Marsha Shandur - Radio Presenter
Do you want to get into radio but are not sure how? What should you study – if anything at all – and is it all glitz and glamour? Do you have lots of questions, but not many answers?
Marsha Shandur has been working at London’s favourite alternative station Xfm for four years and has had a vast amount of experience. unicornjobs.com Student Contributor Seri Davies asked her about her job and how she got started.
By Seri Davies
Did you always want to get into radio?
No! When I was a teenager, I decided I wanted to be a social worker. My friends used to tell me how lucky I was because I knew what I wanted to do. However, when I went to university I got into radio.
Where was that?
Edinburgh. I did student radio there and just loved it, but I didn’t think I could get a job doing it. But as I started doing more and more, I realised that it was possible.
What was your first job in radio and how did you get it?
Unpaid work experience on Forth One, a local radio station in Edinburgh. They used to get a team together to cover the Edinburgh Festival and the guy who ran that project heard me on student radio, thought I was good, and rang me. I did reviews and generally helped out. My first paid job was then running the same scheme.
So you got the job through doing work experience?
Yes – then worked really hard and made sure I was there when things needed to be done in the building. I did everything from babysitting boy bands at the road show to counting pennies into plastic bags from money raised for charities. By the time the proper job came up, it was kind of obvious that I would do it as everyone knew who I was and trusted me.
Do you think your degree helped you get to where you are now?
I studied psychology which is nothing to do with radio so I don’t think the actual degree helped. At the same time, if I wasn’t at university, I wouldn’t have got into radio. At one point I was thinking of getting a job instead of studying, but it would have been hard to get the sort of work experience I got as a student in a full-time job.
Do you need qualifications in your line of work?
Not really, but you need to be good at it – and have work experience.
How did you get into Xfm?
First, I was named best female presenter in the BBC Radio One and Student Radio Association awards. Then, the host of an indie music show left Forth One, and they handed it to me. I went on to host a weekly show and did a lot of cover work as well. I did that for a couple of years after I finished university and then moved to London, where I was unemployed for a bit until I started work for Virgin Megastore’s in-store radio station.
And Xfm was on the horizon?
Yes – I started work experience on John Kennedy’s Xfm show. That meant going in once a week, making tea, opening post, that sort of thing. It was kind of weird, because that’s what people had done for me before. But you’ve got to be humble – and enjoy it.
Was it difficult when you came down to London?
Yes. It took me a year and a half to get anything. It was really depressing and horrible. I was starting to regret leaving Scotland – I almost became an air hostess! I was handing in demos and applying for jobs all over the place and not getting them.
What was your approach?
Basically, they never advertise presenting jobs. You have to send your demo to the programme controller who is probably getting about 1,000 a month. When you call them you have to get past their PA – whose job it is to make sure you don’t get through – and persuade them to listen to it. Then of course, they have to like it, and after all that, they might not even have a job for you.
Really tough
I finally handed in a demo to John Kennedy, who passed it on to his boss, who liked it. Then I got some cover work, and finally a regular show from 1am to 3am twice a week. It went up to four days a week, and I did that show for two years. I then switched to the weekend breakfast show just over a year ago, and now have a Sunday lunchtime show.
What has been the most memorable experience in you career so far?
Winning the student radio award as I didn’t expect it. I stood up, got mobbed, and fell over – my friend had to lead me to the stage. It was amazing, as working for Radio One at the time was my dream and they gave me the award.
Any others?
Well, I’m obsessed with Maximo Park. They played The Big Night Out at Brixton Academy as part of Xfm’s 10th birthday celebrations and I got to introduce them on stage. Awesome.
What are the main perks of your job?
You get lots of free stuff and get to go to gigs for nothing. You also get free records sent to you and other things like theatre tickets.
