Read this: Radio Academy Festival 2020 Preview

The radiator day programme with broadcast bionics working with the world's leading broadcasters and equipment suppliers to transform into a technology and workplace hello, I'm Stuart Clarkson coming up this week the Radio Academy festival is happening in just a few weeks time and being 2020.

It's all available to watch the comfort of your home or office this year Sam Bailey and Nick pits.

Are the driving forces behind this year's celebration of all things radio and they're both be on the podcast later.

So tell us what kind of things to expect and explain how can get your hands on a ticket radiotoday hello Roy hello Stuart it's only half term for some of those you know some people don't have children to really they don't even know that it's half term who are these lucky people?

I know very very lucky.

Are you well you doing ok? You surviving yeah, not too bad this week bit more cheerful.

I have my new car which we talked about last week on the podcast was a big big tease.

So hopefully this is the reveal tell us about the logos.

I don't have the screens good.

It's a nice green screen it all works with carplay and everything but that no there's no colourful logos on their right.

So who's running radiodns these days and can Michael have a word with somebody about this outrageous.

I don't know but yeah, it's so it's Peugeot my new car and at the other thing I have noticed alright.

Sorry my old car.

This is getting very cheeky now, but my old car you switched vans and you had a set of preset buttons the homepage for DAB and Anna preset page 4fm, and preset page for am these are all mixed in together.

So I can just have an FM station or a dab station all on my priest.

On the homepage a very modern last progress that is very good progress.

Do you still have to select the Multiplex before you find a station and no not on this one? I know you do have some ready as the user interface summer car radios.

Yeah, I know I think they come up by name, but yeah, I was it's quite good so I can put a local FM station next to her a dab station on the Presets on the on the home screen on the first amazing.

I'm literally just give you a list of every radio station that exists and it doesn't tell you what what platforms are even on find out just a list of radio stations mine couldn't prove to be honest there we go but yeah, that's that's the new car and people are asking this week.

So yeah, hi Ricky hello Ricky listener.

First time has he been on the first time? I've been ok.

Let's talk about some other radio stuff then and Greatest Hits radio is coming to more places I lose.

What Ipswich and Plymouth it's still to arrive and now part of Manchester is coming to Oldham Rochdale and Tameside because Bower finally has there ever been looking for the Revolution 96.2 and it gives them FM in this kind of northeast bit of Manchester to canifit nicely with Tower and which stations in the North and northwest of Manchester why do they need to keep buying these FM licences in a place like Oldham you could already get Greatest Hits Radio on medium wave on DAB why do these another FM transmitter this is interesting and I shouldn't people have their opinion on this but I've always found that the Bower argument for blowing up popular FM local radio stations ripping out and replacing the base age is to secure the digital future which is the name of science because most of them and on digital radio, so I don't know what.

And then we go and buy loads of FM stations because they think the future of radio is digital so it's a little bit confusing for me.

I'm sure there's an explanation somewhere and would welcome it, but if I think the future is that is digital maybe this should just do what other companies are doing and create digital only radio station surely if it's not important.

They want all these FM transmitters across the country maybe because FM is is now and it's not going anywhere.

I think will still be talking on FM and dab in 10-years.

We now don't you think we probably yeah, but it gives them a bit more each doesn't mean the stations that are there now these latest 3 the return back in Plymouth and Ipswich and Oldham and Rochdale that you if it had another hundred listeners in total across those three stations to the reach of Greatest Hits radio then that's another 100000 I can sell it to National which is good enough reason to buy the stations.

Why do they have to say?

Play buy me stations to secure the digital future most of them were quite happy not being on digital.

So it doesn't know everybody's when people lower the move over to the ABV the chances are that they're not going to flip the switch back to FM unless it's in your car of course because you can book resets the next to each other you can go between revolutionary.

It's worth pointing out the Revolution is on digital radio send somebody stations are not well it you it's been on the trial Manchester books for fast for 5-years hasn't it? So it's it's been available on DAB already have some stations my local Spire FM for example.

