Update 23.10.14

Thanks very much to everyone who took the time to apply for this role. The position has now been filled. For anyone interested, we’ll update further on Facebook.

Update 30.09.14

We’ve now selected 15 candidates who are shortlisted for the role, all of whom have been contacted to discuss next steps. We will update again when there’s further news.

Update 10.09.14:

Submissions for this role are now closed. We’re now reviewing all applications, and will be in touch individually with candidates whom we would like to speak with further.

Update 28.08.14

We’ve had quite a few requests to extend the deadline on application cutoff date due to people being on holiday in August. Given that we’re flat out over the next couple of weeks so we might struggle to allocate any substantial listening time to the final submissions in the 1st week of September anyway, we’ll extend the deadline from 1st September to midnight Tuesday 9th September, which will be the latest we will accept submissions for review. We’ve already reviewed a lot of great material received, and really looking forward to hearing more. Hope that helps some of you who may be running out of time!


Update 05.08.14 : How to Succeed with your Application – from Radium’s Founder & Creative Director Andrew Diey

Thank you all for the recent submissions. I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the things that we look for within a job submission. We love creativity and so your music tracks which are very creative are most welcome. When we advertise a position we often receive hundreds of applications which as you can imagine, takes a lot of organization and time on our side. to handle. We set the submission guidelines so that we can receive your work in a way that enables us to quickly and easily organize the high volume of submissions for internal review, and if we like something we hear, quickly identify who sent it to us. It’s also important for us to see that you can follow the guidelines, because our team often needs to follow external client instructions which may be complex, or different to the way we would do things ourselves, so this process helps us to identify up front whether you’re comfortable working in that way. If you really want to have a shot at this position, the following are very important:

Watch the film … to get a flavour for the position
Follow carefully the guidelines … on how to submit
Clearly identify your submission … as belonging to you per the guidelines given
Listen to the Spotify playlist … and submit work which is in line with the sound we’re looking for
Read the FAQs … and follow all advice given there, it is designed to give you a better chance of succeeding with your application

You have a month to put together your best presentation.. why not take time to think about how you want to apply to give yourself the best chance of success? We have just successfully advertised for another position, and we can tell you that those who followed our guidelines have been most successful within the auditioning, especially those who put together material specially for the job application, they really caught our attention .. and our respect.

So, if you want to win the ears & hearts of our team who are auditioning the demos we are sent.. my advice is to follow the guidelines, think about what you actually want to send.. as this is how we will initially judge your ability. Very very importantly, check out the playlist: Radium Melody Maker 2014 and if you are very keen to win the job (and you are very serious about your application) then why not create a few tracks based on the playlist and surprise us with how amazing your musician skills are …

If you have already applied, and sent material but haven’t followed all the guidelines don’t worry – we will accept reapplications which follow the guidelines.

So again .. please please please read carefully and follow the instructions about how to apply, ensure you have listened to the Spotify playlist and you are submitting material that is relevant for this opportunity and use wetransfer only to send us your beautifully organized folder of demos as we will not be reviewing submissions which have not done this. Still with us? Then read on below …

thank you
Andrew Diey
Founder of Radium Audio

Full Time Inhouse Musician / Composer (Bristol Based)

We’re looking for someone to join our new Bristol based team as composer focusing on writing themes, catchy melodies and music production. The right person is very likely to …

Come from a pop music, orchestral, or song writing background or similar
Be able to read and write music
Have some grounding in music theory
Be able to play a musical instrument
Be a strong pop writer with a flair for creating great hooks, big themes, clever harmonies, scintillating riffs, and emotive scores.
Take a highly organised approach to working in studio
Be enthusiastic and quick to learn and apply new creative techniques and technology

… all of which reflect the creative and technical demands of the role. This is a full time inhouse job opportunity, so you’ll need to live in or be prepared to move to the Bristol area, and have ongoing legal right to live and work in the UK.

Here are the bullet points …

  • Pop writer / Melody Maker / Big Themester / Aspiring Orchestrator
  • Legally entitled to work in the UK
  • Logic Pro / Sibelius ready
  • At least basic grounding in music theory
  • Competence with at least 1 acoustic instrument, preferably keyboard/piano

You don’t necessarily need prior professional experience or to be technologically advanced, as you’d be joining an existing team of experienced writers, producers and engineers, however you will need to at least be able to demonstrate ideas on Logic Pro or Sibelius, have some grounding in music theory and play at least one acoustic instrument with competence, preferably keyboard.