Lucky you
Yes, but I realise I am very privileged. I’ve made it my mission to tell people about good music – and not just on the radio. I’m now in the position where I can talk to the people on MySpace and ask if I can plug a band. Currently there are 1,200 people signed up to a mailer I send out and another 600 will read that on the web every week. I have another 600 friends on Facebook and MySpace, which means I do have a bit of influence. If I like a band, I can tell people about it, and it’s nice to be able to help people who I think genuinely deserve it. I get nice e-mails from people saying thank you for recommending bands as well.
Any things you don’t like about your job?
I work every Christmas Day and New Year’s day. People always ask me “what are you doing?” and I say “getting up at 3am to do my show”. I work every weekend and have been going to bed at 7pm for the past two years on a Friday, so I guess a major bad point are the crappy hours and not being able to go out with friends when you want to. A friend overslept on a work day recently but there’s no way I could get away with that as I have to be on air.
What if you’re ill?
The last time I was sick I had thousands of messages telling me to get well soon, which was nice, but everyone notices when I’m not there. When you’re sick or want to go on holiday you don’t get paid.
Any other drawbacks in a job like yours?
There’s always a fear that you could get sacked at any moment. So if you’re looking for financial security, then it’s the wrong industry for you.
You also manage artists and have your own label. How did this come about?
It was all totally by accident and something that’s only happened in the last year. I was asked to manage Sam Isaac while I was presenting the show. He sent me his music and I thought he was great, so I helped him and eventually people said “you do know you’re his manager now?”
Did you want to manage someone?
My instant reaction was no. Managers work so hard and often for not much money. When things go well, everyone talks about how great the artist is, but when things go badly then it’s your fault. People rarely thank you – and you get calls early in the morning as well and you know what I feel about sleep. But I took it on and it’s fine.
What tips would you give to a graduate?
You must get work experience. A lot of people who get jobs at Xfm have been there doing work experience for at least a year. Think about it. When a job comes up, are you going to give it to the person who has an amazing CV and fantastic references, or to someone who has been working there for a year and everyone knows?
What else?
Don’t restrict yourself. Don’t stick to one genre, like indie, and just try to get that sort of experience. The radio industry is too small. Everyone knows everyone and all the contacts you get can help you. Get involved – at a local, community or hospital radio station. Just always be humble, work hard and be willing to do anything for anyone.
What duties does a normal day involve?
There isn’t a normal day. If I’m working on the weekend, I get in at 4am and then spend an hour having breakfast, going on facebook and reading the paper. After the show, if there isn’t someone on work experience helping me out, I have to sort out prizes which need to be sent out, go through Time Out and find interesting events so I can give out tickets.
What about interviews?
I might need to do a pre recorded one, which means I’d have to edit that before hand.
Management wise, I could be doing anything from sort out Sam’s doctor’s appointment to making sure his band know when rehearsals are.
What challenges have you faced in you career?
Being unemployed for ages. When you haven’t got a job it can be disheartening as you realise there isn’t a normal application process. After that hurdle, it’s trying to stay employed once you’ve got there. Also getting up early in the mornings is a struggle, and you soon find out that you’re missing out on exciting things with your friends.
Personality wise, what qualities do you need to be successful?
Well it’s not nice when someone sends in a horrible text and it’s hard not to get offended or feel bad about it, so you have to be thick skinned. Also, I guess to some degree you’ve got to be relatively interesting and funny, be prepared for no sleep, getting called into work and doing things ad- lib.
What are your aspirations for the future?
God knows. I really love Xfm and its sounding great at the moment. On the other hand, I love the music that Radio One play as I’m into other genres too. The idea of trying to spread the word further and influencing more people on varieties of new music is appealing, but on a bigger platform, it would be a lot tougher to do.
And the management side?
Obviously I want Sam to do well because I think he’s great and deserves it. With the label, in a dream world I would discover the next Scouting for Girls or something similar. I guess my main aspiration at the moment is to continue having fun, being happy and to take more days off.
Check out Marsha’s page on xfm.co.uk
Check out Masha’s MySpace
This article is part of the unicornjobs.com guide to Working In The Music Business. Click here to go to the guide index.
