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Recording Tips
Here’s the thing: it’s not only what the legal ID sounds like, but also the context in which it’s presented. With that in mind, here’s what I look for in an ID tape:

• Legal IDs should come from actual off-air airchecks. We won’t post production pieces out of the automation or recordings off a webstream.
• The actual legal ID of the stations, even if it’s a mumbled mess buried in the :50 stopset.
• At least 10 seconds of programming on both sides of the ID (not including dead air around the ID). Because context is so important, we will no longer post IDs without surrounding programming.
• If it’s in a jingle/sweeper, the whole jingle (including jock talk, SFX, etc), plus the 10 sec. of programming on either side.
• If it’s done in a jock talk break, the entire break (or approximately 30 sec. of it if it’s terribly long), plus the 10 sec. of programming on either side.
• On high quality cassette, CD, or high quality MP3 (no less than 128 kpbs/44 khz).
• We suggest just rolling tape for a few minutes to catch the ID.
• Please provide the month and year the recording was made. IDs without month and year won’t be posted.
• E-mail ID audio to [email protected]. While e-mail is the preferred method of submission, FTP or a snail mail address is available. E-mail Brian for the scoop.
• For the lawyers (and yes, it’s an issue): We encourage submissions to tophour.com and tophour.net under the above conditions. Tophour management reserves the right to select what materials will be used on-site. There is no financial compensation for contributions. All submissions retain original copyright by the radio stations who produced the broadcast(s) and their ownership. Files will be removed upon written request by station ownership. All submissions become the property of tophour.net and tophour.com.

The Annoying Details (For True Geeks Only)
We get questions about how to name the MP3 files that are sent. Really, so long as we can tell what each file is, anything is fine. But if you really want the official Toppy naming scheme, here are some examples:

• am0600_2006-01_wmt_bdavis.mp3
• fm0883_2006-01_kcmp_jblow.mp3
• fm1027_2006-01_kiis-fm_rdees.mp3

Here’s how to do it: band, four-digit frequency, year-month, call letters, first inital and last name.

Sorry you asked?

We also get asked about what to put in the ID3 tags for the MP3s. Again, we can handle that ourselves, but here’s the geekly details:

• In the Title field: frequency, call letters, city of license.
  (EX: 102.7 KIIS-FM/Los Angeles, CA)
• In the Artist field: the month and year the clip was recorded.
  (EX: January 2006)
• In the Album field: “Contributor:” and your name.
  (EX: Contributor: Joe Blow)

Yup…the anal-retentiveness is stunning, isn’t it?

If you have questions not answered here, e-mail Brian. • E-mail audio here.