ASIA

A new one-off fund for arts and culture podcasts has been announced in New Zealand.Creative New Zealand, NZ On Air and RNZ are working together to support the development of new podcasts in response to research that shows a deficit in media coverage about arts and culture in Aotearoa.The New Mirrors research, undertaken by Rosabel Tan and James Wenley, shows a lack of arts and culture media across New Zealand, while also outlining ways to address the problem; in response, the three agencies have created a one-off fund to generate new arts media opportunities.Tracey Monastra, Creative New Zealand’s Manager, Advocacy, says the research shows a need for new ways to develop coverage of the arts.“We want to see a stronger and more visible arts sector, where artists’ voices are reflected across our media landscape. The New Mirrors research highlighted the deficit in coverage across the sector broadly and the need for better arts and culture coverage in the regions, for ngā toi Māori, Pasifika arts and a need to strengthen our reviewing culture,” Monastra says.The fund, which opens on 22 July, will support the development of up to four podcasts, exploring New Zealand arts and culture from new and inventive perspectives, that cater to audiences and artforms that are not well served by the current arts media.“As an agency that funds diverse, high-quality content for Aotearoa audiences, we lament the scarcity of arts-focused stories,” says NZ On Air Acting Co-Head of Funding, Kelly Davis.“Working in partnership with other agencies who also want to see more coverage of the arts in our media, is one way we can support and stimulate this so more of our distinct and unique arts and culture stories can be told,” says Davis.

Strong media coverage of arts and culture is essential for the creative sector to thrive. The media acts as a crucial bridge between artists and the public—giving artists a platform to amplify their stories.RNZ’s Māori Commissioner, Jana Te Nahu Owen, will work as a strategic advisor alongside Rosabel Tan to support podcast makers, says she hopes for a wide range of applications from artists and content creators that reflect our diverse arts and culture sector in Aotearoa.“This fund gives producers and artists creative license to come up with fresh and innovative approaches to the podcast medium. By working collaboratively on this mahi, we will strengthen our ability to tautoko the arts community and open up more pathways for ngā toi Māori, Pasifika artists and all creatives from across the motu. We want all your whakaaro and hope to see applications that cover a raft of issues and topics from different perspectives,” she says.“RNZ’s award winning podcast and audio teams are available to manaaki the projects and produce high quality audio programmes that address the key points of the New Mirrors report,” says Te Nahu Owen.Applications will be assessed by representatives from CNZ, NZ On Air and RNZ.Learn more about the arts and culture podcast co-fund: https://creativenz.govt.nz/funding-and-support/all-opportunities/arts-and-culture-podcast-co-fund […]

Sumana Jayathilaka, a distinguished radio journalist and former Additional Director General of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), has passed away.Jayathilaka was renowned as the inaugural presenter of the highly acclaimed “Handa Mama” programme on SLBC, where she was fondly known as Handa Nanda.Her career in broadcasting began in 1963 when she joined SLBC as an announcer and rose to the position of Additional Director General before retiring in 1984.She also acted as the Programme Manager of regional radio services such as Ruhunu Sevaya and Mahanuwara Sevaya.Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana said that Jayathilaka was a courageous woman who fulfilled a national mission by working with foresight to prepare the Sri Lankan future generation with great potentials to transform society for the better.“When I was the education minister, she gave us a lot of strength as a consultant on children’s programmes and children’s affairs,” he said. […]

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. […]