There is no Multiplex there in the will be in a couple of years, but there isn't now so that's that just one example and obviously wear these things are changing too great.

Lots of the new online only stations only online you know just like Amazon and eBay the only online but they're popping up all over the place say they've got very big audiences.

You were getting involved in a Twitter discussion this week about station climate had 20000 listeners as a PRS and PPL to pay I don't like Twitter Twitter anymore come off Twitter we said this like the other week in weight that Facebook and I just get rid of that she set up a new one can do our our maybe just maybe possibly for an online radio station this particular station claim so I said on Twitter if you have 20000 a week to your online radio station, I did the quick maths and it would have turned out to be.

A lot of Karen a lot of money that would have been due to BRS at the end of the year at more money than the station would probably make in a year.

Please do not exaggerate.

Is it fine to have 1000 listeners if you get that much because that's 1000 dedicated pairs of years that are listening to your radio station.

I'd be happy to have it out 1000 sister online radio station having operated and currently operating a couple there's no need to exaggerate because you just going to look stupid.

Yeah, it's about the figures that you are present what you're presenting them as well.

You know where you're giving unique somebody giving connections or listeners or concurrent so whatever it is.

You know and there's all these new for people entering the online radio market it can be quite a few should you a podcast about it? How do you analyse your figures have been interested want to do if there's any experts you know about that I get in touch with get you on one week, but yeah, it's about how you present them and you it's about not being.

And you know it's hard because these new online stations going out to clients saying you we want you to advertise with us.

Well, how many listeners have you got you know you've got a list but the same time you want them to spend that money with you.

So you know and they get a really know if you tell him you got 20000 list of the will advertise a product.

Will they find out when we buy their product and where does reached out a particular business in one particular part of the world running.

It has been going round to client saying that they have four more listeners than they have so we we checked the actual stream and like 3 people listening with a peek of evade or something like that and not though.

You know 10000 listeners that they claim so that it's all public information anybody who knows how to look at code on a website can find out usually the actual stream address for the radio station find out themselves.

So it's just not worth it all these spikes stations on the floor.

Stages are popping up.

How are you doing by the way you got 60020 million millionaire listing 20-minute xprs and that we got three lessons right.

Everyone is leaving we talked last week about some of the departures from BBC local radio in This podcast you can add that list the editor of BBC Radio London David Roby you left this week and now the big boss of BBC Radio James Purnell he's going to be leaving in the next couple of weeks and will hard in the director of global 14 years he's been at Leicester Square he's quitting as well going.

Where are they going is the question do we know where they're going without James is going on mate.

Yes, he's going to run a university.

I think is the guy from Radio London David is going out.

He's just going to enjoy retirement.

I think on his on his voluntary redundancy package.

I suspect like the others.

I don't have you seen that deegan's block this week.

In terms of these changes and he talks about the the management structure of the BBC and you know James Purnell perhaps wanting to be director-general 1-day, and obviously not getting the job this time and then having a content director between him and director-general and he's not on the executive committee as the director of radio anymore, so you know probably the BBC2 want to come back in a higher position in a list.

I might be a strategy there and talking of strata.

Do you know obviously James Purnell was the strategy guide for BBC and BBC sounds and play smile Like kind of thing and global the weather will Harding still have the last 15 years or so as we mentioned as being a big part of global strategy and you're having these strategies in charge of the divisions is important.

These days are gone are the days where it's all about programming.

It's all about content and just having a content director running the show you need people who know about strategy and platform.

Marketing lots of other skills content isn't King anymore which a lot of people will be interested to hear when I've been investing so much in it at what is King Radio now.

You say your delivery yeah, well.

Yeah, I think so the marketing and distribution.

Just as important as content is Matt pointed out his blog last week.

So yeah.

