Because details matter. The Dom Evans story

Dom Evans cares deeply about details.

It might sound like a cliché, but Dom – founder of audio production company EARSAY – says all those ‘one percenters’ really do add up.

“How long that pause is, whether that music hangs for another 2.5 seconds, whether we could lose 4 seconds somewhere … those things matter.”

Reflecting on his career journey, Dom tells Radio Today he was fascinated with TV and radio from an early age and used to enjoy playing DJ with his parents’ stereo.

“I think I found Dad’s microphone at one stage, which was endless fun,” Dom remembers. Though, he admits, not necessarily fun for his folks!

Like Hamish & Andy, Jack Post, Zan Rowe, Tommy Little, Belle Jackson, Ryan Shelton and many others, Dom’s radio journey began at Student Youth Network (SYN FM), based out of Melbourne’s RMIT University.

“I was in Year Nine at the time, and I think it’s fair to say I was a little lost at school,” says Dom. “I hadn’t really found a path I was passionate about yet.”

At that time, SYN was running a schools program, where classes full of students would go in once or twice a week and learn how to produce and present a radio show.

“I think, for me, this really connected my childhood interest in media production with a tangible and attainable career,” says Dom.

“It was on! I remember most of my classmates were terrified by the panel, but I just couldn’t wait to get my mits on it.”

It was through the SYN days that Dom became friends with James Lake, now National News Operations Manager at SCA (pictured above with Dom).

They’ve been best mates for 20 odd years now, and given their long standing friendship, James admits he may come across as biased when he tells Radio Today “If there was a Michelin Star for audio production, EARSAY would have one.”

That’s because he’s seen Dom’s work ethic first-hand.

“Right from the start in our days of making community radio, Dom had a passion for crafting the production in our shows.”

“With the lack of resources we had compared to a commercial station, Dom still zipped and zapped up masterpieces of show and segment openers.”

“I think it’s this grassroots level training which gives Dom the skill to care about the most delicate details in a piece of production, while also appreciating the big picture of where its going to fit within a show or station.”

After SYN, Dom went on to work for fifteen years at SCA. He says they were incredible times.

“I had worked my way up from a casual panel operator to Head of Production for The Fox – truly the greatest radio production job in the country, a position I held for six years and absolutely loved.”

“I got to work with some incredible people on some amazing projects, including two network re-brands.”

Increasingly, Dom hungered for the next challenge.

“I really hoped it could be with SCA. I had all the right conversations with the right people, but it became clear there wasn’t a ‘next step’ for me there at the time.”

A role came up at an advertising agency just around the corner, with the same title: Head of Production.

“I thought, ‘Oh yeah, I can do that!’”

Dom applied for the job, and got it.

“In that moment it looked like the perfect opportunity to take my experience in audio, and build on it, overseeing a team responsible for audio, video and animation.”

But the truth, says Dom, is that he just wasn’t ready.

“In hindsight, the leap was too big. It was too far of a stretch from where I was at. So, I was wrapped up after seven months.”

“That was really painful.”

“I felt embarrassed and lost, and that was a few dark months while I tried to make sense of what had just happened and what my options were moving forward.”

Dom picked himself up, dusted himself off, and took the freelance route.

“But at the time, I definitely thought this was just temporary until another full-time opportunity came along.

Then the freelance work began to build. Dom changed his mindset.

“The work was invigorating. It was working financially and I felt a renewed thirst and passion for the craft.”

“We were back on.”

Towards the end of 2022, Dom ultimately decided this was the right path for him.

“I wanted to really commit to it, put a stake in the ground.”

“I didn’t have a master plan from the outset, but I knew I wanted it to be bigger than freelance. I knew it had to be a company.”

“That’s when EARSAY was born.”

Today, EARSAY is a thriving Melbourne-based audio production company, working with clients around the world on podcasts, advertising and sound design for audio, video and animation.

Just seventeen months in, having built an impressive client base, Dom hired his first full-time staffer.

While he says that feels amazing, Dom is refreshingly honest about the challenges he’s faced along the way.

“It’s a journey and it would be remiss of me not to mention that while EARSAY is kicking goals, there are ups and downs. I like to be as transparent and authentic about that as I can.”

“But the business growth has been phenomenal … the calibre of projects we get to work on, the clients we get to work with. I do have to pinch myself sometimes.”

“It’s this thirst to produce really great work for Tier 1 clients that has us jumping out of bed every day.”

“We f***ing love it. It’s the best.”

Dom says the recent addition of sound designer James Coster (pictured above with Dom) – who previously worked on Fox FM’s Fifi, Fev & Nick Breakfast show – has been fantastic for the business.

“He is very quickly getting up to speed with the different clients and types of projects we work on and is doing a brilliant job.”

As for career highlights to date, Dom says any opportunity to come up with ‘the new sound’ of something is an incredible privilege.

“Obviously, The Fox is the most prestigious place to do that, but I also loved doing it for 92.9, B105, SAFM, a new summer night show, a podcast series, one of those infamous launch pieces which play once.”

Dom’s choice of career has brought plenty of rewards.

“It’s a great feeling being able to take the seed of an idea – be it in someone’s head, or on paper – and bring that idea to life … where you can hit ‘play’ on something and there it is.”

Whilst there have been many mentors along the journey, Dom is hesitant to name names.

“I don’t want to leave anyone out or offend anyone. But I think they will know who they are if they’re reading this.”

“And it’s not just superiors either. I have learnt so much about the craft, industry and this funny little world through so many people, and I hope I’ve been able to pass some of that along to a few people along the way as well.”

What advice would Dom give to others in radio who might be considering setting up their own business?

“I never would have left my role at The Fox to start an audio production business from scratch. I had to crash out to see the opportunity, and I guess from where I was at the time – it was an incredibly low risk move. How far could I fall?”

“I’m not a business expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I would say it’s probably not for everybody. It’s hard and certainly at the start, it is unrelenting. You will learn as much about yourself as you do about your business.”

“But if you think it’s for you and you’re ready to take the leap, and it works, it’s incredibly rewarding.”

“Talk to people who have gone before you, but your business journey is your business journey, and you need to find your own way.