Article by Sam Bailey, Managing Director of The Radio Academy
This weekend, along with plenty of other colleagues from across UK audio, I’m heading to Prague for the annual RadioDays Europe conference.
I love having a connection with the industry outside the UK. It’s a really exciting chance to compare, contrast, and reflect on what unites radio people, regardless of the markets they operate in.
Since speaking at last year’s event in Sweden (on the day of the Eurovision Song Contest, no less!) I’ve been looking forward to the 2023 gathering. It’s a total radio nerd’s paradise – being surrounded by other radio nerds, talking about radio.
This year, I’m delighted that The Radio Academy is an official partner of the conference. In my speeches in Malmö, I demonstrated to European colleagues how the Radio Academy places itself at the centre of the industry – creating a common ground for people united by their love of the medium, regardless of rivalries for listeners.
As our mission is all about knowledge sharing – providing opportunities for people to pass on the lessons they’ve learnt in their work, to safeguard the future of the industry – I’d love to think I can do that for our members this week.
I’ll be at the event, tweeting the key things I learn. I’d love to know which sessions from this really varied programme you’d like me to report back from – let me know, and I’ll try to add them to my plan for the week.
I normally try to avoid the trap of seeing the UK speakers I can see at events back home, but I’m definitely up for seeing Global’s James Rea in conversation with John Simons – a good pairing, and I’ve not seen James speak before. The battle for the car dashboard is a perennial discussion these days, and two sessions on this catch my eye – with speakers from VW’s Cariad project, and also Joe D’Angelo from Radio Academy supporters Xperi.
I can’t move on Twitter without bumping into discussions about ChatGPT at the moment – so I’ll definitely be at the session about the world’s first AI-driven radio station, with Daniel Anstandig from Futuri. And, as 43yo guy, I’m quite rightly not a TikTok user – so, I need to get up to speed! Colleagues from Swedish and Czech radio are talking about why it’s the perfect partner for radio.
If it’s an event you like the look of, maybe you can come next year? It is admittedly a significant undertaking – though great ticket deals are always available if you get in there early, there are of course flights and hotels to consider. But the way I think of it is like Glastonbury for radio nerds – if you can afford to go, you’ll get 3-4 days of solid geekery across multiple stages, and a couple of chances to get a bit drunk with friends too!
If you’re heading to Prague, hunt me down and say hello. The best thing about the event is meeting new people who share my love for everything audio.