Yeah what you put onto your radio station is important and having a USP and having something that listens want to listen to but it's also about how you get it to those listeners and the different methods there are two discs also you know how you encourage listeners, how you Mark yourself and that's just as important both in terms of Brand and style and what your kind of what you're selling to the audience as well as your own marketing of where you push your message.

Yeah, and if you want to read that by the one that's doing a Blog a week at the moment which is there always good for provoking stuff in if you want to find.

VR headsets on a new website if you follow at mat on Twitter Twitter then your link every Tuesday we need a new one and Social Network radio is the ultimate social network obviously we should just put out heart Christmas is here.

It's not Christmas yet, but we've now got magic 100% Christmas and we got heart Christmas are you excited for not really? This is interesting talking about platforms, but you'd assume global would put heart xmas on D1 was last year, but it's on it loads of different local multiplexers this year instead.

I don't know they were must be full now with everything else is full but the lower the bitrate of all the other stations to bring another one in from Radio 2 and Nick pits from Jazz FM at appointed the chair and deputy teacher of the Radio Academy

Nick is going to be on This podcast a little while so while chatting about that fantastic.

Can you ask him about the future of the Radio Academy know about the future of the question of the Big Show as we say good to be honest what this is pretty cold to be perfectly honest because obviously the same live right now is your listen to it.

Cos of the podcast think and you've downloaded it and a big test next week in the form of the man that used to have the mullet and the man who sent to not one, but two copies of his latest book through my postbox to my post box through my letterbox.

I think 1 was intended for you, but you've got one as well.

So maybe we'll do giveaway of the new Pat shortt book which I have yet to read I know.

Yesterday come up but have you you've had a good look through I guess I have yes, and that will be talking to us for the radio Today programme next week.

Did you just say will room by the way I was going to do Somebody by the jingle if they've got a good one.

Yes, he's getting a bit pressed his new book is Pat so he's going to come in touch next week on the radio Today programme had it's autobiography of sorts, but it's not really why I am confused so looking forward to reading all the stuff that he made up that will be on next week as Roy says we've got spare copy.

So we maybe do a giveaway as well on the competition on a podcast how exciting just before we find out about the Radio Academy

PC chair and hear about the Radio Academy festival some sad news to finish on this week in this section with the news of the death of Johnny Owen it works in radio for 45 years many of their years at kfm, and then signal in Stockport and in Stoke at his died this week age 66.

He been battling cancer.

He was on here only about a week or so ago on the hitmix local radio station in that part of Staffordshire Cheshire so I could answers to Johnny's friends lots of tributes been posted online on social media to Johnny Owen read some of those at radio today.co.uk studio listening watching reacting to and learning from every spoken word Kolo sweet and SMS to a mix unlock and understand your content the bionic studio, Transformed

About radio accept away you make it so on the radio Today programme we going to find out about the radio festival.

Sorry the Radio Academy which is happening from the 9th to the 13th of November where does all the podcast at the exact producer of the festival Sam Bailey have a Sam got the festival chair Nick Pitt Sonic so Nick we'll talk about your new job with the radio can be very soon as well, but you've been involved with the area festival the last 4 years as creative director your chair this year the things very different we're on track to do the Radio Academy festival as per usual in May at the British Library and then of course the world when two part and we postpone.

It is one of the major things that the the Academy is known for its the festival and we we wanted to do something we wanted to celebrate the radio and audio world but in a different way because everyone that works.

Hard over the lockdown period and thus the virtual Radio Academy festival was created as you've got to go and get the technology right for these things and we've seen your when we started out things online in March it was just using inAzuma and things like that, but conferences online have moved forward even in the last 3 of months yeah, and it's a range of different things that you might expect on a stage that just don't translate to to a virtual setting and and we work very well that we don't want people to be completely drained zoom XL by by the end of the by the end of the festival so yeah, we've got some zoom panels in there, but it's not wall-to-wall zoom panels.

We have got some speeches and we've got some discussions being done in various formats.

