By Tamurlaine Melby
Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU

More than 350 professional and aspiring podcasters will convene in downtown Richmond this month for two days of career development programming at the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. Presented by the VPM + ICA Community Media Center, a recording studio and workspace within the ICA, the RESONATE Podcast Festival has quickly established itself as a boutique event where the industry's biggest names and voices can meet to swap knowledge and tips, as well as connect with participants at all levels of podcasting experience.

As its popularity has grown by word of mouth, RESONATE 2024, which will be held Oct. 25-26, sold out within just six hours of tickets going on sale in July.

The festival casts a wide net, with this year's attendees coming from as far away as Los Angeles and Germany, and representing some of the world's best-known and longest-running podcasts. The presenter list features names that will be familiar to regular podcast listeners, including hosts, creators, producers, writers and other studio professionals who have honed their skills at networks like NPR, Radiotopia and Stitcher Studios.

RESONATE founder and CMC Director Chioke I'Anson, Ph.D., who has held the high-profile gig of underwriting announcer for NPR since 2016, said the event's intimate size is part of the draw: Larger podcast festivals can deliver heavy-hitting presenters at a higher ticket price, but at RESONATE, attendees have a better chance of meeting their heroes in person and forging personal connections.

"People have told me RESONATE is unique because it prioritizes narrative audio, and the sense of community is very strong." I'Anson said. "People can go there to feel like their work matters."

That emphasis on narrative audio is key and is reflected in this year's theme of "Telling Stories." While I'Anson has nothing against "chatcasts," a category of podcast in which two or more individuals converse unscripted, he has been intentional about building a festival that centers on storytelling, which he believes can elevate podcasting from entertainment to art form.

For that reason, one of the schedule's biggest highlights, the RESONATE Pitch Party, will kickstart a narrative podcast into existence. On Saturday, Oct. 26, at 2 p.m., in a contest sponsored by VPM, Virginia's home for public media, three pre-selected finalists will live-pitch their podcast ideas to a panel of judges. One winner will receive a first-look agreement with VPM and $10,000 to produce their podcast pilot. The only constraints: The podcast can't be previously published and must feature "docu-fiction," which I'Anson describes as using fiction to tell a nonfiction story, or vice versa.

Now in its third year, RESONATE grew out of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that upended the podcast festival world through canceled events and diminished funding. I'Anson began tapping his radio and media connections to host virtual classes through the CMC, which planted the seeds for RESONATE to launch in 2022.

Today, RESONATE serves as the cornerstone for the CMC's podcast education programming, which also includes Levels Up Academy, a free summer program for young people ages 17-22, and Student Podcast Day, which will take place on Thursday, Oct. 24. A new offshoot of RESONATE, Student Podcast Day will feature industry presenters and production companies, who will arrive at the ICA a day before the festival to deliver an afternoon of talks and portfolio reviews for undergrad and graduate students from across Virginia and beyond.

The goal is to give young people interested in a career in podcasting some of the same access and educational opportunities that RESONATE attendees enjoy, but with content tailored to students who are just getting started. Students who wish to have their portfolios reviewed and to be considered for internships with the participating production companies must apply online by Oct. 15.

While Student Podcast Day is free to attend, space is limited, and online RSVP is required.

RESONATE 2024's day-of hosts are I'Anson and audio producer and writer Kelly Jones. Richmond native and radio storyteller Ray Christian is the keynote speaker. Other presenters include: Audio Flux, Avery Trufelman, Ayeesha Menon, Dhashen Moodley, Davy Gardner, Ellen Horne, Gabby Bulgarelli, James Kim, Jazmine "JT" Green, Jemma Rose Brown, Juleyka Lantigua, Lauren Shippen, Lesedi Mogoatlhe, Mia Lobel, Nichole Hill, Ramtin Arablouei, Ronald Young Jr., Rund Abdel Fatah, Sarah Esocoff and Shaun Michael Colón.

A live musical performance by Dennis Funk will take place Friday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. In addition to the scheduled talks, festival activities include on- and off-site social mixers and first-come, first-served complimentary professional headshots. More details can be found at resonatepodfest.com.

RESONATE 2024 is made possible by support from its partners and sponsors: the Association of Independents in Radio, LWC Studios, Room Tone, VPM, NPR, Proxy Podcast, Virginia Commission for the Arts, Goat Rodeo, Good Tape, Blue Dot Sessions, Columbia Journalism School, editaudio, Lindsay Bowen Law, The Podcast Academy, The Podglomerate, Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, Slate, Tink Media, Audio Flux, Certified Crucial, Common House, Focusrite and Radio Workshop.

About the founder: Chioke I'Anson is a philosopher, podcaster and founding director of community media at the ICA at VCU. He is NPR's national underwriting voice for digital downloads and newscasts and previously taught Africana philosophy as assistant professor of African American studies at VCU.

About the CMC: The VPM + ICA Community Media Center is a state-of-the-art recording and production studio and workspace located on the second floor of the ICA at 601 W. Broad St. in Richmond. It offers free media education and assistance to the public and serves as a downtown recording outpost for VPM reporters. Support for the CMC comes from Rudy and Esther Bunzl, the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, the Anne Carter Robins and Walter R. Robins Jr. Foundation and VPM.

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