MediaCity audio producer Audio Always is providing free podcast production and mentoring support to four new podcasts from the city region.
Audio Always launched its Manchester Amplified scheme in May to celebrate its 10th anniversary. The podcasts were selected by a panel of experts from across arts and media, including Keisha Thompson (poet, performer and artistic director of Contact Theatre), Linton Stephens (BBC Radio 3 presenter and Chineke! Orchestra bassoonist), Nathaniel J Hall (actor, performer and co-artistic director of Dibby Theatre) and Jane Beese (director of music at MIF).
The winning podcasters are:
Touchstones: Rochdale’s art and heritage centre is embarking on a capital redevelopment project next year. It will temporarily close its doors in the real world, but live on in the audio one, engaging with the local community and wider audiences and keeping them updated on the centre’s progress.
Short Supply: After travelling around the North West this year with its Goin’ Places Doin’ Bits programme, artist-led organisation Short Supply will be talking to people they met on the way, engaging in challenging conversations and learning insider knowledge from and for emerging artists.
Susanna Amato: A theatre-maker, actress, writer and clown based in Manchester, Susanna recently performed her debut show ‘Landfill of Memories’ at HOME and will be continuing her humorous and personal exploration of grief in her podcast.
Miche Robinson: Choral conductor, singer and soon-to-be psychology student, Miche will be talking to classical musicians about their personal experiences of the good, the bad and the ugly sides of the industry, and looking at how things might be changing.
Audio Always MD Stuart Morgan says: “We were thrilled to receive so many applications from across Greater Manchester and the standard of ideas and talent was incredibly high. There’s a big appetite for podcast storytelling out there and we hope that by supporting just a small number of those we can inspire and encourage even more creative ideas from the region’s artistic community.”
Audio Always was founded at MediaCityUK in 2012, when the BBC moved a number of their programmes and departments to Salford. Over the past decade it has grown to be the UK’s biggest independent audio production company outside-of-London, delivering more than 400 hours of content each month. In addition to its strands across the BBC’s national radio stations, Audio Always works with brands and agencies, delivers a range of audiobooks each month for the UK’s biggest publishers, and offers state-of-the-art audio-visual studios at MediaCityUK.
