About AudioUK
AudioUK is the trade association for professional audio production companies, creative businesses around the UK making high-quality content for radio, podcasting, and audiobooks, as well as much more.
Our main aim is to help our member companies, and by extension the UK audio production industry as a whole, to operate successfully and to grow their businesses. To do this we operate according to the four main pillars of activity listed below.
Join us
You can find out more about the benefits of joining us here. Or email: [email protected]
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
EDI is central to the work of AudioUK. You can find resources and more here.
Business
Connecting suppliers to the marketplace; seeking new opportunities, including at an international level; providing business and legal affairs support.
Representation
Ensuring the sector continues to be recognised and listened to by Government, Parliament, regulators, journalists and industry
Community
Growing membership; giving audio producers a feeling of belonging to a growing and successful industry; sharing information and best practice; encouraging diversity in all its forms.
Excellence
Our members also create high-quality audio-led content and services in a range of other areas: events, audio games, audio guides, radio/audio branding, studio hire, CD and other physical audio media production.
Companies around the UK
AudioUK’s members are spread across the UK as shown in the adjacent map. These companies are in a position to work in their local communities to help project the different stories, perspective, lifestyles and histories of people all round the UK to the rest of the country, as well as working on UK-wide and international subject matter.
Audiotrain
The future of every creative industry relies on a skilled professional workforce, with a new generation ready to enter the sector to grow and become audio professionals through training, membership and mixing with their peers.
In 2015 AudioUK (then RIG) decided to set up a training and mentoring scheme. RIGtrain (now Audiotrain) was set up with funding from the Department of Business and Skills’ EOP Scheme via Creative Skillset, and the original scheme ran from 2015-2016.
With Creative Skillset subsequently repurposing to Screenskills, we have continued to run Audiotrain as a standalone not-for-profit training programme, providing a series of courses on everything from ‘How to use a microphone’ to ‘The Business of Podcasting’.
These courses are lively, informative and make use of the views and experience of genuine experts in their field.
Audiotrain has so far provided over 2500 learner days, with the attendees being around 60% women, 15% BAME, and 5% with a disability.
A list of current courses can be found on the Audiotrain page here.
Audio Production Awards
In 2010 we decided to set up an awards ceremony to celebrate the craft skills involved in all aspects of radio and audio production.
Originally titled the Radio Production Awards, they were rebranded in 2016 to the Audio Production Awards (APAs) reflect the widening areas of activity of our members.
The APAs has now become a regular fixture in the industry calendar with a high-profile ceremony at a major London venue.
You can find out more about the APAs here.
Our Board
AudioUK’s Board is elected by a ballot of member companies at the Annual General Meeting. Each company, regardless of its size, has one vote, and the directors come from a wide range of companies across the UK: (details to be added)
Viv Parry
Hannah Brankin
Jon Holmes
Steve Austins / Marina Lois
Our Team
Our highly experienced executive support team is employed on a part-time basis and includes:
Chloe Straw
Managing Director
Email: [email protected]
Chloe was previously Head of Content and Production at award winning production company We Are Grape, where she has been for the last four years, in addition to working as a social media strategist. Her prior involvement with AudioUK includes being a Board member for two years from 2017, in addition to which she was the Head of Digital for its training arm Audiotrain. Her career has included working with the BBC, as well as leading production company Somethin’ Else.
Kim Mason
Administration and Finance
Email: [email protected]
Kim looks after membership, finance and all aspects of administration. She has worked as a book keeper and administrator for over 10 years, managing the finances for a number of independent small businesses. Kim combines this with working part time supporting young people with additional needs. She has a long background in business having jointly run and managed the finances for a successful retail business for over 20 years.
Mike Hally
Acting manager, Audiotrain
Email: [email protected]
Following Matt Murphy’s departure for a new position in radio, Mike Hally will be running AudioUK’s training programme Audiotrain in the interim. Audiotrain helps to teach new skills and bring the audio community closer together, and a new manager will be appointed in the near future.