This weekend, it was announced that the highly influential Zane Lowe would be leaving his post at BBC Radio 1 to go and work for Apple, with his contemporary Annie Mac taking over his role. At Point Blank, we’ve been lucky enough to have both Zane and Annie come to our London school and bless us with some amazing guest speaker sessions, where they spoke directly to our students as well as giving interviews. In the light of the recent news, we thought it would be great opportunity to recap what happened when both Lowe and Mac came to visit Point Blank!
Zane Lowe
Zane Lowe is one of the most recognisable faces and voices in the UK music industry. He made his name on MTV as the presenter of alt-rock show Gonzo, before going on to become one of the key voices and tastemakers at BBC Radio 1, where he’s been for the last 12 years. Zane has become synonymous with his ‘Hottest Record in the World’ feature, which over the years has become a highly sought after stamp of approval for a new track for artists of all backgrounds. In his time at Radio 1, Zane interviewed some of the biggest artists including Eminem, Kanye West and Rick Rubin.
As one of the most respected figures at the station, it was a great pleasure to welcome Zane to our London school where he spoke directly to our students, and we got to chat to him about everything from his career to what moves him, and how he spots the next big track. Watch our video interview with him above. We’re wishing you the best of luck from PB for your new job at Apple, Zane!
Annie Mac
The fact that Annie Mac is replacing Zane Lowe on his weekly evening show is made even more significant because Annie began her career at Radio 1 as a broadcast assistant for Zane’s show. This truly shows how far hard work can get you, and nobody in the music industry can question Annie’s dedication and hard work over the years. Known already for starting the weekend on Radio 1 with her Friday evening dance music show and for seeing it out with her more chilled ‘Musical Hot Water Bottle’ show on a Sunday evening, Annie will now have 11 hours a week on the station when Zane departs. Over the years, Annie has championed the likes of Magnetic Man, Nero and Sam Smith, all of which have gone on to enjoy great success.
Annie is also known for giving Point Blank radio course alumni Monki a helping hand in getting noticed at Radio 1, after giving her the opportunity to provide the ‘Mini Mix‘ for one of her shows. After studying at PB, Monki presented a show on Rinse FM before she was snapped up by Radio 1 for her own show. You can now catch Monki on Radio 1 every Monday, 1am-4am.
Below, you can read our interview with Annie Mac where she came into our London school and told us how she secured her first job at BBC Radio 1 during a music industry masterclass following chatting directly to our students…
How did you secure your job at BBC Radio 1?
“I’d started knocking on the door of Radio 1 at the time because that’s where I wanted to end up, and I knew people that knew people. I started sending e-mails to executive producers there, and told them what I was doing with my time and started sending them what I called ‘gentle reminders’ every 6 months saying “Hi, it’s still me, I’m still here, this is what I’m doing, I’m doing this radio show, here’s a demo…”.
I kept doing that, and eventually got work experience at BBC London, which was, I think, a trigger for what got me into Radio 1 eventually. At Radio 1, if you have local BBC experience, they take that really seriously. All I was doing was answering the phones on ‘Film Show’, every Saturday I went in for three hours and did that, but it was really good to have on my CV. I did that as well as SPN and as well as radio plugging.
I just kept knocking on door of Radio 1, and eventually this guy called Rhys Hughes, who’s still my boss now, picked up the phone one day and said “Would you come in and work for two days? Someone’s ill.” I came in and worked for 2 days, which worked out into 2 weeks. In that time there was an interview for the job which I was doing, which was the Broadcast Assistant role. It was an interview for the BA role for Steve Lamacq’s show, which is what Zane Lowe’s show is now. I got it, and I became a broadcast assistant at Radio 1.”
Here at Point Blank we also wish Annie Mac the best of luck with her new weekday evening show at BBC Radio 1!
If seeing the likes of Zane Lowe and Annie Mac has got considering a career in radio, you should come and study a radio course at Point Blank. You’ll receive a first class education in how to produce and present a radio show from our radio professionals, including presenting styles, interview techniques, playlists, radio desks and much more.
The post Zane Lowe & Annie Mac Visit Point Blank appeared first on Music Production School Tutorials & News.
(c) Music Production School Tutorials & News – Read entire story here.