Although I listened to the radio a lot as a teenager, taping exciting music or legendary shows like 'Het Leugenpaleis' on my tape recorder, I didn't think about the medium when I started my journalism studies back in 1996. It wasn't until I got to the School For Journalism (Utrecht) two years later, that I experienced working in a radio studio for the first time.
I got an intership at the Dutch public broadcaster NCRV and started working on 'BuZz' - a weekly show on 3FM where young talents could basically do what they wanted to. There I did my first interviews with artists, made short series, recorded live sessions with bands and got to schedule the playlist.
Flash forward twenty years and I have been lucky to have worked for public and commercial radiostations in Belgium and The Netherlands.
1999-2010
After spending almost three years at BuZz, I got the chance to schedule playlists for 3FM. I started scheduling the late night shows, and by being part of the team I learned about all the different aspects of operating a national radio station.
2003-2005
Long before YouTube and Spotify, the Dutch 3VOOR12 website was a groundbreaking music portal by streaming live audio and video from festivals for example as early as the year 2000. As a producer, one of my responsibilities was curating 'De Luisterpaal' - a Spotify like page where bands could exclusively stream their new album online.
2005-2010
Llink was a new broadcaster entering the Dutch public broadcast organisation. I was asked to concieve their new weekly show on 3FM.
The first radio show was 'Move Your Ass' on Tuesday night, which we renamed to 'Der Rudy' after getting a slot on Friday night. Together with host Rudy Mackay, we produced everything for the show and gave a lot of bands their first opportunity to play live on 3FM.
2011-2016
In 2011 I got a new position as Manager Digital for the commercial radio station Qmusic. I was responsible for the online development of Qmusic in Belgium and The Netherlands, building a new website from scratch, developing a social media strategy and getting an online team together in both countries.
2016-2019
As Manager Digital I was also responsibly for the online prescence of Joe FM, QMusic's second radio station in Belgium. When I got the opportunity to become their Music Director, I didn't hesitate for a second. Their baseline 'Your Greatest Hits' at the time reflected how the station had to sound: (pop) hits from the seventies till now, aimed at people aged forty years and older.
2019-present
For a couple of years, I felt that there was an opportunity for a new radio station in Flanders that would play alternative pop and rock music for an older audience. Thanks to the rise of DAB+ I got the opportunity to launch 'Willy'. Named after Belgian guitar player Willy Willy, the digital only station started in October 2019.