Independent Podcast Awards

Last night we celebrated the winners and nominees of the second Independent Podcast Awards at Kings Place in London. It’s A Continent was named the overall Independent Podcast of the Year, after also winning the Best History and Best Educational: World, Business & Financial Podcast categories. The awards were set up in 2023 by whynow and Verbal Diorama, to celebrate the truly independent podcasts that don’t get financial backing from big brands, or have celebrities to front them. With a total of 28 categories, that included everything from Best Parenting to Best Branded Content Podcast, the awards celebrated a huge range of talented indie creators. More than 300 people from the indie podcasting community gathered together to find out who had won one of the coveted trophies. It’s A Continent was a stand out on the night taking home two category awards, and the overall Independent Podcast of the Year title. The hosts Chinny U. and Astrid Madimba impressed the judges with their relaxed but informative style, and their in depth knowledge of their subject. 101 Part Time Jobs with Giles Bidder also wowed the judges, taking home the trophies for the Best Music Podcast and Best Jingle categories. The Apocalypse Players retained the title for Best Gaming Podcast. The Book Review Podcast; For Kids By Kids was fronted by the youngest winner of the night. Ten year old Krishna Murali won the Best Educational: Children & Young Adults category for his podcast that encourages his peers to get off their devices and to read books instead. Wrestling with the Champ won the Best Sports Podcast category, and probably the best on stage acceptance with host Ant McGinley ripping off his shirt in true wrestler style. The judges said of It’s A Continent: “The coverage of African nations, culture and history in UK education is sparse, making this podcast essential listening. It’s instantly interesting, the hosts are charming and fun, and easily mix the serious nature of some of the topics they talk about with humour and wit. And it's all done by the hosts themselves. A true indie show that deserves to be crowned the Independent Podcast of the Year.” The show will see its name up in lights on billboards in Leicester Square and East London from Thursday 24th to Sunday 27th October thanks to the team at Spotify. Winners are also being treated to a range of additional perks thanks to the sponsors, who are Acast, Adelicious, Advertising Week Europe, AudioUK, Captivate, Kings Place , Pod Bible, Podnews, Podknows Podcasting, the Podcasting,Seriously Fund, Rusty Quill Ltd, Spotify. Listen to the winners on Spotify here: https://lnkd.in/etWvgxfC Or on Apple Podcasts here: https://lnkd.in/etpDfJg2 You can find links to listen to all the winners and nominees shows on the website at: https://lnkd.in/eEBaXm4x 

We encourage you to plan your journey ahead of time, so everything is smooth sailing on the night. 📍The Independent Podcast Awards are held at Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG. ⏰ Doors open at 7:15 pm. We can't wait to see you there! The remaining tickets are available to purchase here: https://lnkd.in/emg9fDVk

It’s almost time… there is only 1 week left until the Independent Podcast Awards! In one week, we will be taking our seats at Kings Place, eagerly waiting to see who will take home an Independent Podcast Awards trophy! 🏆 Join us for an unforgettable night, the remaining tickets are available here: https://lnkd.in/emg9fDVk We can’t wait to see you there!

For all those podcasters out there looking for recording space, we have a nice offer for you from the team over at Laughing Around. The studios are at 21Soho, which as the name suggests is in Soho, London. The deal is that if you book four hours of studio dry hire, you'll get a fifth hour free. Or for an eight hour studio dry hire day, you'll get 20% off the fee. Just quote IPA on your booking to claim the offer. You can find out more about the studios here: https://lnkd.in/eiZQHdAU This deal was brought to us via Elliott McKay, a freelance Audio Producer, and a judge on this year’s awards. If you’re looking for audio or video production support then Elliot and the team at Laughing Around would be happy to help. They’ve worked with some of the biggest brands in the business such as the BBC, Virgin Media, The Health Lottery, JOE Media and more, so you’d be in safe hands!

