LISBON — Radio is on the move again! Radiodays Europe will finally hold its event — with special COVID-safe measures in place — in Lisbon. This edition should have happened in 2020 and will now take place Oct. 9–11, 2021.
Challenging Times
Bringing Radiodays Europe to Lisbon this year has presented some challenges for the team. A lot has happened in the world of radio and podcasting since we last met in Lausanne in 2019, not all to do with COVID-19. While the airwaves have been full during the pandemic, the landscape we left in 2019 is unrecognizable. WFH, remote studios, reporting styles, listener behavior, revenues, advertising, mergers, online teams and — most sadly — the loss of some of our colleagues to COVID, have all changed the industry. What is normal? Those producing radio shows and podcasts provide an anchor in these shifting times.
What’s Next?
So, what’s next for radio and podcasting? If you’ve been to Radiodays Europe before, you know the Radio Summit session looks to the future. Anette Kokholm, head of Radio, DR; Caroline Beasley, CEO Beasley Media Group; Patricia Schlesinger, director general, RBB; and Marc Vossen, CEO, Ngroup, discuss the boom in the audio industry and the future.
Continuing this topic but focusing on the future of music radio are Lorna Clarke, controller of Pop Music, BBC; Rebecca Frank, content director, KISS; and Sophian Fanen, author and journalist. In a world of streaming music, can radio still succeed and is music as important as it used to be?
The podcast sector goes from strength to strength as we saw at our virtual Podcast Day 24 held earlier in the year. Joe Copeman, ACAST; Jez Nelson, Sony Music Entertainment; Gabrielle Boeri-Charles, Binge Audio, are joining us to discuss this growth and the resulting additional revenue streams for some podcasters and broadcasters.
There is also a good chunk of research on the podcast sector this year presented by the BBC and VRT, who have two new projects analyzing podcast usage from different countries in Europe. In addition, Tom Webster of Edison Research and Adam Bowie of the BBC World Service will give their expert overviews of the sector right now.
Have you been wondering how to win back younger listeners? This may be a silly question, but it’s often the preoccupation of station bosses. We’ll have some practical suggestions from FAJN Radio, Czech Republic; Catalunya Radio, Spain; and The Smart 7 Podcast. Plus, the teams from DR P3 and Frimiutt, NRK join us to talk about successful youth formats in their markets — a fun session, but with a real set of takeaways on what has worked for them.
Hybrid Event
We think the whole program is not to be missed, but if pushed there are some sessions this year that are for sure not to be skipped. To note, during “High Profile Personality in the Podcast Age,” Dennis Clark of iHeartMedia will discuss how radio presenters can use their skills as on-air personalities to develop a podcast to boost their brand.
In addition, the session “Making Lots Out of Little: Repurposing Content With Amy Woods of Content10x,” will offer tips on how to best reallocate content.
And in the presentation “The Golden Age of Audio,” Richard Stern, CEO of TuneIn, will detail ways a digital audio streaming strategy can be incorporated into all radio offerings to achieve growth globally.
We also have some fantastic content from our host partners RTP, Media Capital Radios and Renascença Comunicação Multimédia. Local Premium Partner SEAT are hosting the Sunday Radio Night at the LX Factory in Lisbon.
We look forward to welcoming you to Radiodays Europe Lisbon 2021 in person or online once again.
Tickets are still available. You can use LISPAR20 promotional code for the event to get your discount ticket for 540 EUR + VAT.
The author is communications manager for Radiodays Europe.
