ASIA

Radiodays Asia, the leading radio and podcasting conference in the Asia-Pacific, has announced more speakers for its 2024 edition.Siddhanta Pinto, Founder, Ofspin, IndiaSiddhanta founded OfSpin 20 years ago and it has been a part of India’s audio industry ever since. Be it FM radio, Satellite radio, Internet radio, Corporate radio, and recently since 2016 everything digital – Audiobooks, Podcasts, richly produced Audio series, and Audio Ads, OfSpin’s growth has mirrored that of the industry. Business models and monetization in Audio are also a keen focus for Siddhanta, as OfSpin experiments with distribution and ads for Audiobooks.Deb Hishon, Media Measurement Director, ANZ, GfK, AustraliaDeb is an experienced media professional and has been working on Radio Audience Measurement (RAM) contracts for 20 years and in media research for almost 25. During this time, she has acquired a deep knowledge of the media and radio industries in Australia, New Zealand and worldwide. As GfK’s Media Measurement Director ANZ, Deb works closely with the industry joint committee, Commercial Radio & Audio, and ensures contractual requirements are met, KPIs are delivered and new opportunities are explored within the scope of the contract, including the Measurement Innovation Program in Australia and more recently the development and successful launch of Radio360, a true hybrid RAM system.Mike Russell, Founder, Creator Magic, UKWith over 25 years of experience in traditional radio, podcasting, audio production, and content creation, Mike’s popular YouTube channel has been instrumental in educating hundreds of thousands of audio producers, voice-over artists, and radio professionals worldwide since 2010.  Mike is now also an AI educator and the founder of Creator Magic, a platform exploring the fusion of artificial intelligence and creativity in audio and video creations, as well as practical workflows for everyday use.  Mike also serves as the Creative Director at Music Radio Creative, where his international team continues to create radio imaging, voice-overs, and productions for over 4,000 clients annually in 20+ different languages for customers in 120+ countries worldwide, making it the largest professional voice-over agency.Radiodays Asia will be held 2-4 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Register for the conference here. […]

Your invitation from Steve Ahern. More information about Early Bird prices and our special readers discount at the bottom of this article.When Anders Held and I founded the first RadioDays Asia conference in 2019, our aim was to bring the energy and positive vibe of RadioDays Europe to Asia.Talking with broadcasters all across Asia as I travelled through the region delivering training and consultancy, they told me there was no Asia wide event where the radio broadcast and audio production industries could get together to swap ideas, learn from each other and be exposed to the newest ideas from around the world.We succeeded.Not only did broadcasters attend, but Regulators from across Asia and the Pacific also came, to learn about the changing media landscape and how public policy should adapt to the changes. In one session I hosted in the second conference regulators refused to end their animated discussion between each other and carried it over into the lunch break, they left with new ideas and renewed motivation to work together across borders to respond to emerging trends in the audio industry.

Last year we added more innovations by partnering with James Cridland to add longer sessions about Podcasting to the conference. That stream of the conference also brought more audio professionals to Kuala Lumpur who wanted to be exposed to the newest podcast production ideas and techniques.After the conference last year, Anders, James and myself sat at the Helipad Bar just a few blocks away from the conference venue and began planning for this year’s event. That’s us below, and the main photo above shows the Helipad rooftop bar’s amazing view of KL by night just a few hours later.We enjoyed the success of the 2023 event with some friends and also did some work… yes, really we did… really.Some things we planned to add for this year are an expansion of the Asia Podcast Awards (they’re open now), more examples of Asian podcasts, a focus on how Artificial Intelligence will affect broadcasters and the best AI Tools to use in our work.Thanks to the international RadioDays team, which includes Peter Niegel from Danish Radio, Rosie Smith and Nessa McGann we formed a program committee comprised of CEOs of various Asian radio companies who have  worked together to craft this year’s program lineup. See the program as it is taking shape here.If you would like to exhibit at the technology section of the conference, contact Michael White and Rosie Smith for more information.Radioinfo readers get a discount of 10% on the conference ticket price. Put in this code at the checkout INFO23Here’s a tip… the Early Bird price ends next week, on 8 June, so hurry if you want tickets at the best price, then add our extra 10% discount. REGISTER HERETickets will still be on sale after next week, they will just cost more.If you want to stay at the conference venue, it is the Royale Chulan Hotel in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.About the authorSteve Ahern is the founding editor of radioinfo. He recently left the position of Manager ABC Radio Sydney to rejoin AMT Pty Ltd as CEO. AMT is the parent company of this and other broadcast industry trade publications.Steve’s old job at the ABC is being advertised on our jobs page, check it out here.Previous coverage of the Radiodays Asia Conferences here.
Very inspiring… I feel like I’m graduating from Radio University: Radiodays Asia 2019 wraps up […]

The Asia Podcast Awards are now open for entries.Launched last year by radioinfo, the Asia Podcast Awards celebrate the best of podcasts published across Asia in the past year. They are open to independent publishers, radio companies and podcast hosting businesses.Anyone who produces a podcast for Asia or the Pacific, in any language, can enter. Steve Ahern, CEO of parent company AMT Pty Ltd, says the awards are bigger and better this year. “These Asia-wide awards have expanded in 2024. Last year we tested the desire for an awards competition across the region and the response was strong, so we expect to see an even greater set of entries this year.”  Winners will receive recognition in the radioinfo.asia and Podnews publications, with the overall winner being flown to Kuala Lumpur in September to attend the Radiodays Asia conference.Podnews Editor James Cridland says: “As podcasting continues to grow across Asia, I’m delighted to see another year of the Asia Podcast Awards. The high quality of podcasts from this part of the world deserves more attention, and the Asia Podcast Awards are a great way to do that.”Entries for the Asia Podcast Awards close Sunday 28st July.

