Dubai PodFest 2021 agenda unveiled

The festival for podcasters - Dubai PodFest - on November 14 will tackle a range of topics, including engaging and attracting subscribers, challenges and opportunities for content creators, and the growth of the Mena podcast market.

The Dubai Press Club unveiled the first-of-its-kind event’s agenda on Wednesday.

The event will take place at the Dubai Press Club in One Central, Dubai World Trade Centre, and bring together prominent podcasters, audio content creators and organisations in the sector to explore growth opportunities and the future of podcasting in the region.

Organisations and content creators will be podcasting live from the event.

Maitha Buhumaid, director of Dubai Press Club, said: “The Dubai PodFest was inspired by the vision of Dubai’s leadership to adopt new media technologies and embrace advanced digital trends in the sector. The event, which is set to be the region’s largest gathering for podcasters, seeks to generate insights on emerging possibilities and challenges in the sector.”

As the global digital content sector undergoes numerous developments, Buhumaid added that it is important for the Arab world to stay abreast of the advancements.

"Our region has a wealth of bright minds and talent capable of excelling at a global level. However, we need to develop an integrated system in the region that can harness this talent by raising quality benchmarks, promoting knowledge exchange and supporting the development of the sector,” she said.

Mahfoudha bin Selem, programme development and media training manager at Dubai Press Club, said: “Organising the Dubai PodFest is part of Dubai Press Club’s strategy to develop several media sectors, including digital media content, in collaboration with its partners. The Dubai PodFest also forms part of our plan to contribute to the accelerated development of the podcasting sector.”

Bin Selem added: “With the growth of the sector in the region and emergence of new podcasters and podcast platforms, we need to study market developments and understand the various issues it faces.”

Details of sessions

Opening session: ‘The Future of Podcasting’ will explore ways to widen the audience for podcasting and identify the major issues facing podcasting in the region. The session will also tackle technology-related competition in the audio production sector.

New Avenues for Content Creators: This panel discussion will see participants share insights on opportunities available for content creators in the Mena region, enhancing the diversity of music content on podcast platforms, as well as the impact of the global pandemic on the consumption of digital music and entertainment.

The session will also shed light on how companies can take advantage of massive growth opportunities in the podcasting sector and how content creators can increase their subscribers and monetise their podcasts.

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‘Podcast Platforms’: This discussion will centre around the distribution of ad revenues among podcasters and podcast platforms, and the key marketing tools available to maximise reach and income. The session will also examine what podcast platforms offer content creators.

• Dubai