ASIA

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. […]

A storied chapter in Dielectric’s history closes next week as longtime sales leader Christine Zuba officially retires, concluding an impressive 49-year career that genuinely broke barriers. Michael Sharpstene, who joined the company in January in preparation for Zuba’s departure, officially steps into Zuba’s longtime role as the dedicated Regional Sales Manager on July 1.Zuba’s broadcast career began on the station level as a college intern with WVIA-TV, a PBS member station serving the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre market in northeast Pennsylvania. She soon transferred to Penn State University as an electrical engineering major, with the combined experiences setting the stage for a broadcast career. She joined RCA upon graduating, accepting an engineering role in the company’s antenna division. She briefly left the company, gaining experience in cellular radio and broadcast consulting before rejoining RCA’s antenna division.Dielectric acquired RCA in 1986, and the rest is history in every sense of the word. Zuba held roles of increasing responsibility in engineering and product management before accepting the Director of Sales and Marketing role in 1989. Five years later she became National Sales Manager —  a role that she has held since — standing apart from most field sales specialists thanks to her advanced technical knowledge of complex RF systems.That expertise, combined with her exceptional relationship building skills, is a big reason why Dielectric enjoys most of the US high-power TV market share.“I never really wanted to be in sales,” shares Zuba, “yet it is one of the best decisions I have made. I always enjoyed the challenge of listening to customers, learning the unique parameters of their projects, and with our engineers, developing concepts that solve problems and address their needs. The triple-stack antenna we produced for installation atop the Sears Tower in Chicago during the US DTV conversion is a prime example.”“Broadcast Antenna and RF inaccurately carries a reputation as a dinosaur full of aging people set in their ways. Dielectric has many long-time employees with years of experience who continue to innovate, and they are finding new inspiration in the many young, talented engineers who have joined Dielectric over the last 10 years. This is a company that continues to come up with new ideas and designs that challenge the broadcast industry’s modus operandi.” […]

RØDE has introduced a new white edition of the RØDECaster Pro II, the world’s most powerful audio production console for creators. It joins its smaller sibling, the RØDECaster Duo, and a number of other products in the RØDE White Collection, including the PodMic microphone, PSA1+ studio arm, NTH-100 headphones and the recently released Wireless ME Dual Set.The RØDECaster Pro II is RØDE’s flagship audio production console for creators. Combining revolutionary features with superior sound quality, endless customisability and unmatched ease of use, the RØDECaster Pro II is the ultimate all-in-one solution for podcasters, content creators, streamers and musicians.Now, with the white edition of the RØDECaster Pro II, creators can bring a bright, clean aesthetic to their desktop, bedroom or studio, and introduce a splash of colour to their space with the customisable RGB lighting. When paired with the rest of the RØDE White Collection, creators can build an entirely white setup to better suit their style, whether they want to stand out on-camera or simply make their workspace their own.The RØDECaster Pro II in white, along with the rest of RØDE’s White Collection, is shipping globally now. […]