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Doug Thompson Reports On Radiodays At CMW

Wasn’t that a party!!!!!

The launch of Radiodays North America at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle Hotel was a resounding success.

Doug Thompson Reports On Radiodays At CMW

By Doug Thompson

Wasn’t that a party!!!!!


The launch of Radiodays North America at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle Hotel was a resounding success.

Radiodays North America is the new partnership between Canadian Music Week and Radiodays Europe, ‘considered the pre-eminent broadcast gathering in the world’.

The first RDNA was two fabulous days filled with information, more information, lively discussion, a bit of fun and maybe just a small taste of impending doom.

For each session, there were several options, but since this was a radio conference, I attended as many radio-oriented ones as possible. Quite a few of the sessions I attended were standing-room only, which was gratifying to see.

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A QUICK OVERVIEW

There were more than a dozen radio-specific sessions, five on podcasting, two BBC presentations, three sessions on developing and nurturing talent as well as diversity in talent, several on radio branding, two keynote interviews, a panel on women in radio (the path forward), a couple of lively discussions on creativity and the future of radio (in cars or otherwise), with of course, the spectre of Artificial Intelligence omnipresent.

The opening keynote session ‘How Digital Transformation is Changing the Game’ had Broadcast Dialogue editor/host Connie Thiessen in a Q&A with Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig, who posed the question: “What would radio look like if it had been invented after the internet? The current use and potential for A.I. was a major theme. Anstandig mentioned the ability to create alternate language broadcasts in real-time. –– Continued here.

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Charlotte Day Wilson
Jessica Foley
Charlotte Day Wilson
Concerts

CNE 2026 Bell SOUNDSTAGE Lineup: Charlotte Day Wilson, JoJo, Finger Eleven and More

As part of its partnership with NXNE and a renewed focus on live music, CNE will also welcome a special soon-to-be revealed global headliner presented by Billboard Canada on Aug. 28.

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) is embracing its musical roots with a high-profile lineup for 2026.

The beloved long-running fair, baptized The Ex by Torontonians, has unveiled the full list of artists who will be headlining the newly-named Bell SOUNDSTAGE at the Bandshell to celebrate the event's 147th edition. Canadian stars like Charlotte Day Wilson and Finger Eleven as well as international pop star JoJo have been added to this year's programming, which reflects a diverse mix of renowned names and rising stars across a multitude of genres including pop, hip-hop, Punjabi music and soca, among others. They join previously announced acts like Lights, Lupe Fiasco, Shaggy and more.

This year, the exhibition is partnering with Toronto music festival NXNE, to modernize its musical programming with chart-topping artists and newer acts, and revamping the Bandshell as the Bell SOUNDSTAGE. “Music is such a massive part of who we are,” Mark Holland, CEO of the CNE, told Billboard Canada in April during his Executive of the Week interview. "Connecting everybody to that is a democratic mission that we are really invested in."

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