International Radio Festival

What International Radio Festival does

The International Radio Festival (IRF), founded in 2010 by Darryl von Däniken in Zürich, Switzerland, operates as the world's only on-air festival and conference dedicated to music radio. The annual event brings together leading radio stations from around the world to broadcast live from the festival venue back to their home audiences, with management claiming cumulative reach of 50-100+ million listeners per edition. The organization also operates IRFaces, a photographic collection of international radio personalities launched in 2014 in collaboration with photographer Tobias Stahel, functioning as a year-round brand asset alongside the flagship event.

IRF's core offering is an annual multi-day event combining live radio broadcasting with an industry conference for producers, anchors, and station owners. Editions have been held in Zürich (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015), at the 2012 London Olympics as part of the Swiss Federal Government's House of Switzerland, in Milan post-EXPO (2016), and in Valletta, Malta (2018). Past editions have featured 80+ international radio stations and attracted approximately 500 conference professionals, with the 2016 Milan edition welcoming over 12,000 general-public visitors over four days. Content from past editions is streamed on-demand via a partnership with Mixcloud, which hosts over 500 radio shows from the festival across multiple cities.

The company operates as IRF Group of Companies, a privately held Swiss entity with 11-50 employees. Revenue is generated primarily through festival sponsorships, radio station participation, and conference attendance fees, with no proprietary technology platform disclosed. Key industry partners include Telos Alliance, Radioplayer Worldwide, Xperi, Radiodays Europe, WorldDAB, EBU, SwissRadioDay, and Mixcloud. No external institutional investors, private equity, or venture capital backing are disclosed, and the company maintains an independent ownership structure with no parent or subsidiary relationships.

Name

International Radio Festival

Legal name

IRF Group of Companies

Website

https://internationalradiofestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Radio Festival is a Zürich-based private company that runs the world's only annual on-air music radio festival and industry conference, where 80+ international radio stations broadcast live from the event to global audiences of 50-100+ million listeners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Radio Industry Events and Conferences

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events with Facilities (71131), Radio Broadcasting Stations (516110), Radio Broadcasting Stations (51611), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516)

SIC

Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832)

akta.pro primary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Cultural/Educational Broadcasters (MPABAEAF), International Radio Broadcasters (Shortwave/Satellite/Digital) (MPABAEAI)

Keywords

• Music radio festival
• Radio industry conference
• On-air broadcasting event
• Radio station showcase
• Audio conference services

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Festival and Conference Operations: Revenue is generated through festival participation, sponsorship from industry partners, and conference attendance fees. The IRF brings together radio stations that broadcast live from the event to their home audiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The International Radio Festival (IRF) is an annual on-air festival and conference that brings together radio stations from around the world to broadcast live music radio formats from the host city back to their home audiences. It also runs a co-located industry conference (in collaboration with SwissRadioDay) for radio producers, anchors, and station owners to debate the curation and business of music radio. The festival includes a complementary photographic sub-project, IRFaces, documenting international radio personalities.

Product overview

The International Radio Festival (IRF) is a unified event combining a live on-air festival and an industry conference for music radio professionals. The core product, IRF, brings together radio stations from around the world to broadcast live from festival venues while hosting conferences for radio producers and anchors. The complementary sub-product, IRFaces, is a photographic collection documenting international radio presenters. Content from IRF editions is streamed through Mixcloud, providing on-demand access to over 500 radio shows from past festivals across cities including Zurich, Milan, London, and Malta.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• International Radio Faces (IRFaces): The world's first photographic collection of International Radio Faces, launched in 2014 in collaboration with photographer Tobias Stahel. An ever-growing community capturing the faces of international radio guests.