Our studio has lots of live instruments, synths, and production kit. We sometimes travel nationally and internationally to make live sound, instrumental and orchestral recordings and we work with a wide variety of clients in TV, film, gaming, advertising, and interactive media.

To get an idea of the type of sound we’re after, check out this Spotify Playlist: Radium Melody Maker 2014

How To Apply

Send us your initial submission as follows

  1. Email jobs@radium-audio.com with the subject line format: “1408 Inhouse Musician/Composer [YOUR FULL NAME & PHONE NO]”
  2. Include in your email as the final item at the bottom a couple of paragraphs introducing yourself, explaining why you are applying and what you feel you could bring to the team.
  3. Include in your email as the first item at top of page WeTransfer link to download the following asset package.
  • MUSIC TRACKS: Maximum of 6 original music tracks you have created in the style of any of these: pop, electronic, trailer music, acoustic, indie
  • CREATIVE TRACK: Your single weirdest / most out-there music track you have created, anything that will make us go … “wow this is insane, we LOVE it!” It can be any genre of music.
  • PERFORMED PIECE – based on your instrument/s of choice / a piece of music to show off your musicianship skills
  • CURRENT CV: in pdf or word format.

    • Important: Please ensure you arrange, label and format your files so it is easy for us to understand what they are and who sent them, and also for us to get a feel for your organisational flair, important in this role. Audio files should be preferably be mp3s or wavs. Audio visual material should be web links to the specific work hosted on Vimeo, your own website, or other portfolio site. It’s fine if you want to send us private links that are passworded rather than public links. Its fine if you want to include a reference page explaining everything you’ve sent through.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Many of these questions we’re asked repeatedly by phone and email every time we advertise a role, so we hope that by including them, it will make the application process simpler and more transparent for everyone. We also include some that are relevant for this specific role, so even if you’ve looked at some of our other job ads and you’ve read through FAQs before, you should still check through the below as some of it will be different depending on the role.

    Section 1. Should I apply for this role?

    Q. I don’t have much in the way of professional studio experience. Can I still apply?
    A. Definitely! Maybe you haven’t worked in sound and music professionally but you devour knowledge and practice your craft obsessively every spare minute, and you’re confident you can bring a lot of what we’re looking for to the table and step up where you need to. Maybe you’ve been studying a relevant course and working hard on your skills in your downtime, and you’re now looking to get a break into the industry. Maybe you’ve already been doing this somewhere else, and you like the sound of being on our team. If you have many of the things we’ve asked for, you can come up with the right material to submit, and you’re willing to do whatever it takes to learn quickly what you don’t know then give it a go!

    Q. I don’t really fit with the role you’ve described, but I’d love to be a part of your team. Can I apply with material that isn’t in the style that you’re asking for, on the offchance I might catch your attention for another role?
    A. We’d really prefer if you didn’t. We do tend to receive a lot of submissions and we really want to focus our time and attention on those which are right for the specific role we need to fill immediately. We don’t hire without advertising the opportunity publicly so if you’ve signed up on the Radium Careers page to be notified of new opportunities, you’ll know immediately when we do have something that might suit you.

    Q. I’d love to apply, but I’m not able to supply material of all of the types you’ve asked for. Is there still a chance I could be successful?
    A. Obviously that’s not ideal, however it’s possible if you are particularly strong in what you do send to us, and you’re prepared to put in the effort and hard work to upskill quickly on what you don’t know. You can put your case to us on this in your email covering paragraphs .

    Q. Is this a real job?
    A. Yes, this is a real job.

    Q. Is this a paid position? If so, how much?
    A. Yes, this is a full time inhouse salaried position. Salary will be offered on individual basis at a level in line with ability, experience, and value brought to the team at time of hire.

    Q. I collaborate with one or more creative partners. Can we apply collectively?
    A. Unfortunately that won’t work. Right now we have a full time position for 1 person, who will need to carry the entire skillset for the job themselves.

    Q. I don’t live near your studio right now, but I’d be willing to relocate if I got the job. Can I still apply?
    A. Yes you can, most of the application process can be completed remotely. However if you make it through to the final shortlist, you will need to travel at your own expense to attend the studio in person for final interview & demo stages, and to relocate promptly if offered the position.

