Radio broadcaster & former Nickelodeon personality
Zach Sang - Radio broadcaster and former Nickelodeon personality
Zach has set the standards for interviewing music stars and celebrities, after completing over 10,000 interviews with the likes of Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Shawn Mendes.
Zach represents the next generation of radio, bridging the gap between pop culture, social media and broadcast with the Zach Sang Show, which is heard nightly on over 70 of the largest Pop Radio Stations in America.
Zach Sang Show: http://www.zachsangshow.com/
Zach Sang Show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAJnnJPeWf45gPDuQ15-Z6w
Zach On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachsang
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“Know that where you're sitting right now, it's woven with the blood of engineer Craig Fingers.”
“I turned to radio for a friend.”
“Radio was missing authenticity. Radio got very used to having 40-year-old men balding in bowling shirts trying to relate to 16-year-old females.”
“Radio is suffering from a branding problem. Radio has the potential to rebrand.”
“Content is always going to be king.”
“I want to die with a microphone in my hand.”
What should someone do if they want to start a niche podcast but worry no one will listen?
Zach Sang advises pursuing any concept you're passionate about even if it seems niche (e.g., about ninjas or dogs' paws), because there will be an audience for it, and not to get discouraged if it isn't heard by millions.
How can a host build a sustainable, successful media career and brand?
Zach Sang says success comes from staying authentic and genuinely being the same person on and off mic, from being diligent and researched in your craft, and from focusing on your own work rather than comparing yourself to competitors, since being comfortable is 'the kiss of death.'
How should creators think about distributing their content across platforms?
Zach Sang suggests that since content already exists, creators should repurpose it across as many platforms as possible (audio, YouTube, Instagram snippets) to reach the maximum audience, since viewers of short clips often convert into full-show listeners.
Zach Sang explains that the couch his guests sit on was salvaged from the studio's dumpster by an engineer named Craig, broke multiple times (once when other staff's adult children played video games on it), and was repaired twice by Craig, who bled fixing it.
Zach Sang recounts running a middle-school party DJ business with a best friend, losing that friendship, feeling misunderstood after being told his YouTube ideas were 'too extra,' and turning to radio as a way to find friendship and community during the transition to a much larger high school.
Zach Sang describes cold-calling programme directors to place his independent FM show on stations in exchange for ad inventory, growing from zero to about 25 stations, then being acquired by Westwood One (then Dial Global) which expanded distribution to roughly 60 Cumulus stations and relocated the show to LA with only four days to learn new equipment before going live.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
According to Sang, it was his bedroom with an IKEA desk, a $120 USB microphone facing a wall with a poster of a monkey wearing headphones behind him, run through a single laptop connected to Skype and the platform BlogTalkRadio.
From episode 521→Sang and a partner built an independent FM show, cold-called programme directors offering a night show in exchange for ad inventory (barter), got their first station (Extreme 107.1 in Dubuque, Iowa) and grew to about 25 affiliates before Westwood One bought the show and expanded it to around 60 Cumulus stations, moving the team to LA.
From episode 521→He argues content will always be king regardless of delivery system; as Wi-Fi and autonomous vehicles change in-car listening, radio brands and personalities will persist but should distribute content across as many platforms (YouTube, Instagram, streaming) as possible to reach audiences.
From episode 521→Mentioned on 3 episodes Zachwasn’t on.
Every episode featuring Zach Sang on The Daily Talk Show.
