The 9th edition of the International Radio Festival will be held in the European City of Culture 2018 – Valletta, Malta – from 29th October to 4th November, with the Audio Conference taking place on 1st November, at the historic Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Celebrating the world’s most sociable medium – music radio, the IRF 2018 Malta edition will explore the way major broadcasting organisations are tackling the changing nature of audio consumption; alongside the challenges of podcasting and on-demand audio, with industry experts and leaders from broadcasters, production and technology companies.

The IRF analyses the rise of niche-format radio stations, and the unique challenges of serving listeners across different media cultures. And we’ll hear from leading producers at the forefront of creating sound art and audio branding. And all this within the stunning surroundings of Valletta, European Capital of Culture 2018.

BBC R&D’s Executive Producer Nicky Birch will cover exciting developments in voice-first audio formats, while international radio consultant John Simons will lead a panel on the rise of niche radio services from rock to jazz.

James Keen, the newly-appointed Station Director for Channel 103 and Island FM in the Channel Islands, will talk with Andrew Zammit from Malta’s ‘number one hit music station’ 89.7 Bay, about the benefits and challenges of targeting a small island-based audience.

The Conference will also include a celebration of ten years of the UK’s Absolute Radio, with its Content Director, Paul Sylvester; and a look at how audio services are re-inventing radio from Xanthe Fuller, Head of Community at Mixcloud.

Martyn Ware – founder of The Human League and Heaven 17, with a 40-year career as a leading record producer – will be talking about his work past and present, including designing and composing ground-breaking 3D-soundscapes.

Festival Director, Darryl von Däniken said: “These new speakers at our Audio Conference – plus the unique opportunity to ‘listen to how the world sounds’ with our guest stations from around the world broadcasting back to their home audiences live from Malta – make the Festival even more unmissable for anyone working in radio, audio or music.”

The IRF specifically celebrates radio’s on-air influencers and their production teams who command the trust and loyal “ear” of billions of listeners around the globe, and is unique in that the conference format also offers invited radio stations the opportunity to showcase their chosen programme formats to attendees whilst simultaneously broadcasting their programmes live-on-air from the conference back to their home audiences, reaching millions of global listeners and making the IRF the largest on-air event of its kind.

Register here for the IRF Audio Conference 2018 https://www.internationalradiofestival.com/conference-malta18/?utm_source=Sign-Up.to&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=23590-28808-IRF18_Malta_Sep18_News_02

The world’s leading industry conference and public on-air event to showcase and debate the curation and business of music radio content, and to celebrate the on-air influencers and their production teams who command the trust and loyal “ear” of billions of listeners around the globe. Tune-in to the IRF and “Listen to how the world sounds”

Speakers include:

  • Paul Sylvester– Content Director, Absolute Radio
  • Martyn Ware– Artist, Producer, Founder, Illustrious Co. Ltd.
  • Xanthe Fuller-Head of Community, Mixcloud
  • John Simons– Intl Radio Consultant, John Simons Consulting 
  • Paul Smith– Head of Editorial Standards & Commissioning Policy, BBC Radio
  • Nicky Birch– Executive Producer, BBC Research & Development, Director, Rosina Sound
  • James Keen-Pan-Island Station Director, Channel 103 & Island FM, Tindle CI Broadcasting
  • Andrew Zammit– General Manager, 89.7 Bay, Malta
  • Scott Cohen– Co-Founder, The Orchard

The Malta edition of the International Radio Festival’s B2B Forum takes place at the historic Mediterranean Conference Centre on 1st November, covering the hottest topics in the global audio and music industries.

 What the industry says:
“A gathering of an amazingly diverse and fascinating group of people with one thing in common: a love of radio. The most diverse radio gathering I’ve ever been to!”
Rusty Hodge, SOMA FM, San Francisco, USA www.somafm.com


The International Radio Festival
The International Radio Festival (IRF) is all about Music Radio Content. The IRF was founded in 2010 to specifically celebrate radio’s on-air influencers and their production teams who command the trust and loyal “ear” of billions of listeners around the globe, and is unique in that the conference format offers invited radio stations the opportunity to showcase their chosen programme formats to attendees whilst simultaneously broadcasting said programmes live-on-air from the conference back to their home audiences, thus reaching millions of global listeners and making the IRF the largest media event of its kind. www.internationalradiofestival.com

Malta Tourism Authority
With superbly sunny weather, fantastic Mediterranean food, a thriving nightlife and events calendar and 5,000 years of intriguing history, the Maltese archipelago attracts visitors from all around the world all year long. The island country has a plenitude of exciting landscapes, sport activities, historical spots, events, family entertainment programmes, restaurants, and much more to discover and to be cherished. The Malta Tourist Authority helps you to make your visit truly unforgettable – for pleasure or for business. www.visitmalta.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For more information please contact:
UK & Europe: Nikki McNeill, Global Publicity, nikki@globalpublicity.co.uk

View and Download photos from past events here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/internationalradiofestival/albums