If you’re looking for an excuse to visit Switzerland next month, the International Radio Festival Zürich might be it, happening September 4 – 8. According to its website, the IRF “was founded to celebrate the world’s most consumed and most influential medium, Music Radio.”
The IRF debuted in 2010, making this the 4th edition of the festival with events both for listeners and producers. The B2B Forum is for folks inside the music radio industry, featuring day-long topics like “Social Media Saved the Radio Star.”.
For listeners there is a lineup of “radio guests” from around the world who will be spinning live. Both broadcast and internet radio is represented. All of the festival’s music shows can be heard on its Mixcloud channel. That service is also a sponsor of the festival.
Representing the US are San Francisco’s online SomaFM and Bowling Green State University’s WBGU. The station’s “Dirty Glitter” show won the festival’s “Best US/Canada Campus Radio” contest.
It’s interesting to see that both the College Music Journal and HD Radio are industry and conference partners for festival. CMJ makes sense because of the event’s focus on music. HD Radio has very little penetration outside of North American, so parent company iBiquity is clearly looking to spread the word to countries that have yet to adopt a digital radio standard.
It’s also interesting that none of the major US commercial broadcasters are participating. Perhaps that is to be expected.
If I could make it to Zürich I’d certainly love to attend. If any Radio Survivor readers are going we’d really appreciate a report back.
