"What do you mean your deejay card," I replied.
"You know: the card that says I'm a deejay and gets me into concerts and free stuff," she explained.
My partner and I had a chuckle to ourselves later - after we had thanked her for coming and told her we'd think it over.
We were quite amused that someone would think there's some kind of membership card for the free stuff, like a "Get Out of Jail" card from Monopoly or a "Friend of the F.O.P" card that will really get you out of a ticket.
No, I never have been given a Deejay Card that entitled me to "all the free stuff". But, that hopeful intern (who cared less about radio and more about free concert tickets) was on the right track if she sensed radio people have an inside track to The Freebie Zone. We do get some stuff but it's random at best.
The Shirt Off Everyone's Back
The #1 freebie radio people get are T-shirts. Sure, the radio station you work for gives you T-shirts to wear at station events. But, then there is this never-ending parade of cotton that accompanies people who are on your show to promote something. (Why everyone thinks all events justify a T-shirt with the name of the event on it is beyond me!) Yet, people continue to print up T-shirts and can't wait to give them to deejays! I know: I should be grateful that someone has given me a piece of clothing that says "Gay Pride Parade 2010"
Sadly, that T-shirt along with dozens (maybe hundreds over the years) have served two purposes in my life: night shirts for my kids when they were toddlers and cleaning cloths I store in the bucket in my garage that says "new rags".