We've got pre-recorded packages as well as life things so there's lots of different ways that that people can meet with colleagues and hear about everything that's going on and how do you start to?

Together like this obviously tried and tested method scopac years of having a a venue and the series of speakers through the day.

How do you start to put it together from an online perspective play by having a bigger brainstorm and it's the save and then you sort of see how things start shaping up when you start putting feelers out and I think that's when we landed on the 5-day idea rather than trying to fit it all into one day not least because people's working patterns are so so different the idea ask somebody to to sit in front of their screen for a for 9 hours straight is completely different to the being nice Auditorium so we say to fit over 5-days like anybody so put a schedule for anything together and I think we're speaking to people that right now that do that for a living you then start to think when we could see me today.

You know and so we kind of have a rough kind of themes along each day, so I'm music day and and using sport.de a day focused on local and things like that and then and then you start to kind of a blank.

Is really difficult as soon as you got some Destruct today you that the ideas then stop flowing about how to fill the different slots in the day, so that's how we approached it and we put out the feelers far and wide and I've got a really good race of people.

I think we also created and ideas panel different people from different areas of radio and audio to get their take on it as well, because I'm in one of the great things is Sam work together on the RAF so we understand each other we know where we're coming from.

We went really well together because our ideas are any finite in this in this situation, so we are these guys to to be part of this network.

Just helped us kind of shape the festival as a bunch of ideas and then we created the structure around it and I suppose the other thing is well.

You always have a big wish list of you know would love to get these people and quite often when a radio festival on one day.

It's hard to make that work with people's Diaries because you spread it out and cos they could do it from home.

It's easy to get the goodest.

It's certainly allowed us to sort of goat sort of the Ripper

Radio Academy festival Rulebook and start again and go let's not just let's not just think about people available on the day.

Let's not just think about people are available at the location in London let's just go and wide.

Let's write the bonkers list down.

Who do we want and let's see what we can get we got some great international contributions as well, which I don't think we would have got if they were if they had to be in London on specific day of the year so we got no Rogers you know headlining on the on the on the Friday he's giving conversation with Edith Bowman talking about his new show on apple music one which is brilliant.

I mean is an absolute legend and I don't think we would have been able to his base in Connecticut and I don't think you're ready Academy wouldn't be able to afford to to ship them over so and to be able to have him and other contribution people Places making radio during coronavirus all around the world is going to be really interesting addition and some of those are in a small little pre-recorded packages which just adds.

Texture of the day at Robin it all being this kind of lineup of constant speakers in terms of how it's going to work in a people will be obviously that live in the mighty Q&A sessions and things like that were get interacted with it, but they are going to be at home and people going to be in a physical place to do these things.

There's a variety of different locations a number of people are do stuff from from their home when something isn't it a few years ago.

You see inside the home of xyz.

Nile Rodgers whoever people would have thought that's brilliant but seeing the inside a famous people's home.

Just really boring now.

Is that all the time because of this so we got yet? We got two people how we got some people that are going to be in their studios in their places of work the BBC of generously given us the BBC Radio Theatre for one of the days of the sessions would be coming live from the from the BBC Radio Theatre with no audience obviously so there's going to be a lot of different locations around the country and around the world that people that.

See so hopefully variety in that as well and it's not just speakers that obviously don't need to come to London that the the delegates don't need to come either which for me.

You know I've been in the north of England means trip to London time looking forward to it and I hope that makes the event ever more accessible.

I think them there's a sort of genie out the bottle with all this isn't there I think that hopefully we'll see more and more events the Radio Academy festival being accessible to people in different ways in the future and because of that and because of the generosity responses we've been able to get the ticket price.

You know really down into a very accessible a point where we think the people from any stage in their their career and the level of their career should be able to join us.

Where is I think you know there is perhaps reception in the past.

It's been for the exact level or above people that because of the cost of hiring a venue and doing catering and all the things that come with me being in a physical.

