Arts & Entertainment, Music, Science & Tech
Hosting A Radio Show
Lesson time 11:59 min
Don’t overlook the power of radio. Armin is passionate about his A State of Trance show, and it’s a crucial component of his global brand. Here’s how you can use radio to both grow as a musician and grow your fan base.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: What Radio Can Do for You • Armin's Programming Philosophy • The Search for New Music • Listen With an Open Mind • Use Your Audience's Ears • Basic Rules for Talk Breaks • Grab Your Listeners' Attention • Make a Human Connection
Teaches Dance Music
Learn how to make dance music from the platinum-selling producer voted No. 1 DJ in the world five times by DJ Magazine.
Sign UpPreview
A radio show or a podcast is a very direct way to communicate with your fans. The good thing about it is that there is no journalist or anything correcting that. It's you talking to your fans. I use my radio show as the center of everything that I do. Whether it's telling about a new track, a new album, something that I did on tour, something big coming up, an artist that I admire, a label I want to support, I use my radio show as a direct way to communicate. Also, the radio show sort of makes me go through all the new music that week. So I have to go through all my promos, which is tedious sometimes, because I get sent so much new music. But because I have a radio show, I need to go through all those new tracks, which also excites me, because it prepares me for the weekend. So sometimes I'm a little bit bored. I go through all the tracks. But there hasn't been a week since I started the radio show that I'm not inspired by a brand new song that also excites me to go back into the studio to create my own music. So in a way, I make the radio show not only for my fans but also for myself. Every week, I have about 60 new tracks that I want to play on a radio show. And every week, I get to play about 28 including the standard things of the show. Like, every week on the show, I have a tune of the week, which is my favorite track of that week. I have a future favorite, which the web votes. People can vote on my website and pick their favorite. We have a trending track, which is the most discussed track of that specific week like on social media. So I have a guy monitoring the social media activity during the show of last week. And then again, I play the track that was most talked about-- not necessarily the best, but most talked about track of the week after. Then I got this new thing called service for dreamers, which is a track that I get a story with from a listener, which is one of my favorite things of the show. Because we always invite a guest to the studio, tell a story about a specific track. And it really makes a connection with the crowds. So those are always the standard things in my radio show. And I always play a few . I don't want to play all new music in my show. Because that can be a little bit uncomfortable if you play nothing but new music. But mainly, I would say 70%, 60% to 70%, of every radio show I do is new music. Because that's what I want to use radio for to get people in touch with brand-new music, music that I think they should hear. I dare to say that if you listen to my radio show "A State Of Trance" that you hear about, well, at least 60% to 70% of the Trance tracks that matter, you know, that really can have a big impact, or are successful in the charts, or whatever-- and the underground charts, that is. So that is what my goal is, you know? I feel like I'm the guy in the middle, the connection between all the great producers that are out there and the fans. So I'm just passing on the gre...
About the Instructor
Every week, Armin van Buuren puts 41 million listeners into A State of Trance on his radio show. In his first-ever online class, the platinum-selling DJ breaks down his hits and builds a track from scratch to show you how he produces, performs, and promotes dance music. You’ll learn his technical process for using samples and plug-ins, mixing, recording vocals, and how to DJ a set. Your crowd is waiting.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Armin van Buuren
Learn how to make dance music from the platinum-selling producer voted No. 1 DJ in the world five times by DJ Magazine.
Explore the Class