There's No Reason For Anybody To Be Out Of Work

[Eric Aiese]

I went to an open house for Cameo several years ago, during a break from
college.  Basically, they lease bulk time from stations and sublet it to
individual broadcasters in 15-minute chunks.  So on one hand, it's an
honest deal - they sell you the studio time and airtime.

But their pitch is really fishy.  After you buy the time, they explained,
you can pick up sponsors, who will gladly pay you cash or in kind for
on-air mentions.  Want a free vacation?  Call Delta!  Need a new car? 
Call GM!  Want free lunch?  Call the pizza place on your block, and you'll
never have to pay for a meal again.  Add in cash sponsors, and you could
make thousands from every broadcast!

At this point, I was curious what kind of stations they were buying, so I
asked.  He said he couldn't say, because then everyone would bother the
stations directly.  Fair enough.  When someone else asked the same
question later in the presentation, the guy snapped, again refusing to say
anything, which struck me as sketchy.  I found out later that the programs
run on a few small AM and cable radio stations out in California.  Not
very relevant for the Quincy House of Pizza.  And painful for the
listener, who gets another random program each 15 minutes.

After the presentation, they had each of the 30 attendees tape an
audition, reading 30 seconds of copy in one of their studios.  Sure
enough, the next day I got a call that I had passed the audition, and as
soon as I brought over a check, I could get started.

In retrospect, I guess it could be a good way to learn a little about
radio and make a demo tape, while paying less than broadcasting school. 
But selling this as a money maker is just deceptive.

So, who's in?  We could discuss Boston radio for the people of Napa Valley...

Eric


> There is a link on the website to apply on-line. Good Luck. Comes back as
> "no longer available".
>
> I smell a scam..
>
> Rod O'Connor
> Southwest Harbor, Maine
>
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>