ARN’s Katie Jayne: “Live and breathe your passion – and ignore the haters”

Whether it’s her radio career or country singing, Katie Jayne has an unquenchable thirst to keep improving.

Always seeking out airchecks and guidance, the Workdays announcer at ARN’s Power FM in Muswellbrook doesn’t baulk at honest, constructive feedback.

And the thing Katie enjoys most about working in radio? It’s a creative medium … that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

“It’s OK to make a fool of yourself on air and having fun is the most encouraged part of the job!” Katie tells Radio Today.

The journey there certainly took a few twists and turns, though.

Growing up on a property outside Dubbo, country music was a big part of Katie’s upbringing.

Today, with artists like Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan regularly topping the charts, the genre is enjoying a phenomenal surge in popularity.

But back then, Katie felt compelled to keep her love for country music a secret.

“It wasn’t until I travelled to America in my 20s, bumming around Texas, I heard Miranda Lambert’s The House That Built Me for the first time,” she remembers.

“And it was on the radio! Like the regular, mainstream radio!”

That was a turning point for Katie, who says “I didn’t want to hide in the country music closet anymore.”

Moving to the UK in 2013, Katie stumbled into her first band.

“I was very green and not very confident, but I landed my first ever gig at the Isle of Wight Festival, headlined by the original line up of Fleetwood Mac!”

And so began Katie’s quest to carve out a career as a country music artist.

“I worked my butt off understanding the industry, honing my skills and chasing down my dreams.”

Returning home in 2016, Katie decided to go solo. But she was in for a rude awakening.

“I released my first single in 2018 and quickly realised that the music industry was not built for novices like me,” she says.

“I identified that in order to not be taken advantage of, I needed a proper education.”

So, at the age of 30, Katie signed up for university, studying for a Bachelor of Creative Industries, which would give her the transferable skills she needed to work in the media industry at large.

Then COVID hit.

Overnight, Katie’s gigs – her main source of income – dried up.

She ended up moving from her Newcastle home to a spare room at her sister’s farm at Muswellbrook.

As the COVID months dragged on, Katie took up mowing lawns to try to generate an income, until a dislocated shoulder forced her to look for something a bit less physical.

A neighbour mentioned there was a job vacancy at the local radio station.

“I kept hearing it advertised on air,” Katie remembers. “So I thought, why not?”

She called Radio Hunter Valley and spoke to the General Manager Max Morris. The vacant job was in sales.

“I didn’t have a lot of experience,” says Katie. “But I was thankfully offered the job!”

“Apart from the pressure to hit budgets, I fell in love with selling radio and commercials, meeting clients and creating campaigns.”

Two years into the role, a new opportunity presented itself.

“Our PD, Andrew Reynolds, approached me with an offer to move across to on air,” says Katie.

“It was a hard decision because not only did my sales job offer me financial stability, but every spare cent was also reinvested into my music career, and I was saving up for my debut album.”

“But I took the leap because I knew that being an announcer would only help to further my skills and help navigate my career as a country music artist.”

Katie started out as the Drive host of AM station 2NM.

Less than a year later, she became the Workdays announcer on Power FM.

As part of her uni studies, Katie undertook a professional placement with KIIS FM and KIX Country at the ARN’s Brisbane studios.

“I did 80 hours split between the two stations and loved it!” she says.

“Ali Longhurst really went out of her way to help me secure that placement and we had never even met. I owe her a lot for that opportunity.”

‘I got to work with some amazing people there, shadowing then-producers, Scotty and Cass, learning from Drew Chapman and watching Robin and Kip expertly run their brekky show.”

When she moved across to KIX for her second week, Katie says Justin Thompson gave her full autonomy over the station’s socials.

“That was great,” says Katie. “To have creative freedom to work on content to attract a demographic that I knew intimately was really invigorating.”

Katie says Justin was also instrumental in giving her the opportunity to submit a demo to iHeart Country Australia as its music news presenter.

Katie landed the gig.

“I feel so lucky to be able to report on my passion, country music, as part of my day job,” she says.

From brainstorming ideas with her Power FM colleague Krystal Roker to posting social media content, Katie thrives on the day-to-day life of a radio host.

Part of the company’s voice share network, Katie’s voice has been heard on more than 100 commercials to date.

“I really love doing the voice over work, it’s another string to my bow and helps build my skillset for whatever might be in my future.”

Katie also works with LAFM and other stations which might need a fill-in host on any given day.

“I was once in six markets on the same day. That was a lot!”

Katie appreciates that her radio job offers flexibility.

“I go out on the road most weekends which sometimes means ducking off a little early on a Friday and showing up exhausted on a Monday after a full weekend of shows.”

Joel Gosper is high on the list of people who’ve helped Katie on her radio journey.

“Joel mentored me in sales as former GM at Wave FM in Wollongong. He now does Breakfast on NEW FM in Newcastle and is always there to give me an aircheck or content ideas.”

Eagle FM Goulburn GM Ray Kington has also been steadfast in his support of Katie.

“Ray and I did our sales training together and he’s also a phenomenal voice over artist!” she enthuses. “He’s been helping me with radio, my voice and an at home set up.”

Katie says there are many, many others deserving of a shout out.

“Andrew Reynolds, my Content Director, sat with me during my first ever live show while I was shaking like a leaf!”

“Samantha Clarke (Executive Producer at iHeart) has been instrumental in helping me navigate my new role with iHeart Country Australia,” says Katie. “Shout out to Nozz, too!”

“Simon Gimenez has helped me get better as a script reader by critiquing me at my request.”

“Everyone is willing to help you,” says Katie. “It’s a wonderful industry to work in for that reason alone.”

Katie’s advice to advice to young people – whether they’re pursuing radio or music as a career – is to be brave and just go for it.

“Never underestimate the power of your personal brand, too. Live and breathe your passion and there’s no way you won’t achieve your goals.”

“Oh, and one more thing: Ignore the haters. They’re not the ones keeping a roof over your head, so they don’t get a say … at all.”

Concert photo credit: Brenton Cox Photography