ASIA

On Malaysia’s National Day, SYOK invites all Malaysian podcasters to submit a podcast for a chance to take home RM1000 in cash prizes and a trophy in the ‘Anugerah Podcast SYOK: Merdeka Edition’ contest, from now till September 5, via the SYOK app and website.Participants must submit a podcast on the topic ‘What’s interesting about Malaysia’ in either English, Malay, Chinese or Tamil across various formats such as conversations, monologues, interviews and more.To participate, visit the ‘Anugerah Podcast SYOK Merdeka Edition’ contest page on the SYOK app or website, select the language of the podcast, fill in the contest form, share information about the podcast with descriptions required and upload a recorded podcast that is between 15 to 35 minutes long in the required format.

Shortlisted podcasts will be available on SYOK platforms for listeners to stream and the podcasts with highest listeners from each language category will stand a chance to win.For more information, visit anugerahpodcastsyok.my or download the SYOK app. […]

Astro Radio in partnership with Digi launched ‘KamiCare MBiz’ to help local businesses affected by the pandemic find their footing. Under the campaign, businesses who qualify are given free airtime to help them drive engagement and traffic to their brands.Over a seven-month period, this campaign successfully helped over 3030 local businesses by airing a total value of RM116.4mn in airtime.Since the start of KamiCare MBiz in December 2020, Astro Radio brands have received submissions from various local businesses nationwide including home chefs and bakers, restaurants and cafés, florists, event management teams, tailors, car repair and home cleaning services, as well as companies offering IT solutions, pet food, sports attire and equipment, handicrafts, baby products, beverages and more.

From submissions received, selected businesses received at least 25 mentions over period of one week through 30-second on-air announcements. Additionally, these businesses were also featured on respective Astro Radio brand’s social media pages for additional reach and engagement. Selected businesses also received additional mentions via Facebook Live streams, including local food sellers “24 Seven FNB” and “Little Boss” who received additional sales orders following these mentions.Kenny Ong, Chief Executive Officer, Astro Radio, said: “We received overwhelming response since ‘KamiCare MBiz’ launched with almost 7,700 submissions across our platforms. We are happy to announce we are extending this campaign so that more local businesses will have the opportunity to have their businesses featured on air reaching our 17 million listeners, and on social media reaching our 23 million followers.” […]

In a preliminary finding of the International Trade Commission, Google has been found guilty of infringing on Sonos’ patent.The victory comes after a case going back to early 2020 when Sonos first sued Google, accusing them of infringing on five of the Sonos smart speaker technology patents for a number of Google products, including Google Home, Nest Hubs and Pixel.According to Sonos, during a 2013 partnership, Google had stolen the technology under the guise of looking over Sonos’s blueprints in order to make its own music service compatible with the products.

As part of the initial suit, Sonos had also requested a ban on the sale of Google products in the US, including Nest Hubs, Chromecasts, and Pixel smartphone handsets.Google launched a countersuit in the middle of last year claiming Sonos was not paying a licence fee for using Google’s patented technology for software, networking, search, audio processing, digital-media management and streaming. […]

According to a report by Pajhwok, Taliban’s information affairs in-charge for central Ghazni province has banned music and work of female employees in local radio stations.Maulvi Habibullah Mujahid said all radios should disseminate transmission in line with Sharia Law.“Work of women employees and music is banned in local radios onward from today,” he said.

He said Afghanistan is an Islamic country and its people don’t want music therefore it should be banned.He said radios could highlight public issues and could criticise the Taliban but they could not violate the law.At the moment nine local radios, two Shariat radios and one private television are active in Ghazni. […]

Responding to podcast listeners who have “have pointed out to us that their favorite Spotify-produced podcasts have disappeared from their usual podcast feeds,” Spotify has published an explanation of its exclusive content strategy.Spotify believes that “streaming is the future of all audio.”The blog says:

“To enhance our discovery and editorial prowess, in the last few months we’ve brought some of our shows exclusively to Spotify.“What does that mean?“Shows like Serial Killers, Horoscope Today, Motherhacker, and How to Save a Planet will still be available for free, but only on Spotify. Many podcast enthusiasts have found some of their favorite podcasts through our popular playlists powered by your algorithmic listening, like Your Daily Drive, or through our playlists where our expert Spotify editors have personally curated the best episodes.“It’s also important to point out what this change does not mean: that you have to pay to listen to Spotify-produced shows.“You’ll still be able to listen to your favorite Spotify Originals for free on our platform. Although this may require a shift in listening habits, we want to share more about why we are doing this. Spotify’s ultimate mission is to connect millions of creators to billions of listeners around the world and help those creators live off their art. We’re also invested in pushing the medium of audio forward by enabling greater creative freedom and driving the future of audio.” […]

The normally overcrowded airwaves of Kabul are much quieter this week after the Taliban took Afghanistan’s capital.When the Taliban were last in power they closed most radio stations, leaving only a couple of stations on air to broadcast messages and recitations from the Qur’an. When they lost power many radio licences were reissued.Transmitter Hill in KabulCurrently there are still some stations on air in Kabul a few days after the Taliban takeover, but far less than usual. Listeners have reported to radioinfo.asia that many of their usual stations, such as Radio Killid, run by the Killid Media Group, are now dark.

Of those that remain on air, the format appears to have changed.With popular music and singing haram (forbidden) in the Taliban’s view of Islam some stations have gone from a music format to broadcasting news, discussions and talk, such as Ariana FM and Arman FM when monitored by radioinfo.asia. It is not known whether the format changes are voluntary or in response to instructions from the Taliban.Radio Arman, which has the slogan ‘music never ends’ was only broadcasting production music in promos when radioinfo.asia monitored the station.Female voices are now largely absent from the airwaves, except in pre-recorded announcements running in the advertising or promo schedule.Not all stations are dark however. Bakhtar Radio, part of the state run Bakhtar News Agency is still playing music, as are RTA’s Afghan Radio stations, although it appears these are currently running loops on automation.Female presenters have largely disappeared from station websites and have not been going to work through the streets of Kabul. Women walking through the Kabul streets report being hassled and told to “cover up.”Images of female RJs (radio jockeys) have been removed from station websites. Taliban fighters have been seen around Kabul painting black paint over images of women on buildings and shop fronts.While radio’s future is currently uncertain, other parts of the economy are returning to normal, with food markets and shops tentatively reopening yesterday before the country’s Independence Day long weekend holiday, which begins today.The Taliban have told citizens they can return to work as normal within the limits of Sharia law. The Pajhwok Afghan News service  has reported a senior Taliban member in northern Afghanistan saying they “are not in search of monopolizing power “ or revenge and are “striving for creation of a just system in which all Afghans can see themselves.” The world is watching to see if they keep their promises.At the national broadcaster, witnesses saw only a few staff entering the RTA compound with military troops vetting those who wished to enter. Other staff were afraid to come to work. Female staff were observed being turned away from the RTA compound.Killid News reports that a female anchor working for RTA state-run television “claims she was sent back from office by Taliban and can no longer do her job.” She says other male colleagues were allowed to enter the office premises but she was not. Her posts about not being able to work have sparked widespread reaction on social media, questioning the Taliban’s commitment to allowing women to work.The RTA website is currently “under development.”In other cities the Taliban has taken over or closed radio stations, including Kandahar, where the Taliban renamed a station it took over as Voice of Sharia. […]