A group of independent podcast producers have come together to stage the inaugural Soundwave Summit, following Radiodays North America, on June 6.
Founded by Michael Mongiardi of Sonar Network, Sherley Joseph of Chonilla Network, and Amanda Cupido from Lead Podcasting, the event will also include representation from Canadaland, Vocal Fry Studios and Kattie Laur, founder of the Pod The North newsletter, among others.
The summit aims to showcase Canada’s indie podcast scene, with daytime sessions arming creators with information on monetization, pitching, and building community. A separately-ticketed evening lineup will feature four live podcast performances, highlighted by a live recording of The Women of Ill Repute podcast with Wendy Mesley and Maureen Holloway.
Cupido says the event is about increasing representation from independent creators, but also from women and diverse podcasters, setting it apart from most other industry events.
“During the daytime, we have the most diverse lineup, not only culturally but from a content perspective, and we are heavily woman-dominated,” said Cupido. “If you look at the lineup, and I think that’s really unique…a lot of conference lineups tend to be male dominated and we’re just happy to highlight incredible work from women.”
“Where’s the money for Canadian podcasts?” is one of the afternoon panels that will focus on financing podcast partnerships, negotiating advertising deals, and other monetization factors, featuring Katie Jensen, Principal of Vocal Fry Studios, and Jessica Vallentin, Audience Development at Canadaland.
Taking place at the StartWell co-working space in downtown Toronto, Cupido, Joseph and Mongiardi will also keep “office hours” at the event.
“We’re trying to break down those barriers to have conversation starters,” Cupido told Broadcast Dialogue. “We’ll all be in an office, and we’ll do office hours where people can come in and sit down and chat…if you want to pitch us, we’re prepared and it does away with the awkwardness that can arise at these things.”
“This is about coming together and really celebrating the independent podcasting phenomenon in Canada.”
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