Ireland's first dedicated digital audio awards, 'The GoLouds', have been announced.
They are the first of their kind to celebrate the most popular podcasts and music choices based on annual streaming data.
Created by GoLoud - Ireland's first digital audio app to offer live radio, podcasts and music streaming in one place - 'The GoLouds' will award those across categories including Business, Culture, Comedy, Sport and Technology.
The awards ceremony will take place in Dublin later this year.
The public will also have their say as 'The GoLouds' will feature three audience-voted categories:
- Best Irish Podcast
- Best International Podcast
- Best Newcomer
GoLoud is also hoping to discover the next big podcast sensation - with the launch of the 'GoLoud Podship'.
Worth €20,000, the Podship is open to everyone with an original idea for a podcast series.
The winner will take home a cash prize of €5,000 - as well as studio facilities, production support and a significant marketing launch for their podcast series, which will feature exclusively on the GoLoud platform.
Applications are now open.
Kiela Brodigan, head of GoLoud, said: "We're delighted to be the first to bring awards of this kind to market.
"'The GoLouds' will celebrate the very best of podcast and music choice and, with the introduction of our 'GoLoud Podship', we're excited to shine a light on outstanding creativity and originality.
"GoLoud is the only digital audio platform that boasts an Irish podcast category. We want to champion talent and continue to lead the way in digital audio firsts."
But that's not all! We're also launching the GoLoud Podship. Worth €20,000, the GoLoud Podship is open to everyone with an original idea for a podcast series
Find out more here: https://t.co/3HcQjGnqKy pic.twitter.com/9P3BK4EHQw
— GoLoud (@GoLoudApp) February 11, 2020
The launch of 'The GoLouds' has been welcomed by popular Irish podcasters.
Bríd Browne, one half of 'Bandwagons', the podcast that "covers all your watercooler conversations", said: "People are finally starting to sit up and take notice of the Irish podcasting scene lately, which is amazing.
"It's great to see podcasters get recognised for the time and effort they put in to creating top quality content.
"Irish listeners are realising that there is a well of great Irish content out there and they are just now beginning to tap into it. I'm so excited to see what the next few years will bring".
Comedian Julie Jay and host of 'Crimeland', the podcast where Julie chats to her favourite funny people about her favourite true-crime stories, said: "Despite initial hesitation, it is now official: podcasting in Ireland has landed.
"We are currently killing it in this country with a plethora of Irish based podcasts to choose from and I'm loving seeing more and more podcasts being launched every day.
"As a nation of storytellers, podcasting is the greatest of gift, it is the most exciting thing to happen Irish creatives since dial-up and I can't wait to see where we go from here".
Commenting on the success of GoLoud to date, Ms Brodigan said: "GoLoud is only six months in the market and in that time has generated millions of streams each month.
"We've been aggressive in our podcast and music strategy, responding to Irish consumer demands, continuously adding to our offering to deliver an easily discoverable quality audio experience".
