Thank you for your support of The Radio Academy in 2025.
As we move forward into a new era as the Audio Academy we want to reflect on the successes of 2025 which wouldn't have been possible without your generous support.
Celebration
- The ARIAS continue to command the attention of the audio and radio industry. This year these coveted awards attracted more than 800 entries and almost 800 people joined us for the prestigious ceremony at the OdeonLuxe in Leicester Square.
- This year's Festival celebrated the World of Sound with the new Dolby Atmos immersive library and the ARIAS stage which showcased award winners sharing the stories of their success.
- In November we announced our Aiir Radio Academy 30 Under 30; meet all the rising stars here. We are delighted to welcome Aiir as the new sponsor of this acclaimed programme which spotlights the talents of 30 outstanding young professionals in the audio and radio industry.
Community
- We hosted socials across the UK, including in Belfast, Cardiff, Birmingham, Sunderland, Bradford and London, with over 300 people attending. Huge thanks to our Branch leads for helping to organise these, and do get in touch if you'd like one in your area.
- The Radio Festival attracted over 460 attendees who enjoyed six stages, 29 sessions, 74 speakers, lots of connections made through our new 1:1 sessions, and huge amounts of knowledge shared by our expert speakers.
- The Radio Academy Podcast continued to gain a following with more than 20,000 listens over the past 12 months. We've produced 52 episodes, featured 35 guests and invited four guest producers, including student radio producers from Spark, Queen's Radio and Shock to produce episodes for us. Top episodes include How to win at The ARIAS, and Forth 1's 50th Birthday. New Year's Eve will celebrate our 200th episode since we went weekly in 2022. Don't miss our Best of 2025 episode!
Development
- We're very proud of the continued growth and success of our popular Foot in the Door events, in Belfast, Sunderland, Bradford, and at the Crossed Wires Festival in Sheffield. We hosted 350 people, and were delighted to welcome 20-30 industry professionals at each event. If you would like us to come to your university, please get in touch.
- RAMP, our mid-career mentoring programme, brought together a cohort of 20 peers who through their mentoring and networking have gone on to achieve new jobs, create work opportunities and build supportive friendships. Once again we invited previous cohorts to attend The Podcast Show in London, where we delivered a Leadership masterclass with the wonderful Nicole Logan of Goalhanger and our very own RAMP lead Fran Plowright.
- In 2025 we offered bursary places to industry events including our own Radio Festival, The Podcast Show, RadioTech Con, UniPodFest, and generated multiple opportunities for people from all backgrounds across the UK to participate and network in the audio sector.
Promotion
- Fellowships are awarded to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the audio industry and The Radio Academy. They are leaders in the sector and ambassadors of the charity and for radio and audio as a creative force. At 2025’s Festival, Fellowships were awarded to Bernard Achampong, Nick Pitts, Rachel Barton and Chris North. See the full list of Fellows on our website.
- Through all our events, activities and partnerships, we have flown the flag for the UK's world-leading audio content, demonstrating its strength and diversity and the astonishing impact it has around the world. We have inspired more people to pursue a career in audio, developed a range of emerging talent and encouraged people everywhere to listen to brilliantly creative content.
- Our presence this year at The Podcast Show, Crossed Wires, UniPodFest, EPOD, SRA Con among others underscores the importance of The Radio Academy to the wider audio world.
We look forward to working with you next year.
Key Dates for your diary
Wednesday January 7th - entries for The ARIAS open
February 2026 (date tbc) - our annual AGM
Tuesday 24th/Wednesday 25th February - Audio Academy Social at Pacific Quay, Glasgow
Wednesday July 1st - 30 Under 30 opens
Thursday 1st October - The Audio Festival - Royal College of Physicians, London
Thank you
Helen Thomas ends her term as Chair of the Radio Academy. Thank you Helen, for your wisdom, guidance and unstoppable energy through this transformative time.
Vic Easton-Riley and Perminder Khatkar are also coming to the end of their terms as Trustees; huge thanks to you both for all your hard work in promoting and supporting The Radio Academy and for all the brilliance you have brought to everything we do.
Sincere thanks to our sponsors and friends whose continued support allows us to present events and initiatives for everyone working in audio across the UK. If you are interested in partnering on any of these, we'd love to talk about how we can work together.
A heartfelt thank you to our patrons organisations whose Patron fees support us as a charity and provide valuable benefits to their staff, freelancers and volunteers through memberships for their teams. If you'd like to invest in your team's development find out more about becoming an Academy Patron.
Finally, a thank you to our members, supporters, volunteers and to everyone we have worked with over the past year. Special thanks to those who have dedicated their time and energy to support an event, judge an award, mentor a colleague, deliver a speech, be part of a panel, produce a session or join a webinar. Your generosity is enormously appreciated by us and by all of those whose lives and careers you touch.
Donate
We are also hugely grateful to those who are able to make a donation however large or small. All donations go towards The Radio Academy's year-round programme of events and help fund our bursary schemes. Please remember to check the Gift Aid box if you are a UK tax payer.
Have a suggestion or question, or want to help with an event? Get in touch by emailing info@radioacademy.org.