The Next Big Thing In Radio?

I spend a lot of time with radio people of all types; Owners, CEO’s, Managing Directors, Sales Directors, Programme Directors and yes... sometimes even Engineers too.

I always enjoy spending time with practitioners though – people who actually make radio; people who are at the ‘coal face’ doing it day in / day out. If you have a background in programme making (as I do), and have spent many thousands of hours in a studio, I think regardless of where you progress to in the radio industry, you always have a secret soft spot for the process of ‘making radio’ and the people who do it.

So when I was asked to be a part of a brand new UK radio conference that was perhaps more for people involved in the job of making radio, and people who just like new radio ideas, regardless of what department they work in, I didn’t hesitate to get involved.

NEXTRAD.IO was launched this morning, and as the organisers say...

“At last – a radio conference for radio people. It’s not designed for the suits. It’s not something that will just appeal to you if you work in a particular part of the radio industry. It’s designed for people who like radio, who want to be inspired by new ideas, who recognise that technology will help it to change and adapt and for those who want to meet like minded people.”

It’s being put together by “professional conference attendees” James Cridland and Matt Deegan, who have set out to design a very different type of radio conference. It’s a pretty good starting point, as many conference can be a bit ‘samey’, and lack a real ‘inspirational vibe’. I’m confident that this will have a different feel, and as the model is the TED conferences, that’s a great reference point to work from.

It takes place in London on 15th September 2011, and tickets are only £99... and I’m really confident it will be a fantastic event (and real value for money too). Being Year 1, the guys have limited it to 120 people, and honestly... without trying to create an artificial demand for tickets, I’m pretty sure they’re going to sell out fast.

So, I look forward to hanging out with some like-minded people, who love radio and want to share and discuss ideas.

And if you’re one of them... maybe I’ll see you there.