in the meantime here’s my dog Joey at the beach last weekend with the wind in his hair.

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