    Q. I don’t live in the UK, but I’m an EU citizen and I have the right to move to the UK and take employment without any restrictions. Can I still apply?
    A. Yes you can. Most of the application process can be completed remotely. However if you make it through to the final shortlist, you will need to travel at your own expense to attend the studio in person for final interview & demo stages, and to relocate promptly if offered the position.

    Q. I don’t live in the UK, and I also live outside the EU. Can I still apply?
    A. You will need to demonstrate to us with your initial application that you have the unrestricted right already in place to live and work in the UK, as we are not able to assist with immigration issues and work permit applications. Most of the application process can be completed remotely. However if you make it through to the final shortlist, you will need to travel at your own expense to attend the studio in person for final interview & demo stages, and to relocate promptly if offered the position.

    Q. I don’t live near the studio, but I’d be willing to work remotely. Can I still apply?
    A. Sadly, no. For this position, we’re really looking for someone to join the inhouse team. Given the highly fluid and organically creative nature of what we do, we feel the best results can only be achieved from being physically and mentally present and together as a team. So unfortunately remote working doesn’t fit with what we’re looking to achieve from this role.

    Q. I’m not looking for a full time inhouse position, but I’d be interested in freelancing for you as and when. Can I still apply?
    A. This is not an external freelance position, we are definitely looking for someone to work with us inhouse full time. We will advertise for freelancers when we have a specific requirement for that.

    Q. I’ve applied with you before and not been successful. Is it pointless to apply again?
    A. Not at all, give it another shot! As long as you fit with the role as we’ve described, you have the right material to submit and you follow the current instructions for submission, definitely do apply again. A few of our team have made unsuccessful applications before finally gaining a position.

    Q. I’m not right for this role, but could I apply for an internship or some work experience, or just spend some time in studio observing?
    A. We’re often working on projects for clients which are highly confidential, so while we don’t want to be anti-social, mostly we try to avoid having observers in studio who are not directly working on projects in progress. Sometimes we do have opportunities for internships or work experience, and we ALWAYS advertise these as it has happened in the past that the occasional intern has come in, blown us away with energy, commitment, talent and usefulness, and progressed eventually to a permanent position on the team. So we want to throw the net as wide as we can. You can sign up on our Radium Careers page to be notified of any opportunities that come up.

    Q. I’m not really right for this role, but can I just send you my work speculatively? Do you have other opportunities happening soon and will you remember me when they come up?
    A. Given that we’re expanding and opening a new studio, we will definitely have further opportunities to come soon. We wouldn’t say “no, don’t send us your work” because we take it as a compliment that you’d choose to share it with us. But realistically, we’re flat out most of the time and while we review speculative applications occasionally, given the volume we receive it’s difficult to make an ongoing commitment to review all of them. Also, if you’re sending us a general email about your work, you’re essentially shooting blind. Whereas if you’re responding to a specific callout we’ve made, you’ll be able to shape what you send us so that it fits with what we’re looking for at that time, and we do commit to listening to EVERY submission when it’s for a role we’ve advertised. You’re more likely to grab our attention if you submit something we’ve specifically asked for, in the way that we’ve asked for it, at the time we’re looking for it.

    Section 2 . Ok I’ve decided I’m going to apply, and I’m preparing my submission ….

    Q. I’ve been looking for a job in sound and music for a while, and I have a standard submission with covering email and CV that I usually send off to prospective employers. Is it ok if I just send you that?
    A. You will be at a disadvantage in the application process if you haven’t shaped your submission to fit the role on offer.

    Q. I have a lot of great material I’d love to share with you in my submission. Can I send in more than what you’ve asked for?
    A. We’d really prefer if you kept to the maximums we’ve given. We tend to have many submissions to review and we’ve limited what we’ve asked for to numbers that we think gives great opportunity to show off your best work, while still ensuring we have enough time to check out everything you’ve sent us. If we want to hear more material, we’ll get in touch and ask you for it.

    Q. I have some great material to share with you, but I can’t meet the maximums you’ve specified for each part of the submission. Will I be at a disadvantage if I share less material?
    A. Not necessarily. But it’s a good idea to show us as much as you can of your range and best work within the given limits – it just strengthens your application to do that.

