"Where do you find your singers for the jingles?"

"I want to be a jingle singer or writer. What should I do?"

The first thing you're going to need is a demo, so that you can show potential employers what you sound like and what you can do. If you already have studio experience, compile a brief montage of material you're proud of. If you haven't recorded professionally before, you may want to rent time at a small studio to record a sample of your work. Either way, the demo need not be longer than 3 to 5 minutes. It should present as wide a range of your abilities as possible. A montage featuring portions of 5 or 6 different items is preferable to a demo which only contains one 3-minute song. But if that one song showcases your musical and expressive range, it might do the trick.

After you've created your demo you'll need to have copies made. CDs are now the medium of choice for this, because they sound the best and are the easiest to deal with, but a high quality cassette is also acceptable. It doesn't matter whether the CDs or cassettes are made by a professional duplicator or by you at home, as long as the quality is good. If the demo sounds bad technically, it is unlikely that anyone will want to listen to it long enough to give you a fair chance.

Before you do anything else, label each copy of your demo with your name and phone number, as well as what type(s) of work you're hoping to get. For example, beneath your name and number you might write "solo vocals", or "writer/arranger" or "voice-over". Remember that it is very likely for your CD or cassette to become separated from your cover letter or resume, so please make sure that your name and contact information are on both. It is very frustrating to find a great talent and have no idea how to reach her or him, and yet it happens all the time.

"I have an idea for a jingle. Can I submit it to you?"

We will not attempt to present or sell your music or lyrics to a client for you. In almost all cases, production companies and jingle writers wait for stations or agencies to approach them to do a project. At that time the client explains the parameters of the job and what they're looking for. But most of these entities are too busy to consider material created "on spec" which they haven't asked for. Radio and TV stations make their own decisions regarding when they want to change their on-air music and jingles, and most large companies employ advertising agencies to take care of that for them. Although it is not unheard of for someone with a great new idea to get the attention of the right person at the right time, it is unusual.

"Will you help to promote me or my band as a recording artist?"

"Can I obtain copies from the JAM archives of a specific station's jingle package?"

"Can I get a JAM jingle sung just for my personal use?"

"Can I still obtain a copy of The JAM Song?"

"Where can I find a complete list of all the JAM demo records and CDs?

"Have JAM jingles been used in any movies?"

Yes. Directors often use the radio as a device for establishing a certain locale or time period. When they do, having authentic jingles from that station enhances the realism of the scene. Here is a partial list of films which include at least one JAM jingle:

• Mrs. Harris (HBO)
• Zodiac
• Son of Rambow
• Keep Your Distance
• Private Parts
• Eddie
• Losing Isaiah
• Beverly Hills Cop III
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• The Fourth Protocol
• Into The Night
• O.C. and Stiggs
• Promises In The Dark
• The Shining

There have been JAM jingles in several other movies and TV shows through the years. Just remember if you're planning to use real jingles or commercials in a production, you must get a clearance from the owner first.

"Which radio station has JAM done the most custom jingles for?"

If you combine the work we've done over the years for the UK's Radio 1 and 2, then the BBC is the winner. (Radio 1 and Radio 2 are two of the national networks operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation throughout the United Kingdom). However, if you consider only a single station, the award goes to KOST (Coast 103.5) in Los Angeles. A very close runner-up is WLS Chicago, who has aired JAM jingles continuously since 1976.

"What is the behind-the-scenes story of the demo presentation for the Class Action jingle series?"

"Which JAM package has been the most popular as far as number sold?"

Here's a list of our all-time Top Ten Packages (as of 4/20/10), along with the station that each one was originally created for. The list only considers syndicated jingle packages and doesn't include items like shouts, acappellas, and custom projects. The rankings are based on the actual number of cuts from each package which have been produced over the years for clients worldwide. It is not surprising that the winners are all titles which have been around for several years. That's because the longer a package has been out, the more opportunities stations have had to use it.