ZURICH: Day two of the third edition of IRF 2013 witnessed B2B sessions that had a lot of learning for professionals from the global radio ecosystem.

The day began with a workshop on ‘The Way to Success’ by Gupta Media Sr Business Analyst Stephanie Yessler, who answered questions from the company’s perspective. The list of questions included- Which online marketing mix best builds a music orientated career? How can little-known artists, acts and radio producers use social media to gain as much attention as possible? Showcasing her case studies of implemented projects by Gupta Media, Yessler revealed, that the average person was exposed to more than 5000 advertisements per day giving audiences more choices than ever.

“Maintaining influence in a saturated world is a challenge. Social media has the volume, velocity and variety to disseminate messages quickly,” explained Yessler.

The second workshop-Reinvigorating Music Radio through the Use of Modern Technology in Apps and Internet Radio Services was moderated by Off-Piste Radio Network director Connor Lennon. The panellists included MPme CEO Christian Micco and Traxx FM co-founder Christian Vaglio-Gior. The speakers Micco and Vaglio-Gior spoke from the technology and financial cum founder perspective respectively.

The post lunch session of the IRF 2013 included a workshop on Podcasts and On-Demand music program. The session was moderated by Radioworker and musician Cheyenne Mackay with Mix Cloud’s Nikhil Shah, SIG’s Cla Net and Digris AG’s Thomas Gilgen as co-panellists and the topics covered include:

How to Clear the Rights? Copyrights on radio podcasts and on-demand radio programs with purely editorial content belong exclusively to the radio stations that produced them was the take by the IRF. However, things get tricky when they include even a small part of protected music and/or protected recordings-not to mention when music is the actual focus of the program. How can radio stations ensure they are legally covered in such situations? Despite serious discussion no one could reach a proper conclusion even though the audience comprising of experts from the radio and music fraternity chipping in quite vociferously with their inputs.

Next was a presentation by urturn.com’s Olivier de Simon, who voiced his opinion on the role of social media as a platform for radio, and on the importance of maintaining an active audience. Piste Radio Network’s Connor Lennon was the moderator for this session also.

iBiquity Digital Corporation’s Senior Vice President, Broadcast Programs and Advanced Services Joe D'Angelo shared his insights in a workshop on HD

Radio: A Digital Alternative? Traditionally, broadcast radio is analogue.

HD Radio technology converts the traditional analogue radio broadcast to digital and provides advanced audio and data features that enhance your listening experience. How does HD Radio compare to DAB? What is the potential? Who is lobbying for/against the introduction of HD Radio, and in what countries?

Day 2 of the conference culminated with one of the most interesting sessions during IRF 2013 by Radio Futurologist James Cridland: How People Are Listening to Radio in Today's Multiplatform World - and what your station needs to do about it.

Running concurrently with the B2B workshops were on-air shows by radio jocks/presenters from across the world. The shows were broadcast live on some radio stations in Switzerland and in some of the countries from which the RJs’/presenters came from.

The workshops were followed by networking and aperitifs at the iconic Schloss Sihlberg. www.radioandmusic.com spoke with a couple of guests who had paid to participate at the IRF evenings as guests.

Susanne, a Swiss national said, “I have lived in Morocco for a number of years and there is a Moroccan station that is going to perform on Saturday, so I came.” Susanne revealed that she had been to the IRF last year also.

A surprise paying visitor to IRF 2013 was an IT professional - Prakash from ‘Namma Bengaluru’ (Our Bangalore or Bengaluru). Prakash had relocated from Bengaluru about three months ago when his wife’s office transferred her to its Zurich office. “I was surfing the internet and I read about the IRF. “Music interests me, and so I came,” said Prakash.

Also read: http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/international-radio-...

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