The tickets are just £25 plus VAT which we think is a is a brilliant price for 5 afternoons of content and hopefully anybody any level should be able to join us yeah, and you say don't need to watch the live by that cos they're older on catch up with you if you paid for the event so talking through some of the other content then we talked about Nile Rodgers tell somebody the highlights of the schedule.

It's got Lorna Clark is going to be in conversation with Annie Mac and taking questions as well which is got exciting call Lorna the control of popular music that BBC show that we first major conversation.

She had since been put in position and we see a lot of change going on there.

There's going to be a fantastic Sam said you know we've we've created these sort of loosely titled days to help us with our planning on an unusual speech day.

There's going to be a fantastic conversation with Robin Gibb talking to Gloria De Piero of times radio and Michelle

From the Today programme about political interviews which of course always make headlines rather than what's being said the approaches made headlines as well people giving their visions on local radio day and default as well from power giving a keynote on the response and diversity including response to covid and the DNA approach as well as our so you know the ones that we've announced so far.

We've got a few weeks garden hand over to Sam here.

Who can give you some exclusives for the radio today podcast exclusive news today breaking news today with is the radar festival as always had hosts remote from around radio and the course they would normally start the conversation and shake hands and welcome that people onto the stage so we going to try and emulate that we got some free post that gonna be anchoring the coverage throughout the week, so we got Harriet Scott from magic Swansea from kiss and Abbie McCarthy from BBC introducing.

Treehouse throughout the week and they will introduce all of the the panels and response people's comments and and be your live kind of host on each day on the Friday night.

We're going to have to social abyo social at the at the end of the festival week as we have a quiz hosted by Scott Mills will be quiz master in that live from the Radio 1 studio to little little extra announcements for today, but it's all coming together so well, and you've got a lot of different texture and a lot of different sorts of content in their wee September is going to look back at 22 years of PopMaster we got some panels that happening as well, so there's no panel about grassroots music venue, so we could we read a lot about the plight of live music in the charts at the last few months in I think a lot of people in radio you have that relationship with the music industry and and rely on the music industry for the supply chain of artist coming through wondering what they can.

Support local venues and a live music and there's more to do than you might think we're not going to be thinking about radio careers as well.

What does a radio career look like in in 20-22 looks different to something 20 years ago.

So what should people be considering about? What what they're doing for to support their career and the week after the American election and you never know we made me have a result so we going to pull together some of the the best universe and political Correspondents in radio and podcasting and bring them together to look at how the elections been covered are UK radio were also able to confirm a second keynote a which will be on the Tuesday of the radio festival with the controller of BBC sounds Jonathan wall who be joining us to deliver each from his base in Salford so that should be worth looking at 4 and I think this will be my 14th year of attending the Radio Academy festival, so that's probably going to be majorly different.

Going to be sat in my own house, but I won't be hobnobbing with various people and chance of them with my microphone, but also not sitting here drinking a glass of wine and chatting to people late into the night in the bar, So the kind of experience that you get out of radio festival.

It's hard to replicate what you trying to do about that actually really interesting because it is a really important part of our discussions from the star about how we replicate that networking and and the social side of the festival is mentioned as the quiz and you can bring your own as I'm sure he would he would definitely strongly suggest that sounds like in Craig hard to find the right platform to be able to not only deliver all these panels and interviews and sessions but also ensure that we can still allowance still provide our members an opportunity to meet each other which everyone has missed everyone that is one of the big things that I think it's a takeaway from from The Last of Us 6 or 7 months.

Is that each other and one have a good?

Yes, so what you be able to do at the at the festival is as well as join the invite just like at the British Library the 1 main stage rather than a programme of events running up against each other's 11 that you can watch but you'll also be able to chat to other attendees in the lobby as they call it before and after the sessions with video networking so you'll be able to chat one-to-one if there's someone that you haven't seen in ages you fancy a chat with Albi these little groupings his tables where you be able to kind of group with up to 7 other people and and have a video networking chat whilst you have a cup of coffee for the sessions begin, so you know will never be able to replicate it fully will never be able to replicate that casual nature of seeing someone across the hall and going to have a chat with them, but we think this could work really well, and we think people would be really interested to to have a go on it fantastic.