Products and services

• International Radio Festival (IRF) The world's only Audio Conference and On-Air Festival celebrating music radio. Combines live radio broadcasting from festival venues with an industry conference for radio producers and anchors. Brings together leading radio stations from all four corners of the globe who broadcast their music formats live from the festival back to their home audiences, reaching millions of listeners worldwide.
• International Radio Faces (IRFaces) The world's first photographic collection of international radio faces, created in collaboration with photographer Tobias Stahel. An ever-growing community capturing the faces of international radio guests who enjoy the following of millions of listeners around the globe.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MixcloudcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMixcloud serves as the official streaming partner for the International Radio Festival, hosting over 500 radio shows from past IRF editions. The partnership enables global listeners to access content from festival editions held in Zurich, Lugano, Basel, Milan, London Olympics, Bern, Chur, and Malta. Mixcloud reaches over 10 million people a month.
• Telos AlliancecoreTechnology or IntegrationTelos Alliance is a key industry partner that has supported the festival's development into the global go-to-place for the music radio industry. They provide radio broadcasting technology solutions.
• Radioplayer WorldwidecoreTechnology or IntegrationRadioplayer Worldwide is a key industry partner supporting the IRF as a global platform for the music radio industry, providing hybrid radio technology and standards.
• XpericoreTechnology or IntegrationXperi is a key industry partner supporting the International Radio Festival, providing broadcast radio technology and services including HD Radio.
• Radiodays EuropecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRadiodays Europe is a key industry partner that has collaborated with the IRF, combining expertise in radio industry events and conferences to serve the European radio community.
• WorldDABcoreTechnology or IntegrationWorldDAB is a key industry partner supporting the IRF, providing expertise in DAB digital radio standards and technology adoption.
• EBU (European Broadcasting Union)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEBU is a key industry partner of the IRF, representing public service broadcasters across Europe and beyond, supporting the global music radio community.
• SwissRadioDay (SRD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwissRadioDay has collaborated with IRF since 2014, presenting a comprehensive conference programme. The partnership attracts over 450-500 radio industry professionals annually.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IBC (International Broadcasting Convention): Annual European convention for the broadcast and media technology industry. Overlaps with IRF in addressing radio/broadcast professionals but centers on technology vendors rather than music-format radio programming.
• SXSW (South by Southwest): Large-scale US festival combining music, film, and technology programming. Broad incumbent analogue combining a major public-facing festival with industry conference programming, though materially larger in scale and broader in scope.
• NAB Show: The flagship trade show of the US National Association of Broadcasters covering radio, TV, and digital. Comparable as a global broadcasting-industry event, though far larger in scope and primarily B2B infrastructure-focused.
• MESA (Music Business) / Music Industry Conferences Collective: Music business education and networking events serving labels, distributors, and rights-holders. Adjacent as a music-industry convening platform serving professional attendees, though oriented toward rights/retail rather than broadcast radio.

Direct peers

• Radiodays Europe: The leading European conference for radio professionals, organized annually since 2010. Directly comparable as a similar radio-industry event with overlapping speaker audiences, sponsor base, and a longstanding strategic partnership with IRF itself.
• SwissRadioDay: Switzerland's annual radio industry conference, co-located with IRF since 2014 and drawing 450–500 radio professionals. Closely comparable in format, audience, and home market, and operates as both a partner and peer conference.

Regional players

• Radiodays (Australia/Asia-Pacific): Regional editions of the Radiodays conference brand in Asia-Pacific and Australia serving broadcasters across those markets. Comparable scope (radio industry content + conference) but distinct geography.

Emerging players

• Podcast Movement: Largest annual conference for the podcast and on-demand audio industry, primarily US-based. Comparable as an audio-content-creator conference targeting producers and hosts, with adjacent (rather than directly overlapping) audiences.
• Eurosonic Noorderslag: European music festival + conference combining live showcases with an industry programme for the music and broadcast ecosystem. Comparable hybrid festival/conference format serving music-industry and broadcaster attendees.
• Reeperbahn Festival: Annual Hamburg-based music festival combining public showcases with a conference programme targeting the music and creative industries. Comparable European hybrid festival/conference format with industry and consumer audiences.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/irfradiofest
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/intlradiofest
• Facebookfacebook.com/irfradiofest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-radio-festival
• Instagraminstagram.com/irfradiofest

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Radio Festival