    Q. I have some material to share but it’s not totally all my work although I contributed. Is it ok to submit?
    A. For this role it’s important that any compositional work be completely your own, we are not looking to hear any collaborations because it’s too difficult to ascertain your ability from that. For the musicianship piece, a solo is probably best, but if you are playing with others, be very sure that it is a collaboration that highlights your performance and doesn’t obscure it. If you can submit a video of your performance that would be even better.

    Q. There seem to be a few different styles in the Spotify playlist you’ve referenced. Should I focus on any one in particular of these?
    A. You’ll hear quite a few different styles of composition in our playlist, however the common element is that they’re all melodically strong in their way, and they’re all similar examples to the types of work we do. So if you can demonstrate a good range inspired by our playlist, that would be ideal.

    Q. Can I be creative with the format of my application? The way I like doing things is different to what you’ve asked for.
    A. We don’t want to be unnecessarily rigid, but given that we do tend to receive a lot of material to organise and review, and your application gives us an idea not just about your creative and technical skills, but also about your ability to follow team instructions correctly and organise your own work and team work, it will be to your advantage to work within the submission guidelines we’ve given.

    Q. Is it an advantage to get my application in really early?
    A. It’s probably a good idea if you can. We often have a lot of applications to listen to and the earlier ones can set the standard going forward. But if you need to take some time to work on your material to send it in, then don’t send a rush job that doesn’t really show what you can do just for the sake of getting it to us in the first few days. Put your best foot forward!

    Q. When do applications close?
    A. When we have a shortlist we’re comfortable with. Typically we tend to run recruitment campaigns for 1-2 months, and we announce on Facebook when we’re getting close to closing off. But could be sooner depending on quality of applications we receive. For this role, ideally we’d look to close applications 1st September, and have a two week review period which a shortlist of candidates to proceed to demo stage being contacted around 2nd week September.

    Section 3: I’ve sent in my submission. What happens now?

    Q. Ok so I’ve applied for the position following all the guidelines given. What happens next?
    A. Andrew Diey, Radium’s Creative Director will begin reviewing and shortlisting applications. EVERY application we receive is reviewed. After an initial shortlist is compiled, our internal team review these and decide upon a final Stage 1 shortlist. Those people will then be contacted by phone to discuss next steps. Depending on how many applications we receive and review, it may take a few weeks to compile the shortlist, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear from us immediately. Also, we post updates on Facebook, so we’ll let everyone know when we’re getting close to a shortlist and some follow up phone calls.

    Q. Did you get my email?
    A. You should receive an auto –responder from us confirming receipt of your email. If you haven’t:

    • Check your spam or junk mail in case it landed there
    • Check you have only sent your submission to jobs@radium-audio.com and not directed to or included any other address
    • If neither of the above applies, email us again without any attachments or links with “NO RECEIPT RECEIVED” inserted at the end of your original subject line. We’ll then check our autoresponder to be sure it’s working properly, and let you know if we received your mail.

    Q. Should I phone just for a quick chat to follow up my application?
    A. Please don’t be offended, however due to volume of enquiries we tend to get, we’d really prefer if you didn’t. If we can hear what we’re looking for in what you’ve sent us, we’ll definitely be phoning you!

    Q. The WeTransfer link I sent you expired and I can see you haven’t downloaded it yet. What should I do?
    A. Firstly, please accept our apologies for the delay. We listen to every submission, so depending on how many we receive, this could happen occasionally. Just resend the submission including a new download link with the original email subject line intact, and insert at the end “LINK EXPIRED & RESENDING”.

    Q. What do you really look for when you go through all the applications?
    A. The first thing we do before anything else is start listening to your work, looking for obvious things like talent, production values, creativity, potential, and also to get a feel for whether there’s common ground there with our own philosophy and approach. If we like what we hear, we’d then read through your introduction paragraph and look at your CV for consideration to shortlist. This is why we’ve asked you to put your WeTransfer link as the first item in your email, and the covering text afterwards at the bottom. This is also why it’s important to ensure you name and label your files so that it’s easy for us to know what they are and who sent them.

    Q. Will you let me know about the outcome regardless of whether or not I’ve been successful?
    A. Yes, once the recruitment process is complete applicants who didn’t hear from us by phone will receive a standard email notification. Also you can keep up with progress on our Facebook and Radium Careers pages where we will post recruitment status updates as they become available for any advertised role.

    Thanks and good luck – we’re looking forward to hearing your submissions!