I presume we talked about some of the content in the sessions will be a lot chat about the pandemic as well and what radio is doing to respond to I think.

Kenny's on for one session talk about commercial radios response why we meeting the way that we meeting at the festival and it's the context of all the work that we will be doing over the last 68 months not least the fact that the last time we met as a rear caddy with 3 days before lockdown effectively you never last the last party that anybody catalogue people went to so yeah and clearly what we looking to do.

Is you know it's a medium that we will get something that we want to celebrate but it's an opportunity to learn from each other and to share best practice to share the things that we've been doing over over the last 6-months to connect with our audiences.

Serve them as best that we can so that will come through and everything I think I think that will just be on avoid when people will want to talk about the experiences that they've had so it's the 9th to the 13th of November Monday through till Friday

That week £25 for ticket for Radio Academy members and a lot of people can just join the Radio Academy for free.

They didn't know this already of their part of the big organisation light BBC or one of the commercially groups that they may not have a membership the patron member organisations.

It means that their staff get get entry free.

We do we do need to just take a moment to to thank you know with very lucky with an amazing industry around us and the support they've given us a commercially to help us provide tickets for £25 if you think about how much it normally costs to go to the Radio Academy festival in quality or headline sponsor then BBC sounds PPL PRS for music RCS radiocentre sharpstream, devil offered their support in helping us as well and we have to really defile capture those guys and we're at the Beginning you've got any roll neck within the Radio Academy you're the you're the incoming deputy chair.

You're the chosen one.

The the board of the of the Radio Academy you and having Thomas the Radio 2 are going to be the new Top people these things are trustees are appointed to the board for a set period of time yvonnes appointed as chair for 3 years her X coming to an end John dashes been trustee for 6-years deputy chair for quite a while and also acting for the last 16 months have done both of them done tremendous job.

They both of your break is specially John so it came about that they both decided that they wanted to to to to go and spend more time with their a half's and do that sort of thing and you know I'm quite rightly celebrate what they've done and so you know it's time to find a new chair and vice-chair and I'm very very chuffed beyond words to have been offered the opportunity to be to be depth the next to Helen who is going to be a phenomenal chair.

We just look forward to picking up where.

Johnny Vaughan have the sort of taking is 2 in what is a very strange new world, but you know created the RAF and the raw sessions and will be able to do with this.

I'm not replying to do with the Arias really taking the Radio Academy on into 2021 and beyond without sounding like a cheese my Oyster but you know what I mean.

I wish you lots of luck with that I suppose the file question to you both easier once you've done all this radio Comedy Festival this year online.

Can you ever go back even if word clearer the pandemic in a year or two years time? Can you ever go back to having a physical event will people always want to know how come to this kind of thing from their home.

I think the Genie is out of the bottle to a certain extent.

We have with serving the the radio industry.

Well.

We'll have to think about how to reach out to people at all levels in their in their careers, so whether that you know I think we will have physical meetings again, but will need to think about how we can make events attractive to people all over the

All stages of career all different levels of price points and I think that if any good thing to come out of this really difficult the year that everybody's having it will be changed like that changes to the way the people work and changes to the way that we interact but we'll see next year we committed to do in aria's in May and I think we don't know what shape that will take we want to do more events online over the next year so I think this will open up new opportunities for for the Radio Academy Android Academy members that was finishing that interview about the radio festival annual so heard Nick pits as well.

Just before we go.

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You can even record within your browser as well if you making a podcast or something like that cleanfeed won't cost you anything to get started as a completely free version and within 30-seconds also you beside up and doing the first bit for your show on podcast have a look today at cleanfeed dotnet next week on the radio Today programme my special guest.

Tell us about his new sorted biography broadcast bionics.