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Jim Z spills the beans
Our first RWHC e-interview in a while features Jimmy Z - Wild FM's music director, and the guy who gets to pick the songs that appear on each Wild FM CD!
Thanks for your time today Jim. (November 99)
1) First of all, for readers who don't know your story, tell us about what you were up to pre-Wild FM.
I was waiting for Wild FM. I'd been doing dance radio for many years in Qld, NSW, and Vic, which even led to a stint on Hitz FM while the music director was overseas;
Working in PR for a record company and the big chart group Australian Music Report on the national charts and the dance chart.
2) Do you have many arguments with Wild members about music?
Only when I'm right!! we all talk alot about music- everybody does, everybody has an opinion -
I frequently go out of my way to ask the staff, the presenters & listeners I meet what they think about the music - what they like and dislike- and try to keep everybody happy
3) What was it like to help out the team starting Wild Brisbane?
It was great... until summer kicked in.
4) What sort of music differences (ie Bris v Sydney) were you aware of beforehand?
What did you learn there?
It's the same - but different. I lived in Queensland for a couple of years prior to being involved with the set up & running of Wild FM Brisbane so I already had a feel and a taste for the dance scene- which kicks ass!!
Queensland still has the vibe of the early 90's rave scene, which the other states have lost, sadly.
Dance music in Brisbane was very under-represented in the mainstream when Wild FM started - it is a big 'rock' town.
This has changed a lot in the last year, and Brisbane's dance scene is slowly maturing into a bigger and stronger dance scene. And Brisbane people know what they like! They have caught on real quick.
5) At what stage did you become involved with the Wild CDs? From the first one.. 'Central Hitz FM'?
Yes, from Central Hitz FM (the first 'Wild' CD) which I co-worked on with Hitz FM's Music Director, Nina Laxmandas.
It sold 25,000 copies and peaked at #8 on the NSW albums chart, so having never done anything like putting together a music compilation before, it was a real buzz!
6) What's involved in putting together the tracklisting for a new Wild CD? How long does it take?
How many songs on average (%) are you able to clear with the companies?
It's a big, big job. At one stage, putting together a Wild CD took the same effort into doing an entire broadcast.
Nowadays it is a lot easier, but there's still alot of work involved. It takes about 3 months to put out a CD.
Waiting for songs to clear with major record companies can take weeks. There's more to it than just choosing 37 of your favourite songs and putting it on a CD.
It really helps to understand the behind-the-scenes mechanics of the music industry, the licensing side of the business, and the politics.
It's hard to say how many songs on average we clear with the companies- it gets a little easier each volume.
In part 2, Jim continues talking about Wild's CDs, and some other interesting stuff..