With the judging for this year’s Independent Podcast Awards coming to a close, we wanted to shine a light on the individuals who have given up their time to undertake this mammoth task🎙️❤️. We received 22% more entries this year than in 2023, which means that there were even more incredible podcasts to listen to. Without our team of expert volunteers we couldn’t run these awards 🙌. Swipe to see the full lineup of judges, or visit our website: https://lnkd.in/gsYwn4qM #IndependentPodcastAwards

The Independent Podcast Awards, now in their second year, have closed for entry and received 22% more than in year one, with nearly 450 entries received. The awards were launched in 2023 to recognise the outstanding talent in the independent podcasting community. Open to podcasters in the UK and Ireland that are not backed by big brands or large corporations, the awards are taking things back to the grassroots of podcasting. Launched by whynow Media and Verbal Diorama, itself an indie podcast, the awards wouldn’t be possible without the backing of industry partners. Already on board as supporters for the 2024 event are Acast, Adelicious, Advertising Week Europe, AudioUK, Captivate, Podknows Podcasting, Rusty Quill Ltd, and Spotify. The Media Partners are Pod Bible, Podcasting Seriously and Podnews, while Kings Place are the Venue Partner. As well as supporting the event, many of the partners are also supporting the winners with additional resources. Neal Veglio at Podknows Podcasting will be offering a free group audit session with the category winners in November. This is a service that Neal has been offering to clients for a number of years, and each one has found it invaluable for increasing listeners. Neal Veglio of Podknows Podcasting said: “I’m delighted to be working with the Independent Podcast Awards and their winners. I’ve been working with podcasters of all sizes for a long time now and have been able to help lots of people improve the quality and listenership of their shows. By auditing the winners’ shows I’ll hopefully be able to help them take things to the next level with their podcasts.” Alongside this, Acast, Adelicious and Captivate will be offering free hosting to winners, AudioUK will be gifting a Creator membership to their organisation, while Rusty Quill will offer free ads on their network to the winner of the Fiction category. The Independent Podcast Awards are currently going through the judging process and the shortlist will be announced in early September. To find out more and to sign up for updates go to: https://lnkd.in/eYCa3Vfc. To find out more about sponsorship opportunities contact Adam McDonnell. 

Our friends over at the Tremula Network have launched their own festival which will be taking place next month on and around the South Downs, and it looks fantastic! Tremula Network is an audio-first podcast company dedicated to unheard stories of adventure, nature and the outdoors, run by Francesca Turauskis. From the 20-21st September 2024 you can join them at Tremula Festival, a two day podcast festival combining the power of audio with a love of the outdoors. Day one is supporting podcasters to upskill with a range of talks and practical workshops. Day two features a full programme of live shows including interviews, storytelling, panels and live music. Tickets are on sale now, with a flexible ticketing system. Both days have a handful of complimentary tickets available for those that would find cost a barrier. Find out more at https://lnkd.in/eXd84tvJ or buy tickets now at https://lnkd.in/ewK3k6pq.  

Time is ticking ... ⏳ There are just seven days left to get your entries in! The closing date is 5pm next Friday 14th June 🎙️ The entry process is simple, and you don’t even need to edit down your episodes to submit them. Go to the website, create an account, choose your category, and you’re off! What are you waiting for? Enter now at: https://lnkd.in/e9yk2twb

You asked... we delivered! Due to popular demand, we have given you two extra weeks to get your entries in and extended the deadline to Friday 14th June. The entry process is simple, and you don’t even need to edit down your episodes to submit them. Go to the website, create an account, choose your category, and get writing. You can save and go back to it as many times as you like between now and the closing date. If you have already submitted your entry, and want to use the extra time to add to it or edit what you have already submitted - feel free! Make the next two weeks count. We can't wait to take a look at and listen to all of your amazing entries. Find out all the details and submit your entries here: https://lnkd.in/e9yk2twb

There are some excellent podcasting events coming up that we'd like to encourage you to sign up for! First if you're going to The Podcast Show in London next week, then Mark Asquith and the Captivate team are hosting their annual podcaster and drinks meet up on Thursday 23rd May from 5:30pm. This is a fantastic chance to chat to fellow podcasters. Tickets are free but you have to sign up as this always sells out! More details here: https://lnkd.in/dyznmBPg On June 5th UniPodFest is taking place at Birmingham City University. Founded by Nina Robinson from Soundtruism Media Productions , it will include a very special tribute to Benjamin Zephaniah, hosted by his long time friend Dr Martin Glynn, who will be joined by George The Poet. Find out all the details and book your tickets here: https://unipodfest.co.uk/