Enter at https://radiotoday.awardsplatform.com/page/WQrmAPdXRead about last year’s winners:Podcasts of the Year prize winners announcedAsia Podcast Awards People’s Choice winners named […]

Leading AI audio platform Adthos has teamed up with a number of new voice providers to offer users access to a multitude of new voices, bringing the number available in the platform’s library to 4600.In addition to the existing Microsoft voices, Adthos now supports Google, Amazon, ElevenLabs, PlayHT, WellSaid Labs, and Respeecher. These new voices contribute to an already expansive library designed for use in various audio formats, including audio ads. The library features hundreds of carefully selected and trained AI voices, and over 100 of Adthos’ handpicked top quality AI voices that collectively hold 1000 IMDB credits, including voices from Emmy Award-winning artists. Additionally, voices can be generated and translated into multiple languages, with the new platforms adding support for 200 more languages and dialects.Raoul Wedel, CEO of Adthos, says: “Offering high-quality AI and synthetic voice options has always been the key feature of Adthos. Working with all these providers allows our users to benefit from an even greater array of out-of-the-box voices to create engaging audio content. I’m proud to say that we now offer three times as many voices as any of our competitors.” Users who have previously created their own models with these providers can now seamlessly integrate and use all of Adthos’ AI audio features to enhance their audio content. This interoperability allows for a more streamlined and versatile audio creation process, enabling users to leverage the extensive capabilities of the Adthos platform. […]

Radiodays Asia, the leading radio and podcasting conference in the Asia-Pacific, has announced more speakers for its 2024 edition.Megan Whelan, Chief Content Officer, RNZ, Aotearoa New ZealandMegan Whelan started in RNZ’s newsroom as intern, in the wake of the London bombings terrorist attack. Since then she’s worked in almost every part of the organisation, including stints on air, managing the Facebook comments and doing longform journalism. These days, Megan is Chief Content Officer, leading the teams that make interesting and trusted content for the people of Aotearoa. She thinks radio and storytelling are both kind of magic.Nick Piggott, Project Director, RadioDNSNick is an accomplished technologist in the field of broadcast radio and audio and is the Project Director (and one of the founders) of RadioDNS Hybrid Radio, which combines broadcast radio and IP together to deliver a richer and more valuable radio experience. Nick is also a prominent participant in the Open Digital Radio project, which enables innovation in DAB+, and is currently helping build IP-based DAB+ networks in a number of countries.  Nick works with broadcasters, audio project leaders and CE manufacturers globally to develop strategies and product innovation.June Pang, Regional Senior Manager – Media Measurement, GfK, SingaporeJune has been working in the market research industry for more than 12 years, specializing in Media Measurement research. Since joining GfK in 2018, she was the key person in servicing the media clients in Malaysia. As the lead of the Malaysia Media Measurement Division of GfK, June ensures contractual requirements are met, KPIs are delivered and explores new opportunities to continue raising the bar for radio research standards in Malaysia. In this role, she also provides insights regarding Malaysians radio listening behaviour based on the survey conducted in partnership with Commercial Radio Malaysia (CRM), the Radio Audience Measurement (RAM), to the industry.Adrian Syarkawie, President Director CEO, PT. Mahaka Radio Integra, tbk, IndonesiaAdrian is President Director-CEO of PT Mahaka Radio Integra Tbk(MARI), an audio holding company that has 7 radio stations (GenFM Jakarta, GenFM Surabaya, JakFM, KisFM, MostFM, HotFM, MustangFM) and a streaming audio content (NOICE). MARI also has MARI INSTITUTE – a communication & creative training centre, ANAK RADIO STORE a merchandise store and LAGY a multi creative production for audio, video content, ads materials, text, images, talent management etc.Sayema Rahman, Radio Jockey, Enternatinment Network IndiaRJ Sayema is an artist and a radio presenter. She started her radio journey with All India Radio as an English presenter in 1997 and National News Reader (English). She joined Radio Mirchi in 2003 as the host of the acclaimed Hindi retro night show “Purani Jeans”. She also pioneered in bringing the heart-wrenching, soul stirring stories of prolific writer Saadat Hasan Manto on a private Radio Station in her radio series called “Ek Purani Kahani’. She also keeps the tradition of Urdu poetry alive through her recitals of the likes of Ghalib, Faiz and Kaifi Azmi etc. She enjoys a massive fan following on social media with more than 1 million followers on facebook and Twitter.Peter Niegel, CEO Radidoays and Senior Strategic Adviser Audio Content Danish Broadcasting Corporation, DenmarkPeter is among the leading audio audience researchers in Europe and has presented his work on national and international conferences on a variety of audio related subjects.  Peter holds Master degrees in History, Media Science and Corporate Communication and has been CEO of Radiodays Europe, Asia and North America since 2018.Radiodays Asia will be held 2-4 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Register for the conference here. […]

Reader’s Digest has released the results of its 26th Annual Most Trusted Brands survey in Singapore, and Kiss 92 FM’s Mark van Cuylenburg, known on the air as the Flying Dutchman, is the Most Trusted Radio Presenter 2024.Van Cuylenburg began his career in radio in the 1980s, taking on the moniker of the Flying Dutchman, a homage to his Dutch heritage.He hosts The BIG Show on weekday mornings from 6 am to 10 am with his long-term on-air partners Glenn Ong and Angeline Teo.Readers Digest launched the Most Trusted Radio Presenter award back in 2014, and since then the award has been won repeatedly by the Flying Dutchman, making this year his tenth consecutive win.The awards saw marketing minds and business leaders gather to celebrate the remarkable brands that have captured the highest echelons of consumer confidence in Singapore market. […]