Ensemble pour le DAB+ urges French government to strengthen public support
MUNICH — Since its first edition in 2010, Radiodays Europe has found a niche in the audio entertainment industry. A multiday event, RDE addresses diverse (yet trending) audio-related topics, including content creation, production, branding, distribution, listening models, technical facts and findings.
Radiodays Europe 2024 went live in Munich from March 17–19. Under the themes mentioned above, the 2024 edition gathered a mix of diverse professional figures in the radio and audio industries. Organizers reported more than 1,300 visitors from 65 countries over three days. Like previous editions, RDE24 offered a packed agenda with four parallel sessions featuring keynote speeches, panel discussions, interactive sessions, summits, workshops and networking events.
The opening day delved into four topics through dedicated, day-long parallel summits: AI, sales, podcasts and younger audiences (15–24 years old). AI is the new black, and everyone in the media industry is trying to figure out how to properly take advantage of present and future potentialities, which this concept could turn into reality. RDE’s AI summit targeted how AI can enhance operations, trying to shape possible future impacts.
A sales summit took place for the first time at RDE24. It focused on the effectiveness of radio as an advertising medium, analyzing the dos and don’ts of ad campaigns and sharing best case studies from across Europe.
Like almost any nonlinear broadcast content, podcasts are about monetization, and RDE24 discussed creating sustainable series by adopting the latest technologies. Since the youth are the future core market of any audio content industry, the youth summit aimed at better understanding the youth audience’s needs and how to build a community they want to belong to.
Radio is the drummer
The official opening session of RDE24 was on Monday morning. Katja Wildermuth, director of Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Radio), welcomed delegates and said, “The audio landscape is more creative, diverse and alive than ever.” Florian Herrmann, Bavarian minister of state for federal and media affairs, added, “Radio has a future when the right people and ideas converge.” Stefan Möller, president of AER [Association of European Radios], stepped up the pace, saying, “Radio is the drummer in the band called total audio. It keeps the rhythm; everyone relies on it, everybody needs it.”
Afterward, RDE’s menu presented a variety of sessions (nearly 70, four at a time, about one hour each) covering different topics and, in many cases, broadening the findings of the four main topics outlined in the Sunday summits, bringing delegates more expertise and points of view.
In radio-specific sessions, a clear message emerged as the key priority for all the industry stakeholders: In-car listening is crucial for the future of radio, but in modern cars, radio has lost its physical appearance as a device. The same is happening to almost any physical knob and switch, in a way that drivers and passengers rely on larger and larger touchscreen displays.
The audio landscape is more creative, diverse and alive than ever.
Florian Herrmann, Bavarian minister of state for federal and media affairs
Jacqueline Bierhorst, president of WorldDAB, said that, according to the organization’s research, 90% of Europeans wouldn’t buy a car without a radio. It’s good news that car manufacturers are still putting radios in their models, but some seem to be restricting access to the radio, either by hiding the function behind an unpractical number of menu screens or giving priority access to paid services. Sometimes, the default setting is the opposite of tradition — a physical button that provides the driver and passenger immediate access an audio service, while the radio’s turn-on command is now relegated to an icon on the touchscreen display.
Any car-related session highlighted how delegates believe a physical “radio” button on every dashboard is critical to securing radio’s prominence in cars. For this purpose, the entire radio industry needs to act as a single entity, pushing car manufacturers to keep a physical radio switch in their models.
After receiving a Master of Science in engineering, the author worked for Telecom Italia and the Italian public broadcaster RAI, based in Bergamo, Italy. He now works as a broadcast consultant for radio stations and equipment manufacturers, specializing in project management, network design and field measurement.
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