Happy Earth Day 🌍 Celebrating climate audio storytellers: Frank Oscar Weaver, Thomas Schueneman, Sara Harris Ben-Ari. Their podcasts explore land, community + climate as deeply human stories. Listen + support. What environmental podcasts are you listening?

Meetup for sound designers, audio engineers, and composers (virtual)

Meetup for sound designers, audio engineers + composers

🗓️ 4/30 | 🕚 6-7 PM ET | 🎟️ RSVP: https://ow.ly/tBM750YKrEX

A casual meetup for audio engineers, sound designers, composers + tech directors to connect, share ideas + talk craft + tools. Hosted by AIR Board Member Rob Byers

Weekly Goals & Accountability Group

🗓️ Mon, Apr 27
🕐 12-1 pm ET
ℹ️ Learn more: https://ow.ly/mxKn50YKs7m

Weekly AIR member check-in to set goals, review progress, and break down larger objectives with community support and accountability.

Workshop: Audio Snapshots (Center for Documentary Studies)

🗓️ 5/30–5/31
🕙 10am–4pm ET

Create audio snapshots inspired by Jay Allison’s Sonic IDs—audio postcards.

AIR Members get 10% off. Register now: https://ow.ly/85hc50YKqNx

Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers

Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers

🗓️ Apr 23 | 🕐 5 pm ET | 🎟️ RSVP: https://ow.ly/qRhG50YKqpI

Casual online space for freelancers & remote audio pros to connect, chat, and join breakout rooms. Open to anyone in audio industry. Facilitated by Robin Gelfenbien.

Weekly Goals & Accountability Group

🗓️ Mon, Apr 20
🕐 12-1 pm ET
🎟️ RSVP: https://ow.ly/mRwL50YKqh0

Weekly AIR member check-in to set goals, review progress, and break down larger objectives with community support and accountability.

Chicago Audio Makers Meet Up, hosted by Chicago Audiomakers Collective, the Association of Independents in Radio and the Institute for Independent Journalists

Are you going to the @sejorg.bsky.social or Audiophile conferences this week? Are you a Chicago-area freelancer? Join us this Friday at Industry Ales!

We're partnering with Chicago Audiomakers Collective and @airmedia.bsky.social to host a freelance meetup!

www.eventbrite.com/e/audio-make...

Panel at Audiophile: The Power of Short Form Audio Storytelling

Panel at Audiophile: The Power of Short-Form Audio Storytelling

🗓️ Apr 17 | 🕚 11am–3:30pm CT
🎟️ RSVP ($65): https://ow.ly/IHT750YKq3U

Join AIR + Chicago Audiomakers Collective for a panel on craft, impact + future of short-form audio storytelling + pitching + distribution opps

AIR Spring Gala: 5/28, 6–10pm in NYC at DCTV. Join AIR staff, board + comm! Tickets are are selling—get urs! Members: claim free ticket: https://ow.ly/kInt50YJYrF Early tickets $45 until 4/30, then $75: https://ow.ly/froK50YJYrE Membership includes ticket: https://ow.ly/KBwS50YJYrG

AIR 2026 Spring Gala Join us at the AIR 2026 Annual Spring Gala on May 28th at DCTV.

Thank you to @podnews.net for helping us share that we're hosting our Spring Gala in NYC 🗽 on May 28 at DCTV. AIR members attend for free + $45 for non-members (only for Apr). An evening for indep. creators to connect, eat, drink + more! Come party w/ us 🥳 https://ow.ly/Uw4T50YIPcx

Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers Monday, April 13, 2026 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm EDT Free Remember office water coolers? Back in the day, it was one of those places where you could have informal and impromptu conversations in person with coworkers. For freelancers and producers working with remote…

Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers

🗓️ Mon, Apr 13
🕐 7:30-8:30 pm ET
👤 Facilitated by Katie McMurran
🎟️ RSVP for free: https://ow.ly/A2JX50YH8uY

This event brings freelancers + remote audio prof. together for casual convos + breakout-room connections in a welcoming space.

Membership Benefits and Discounts Membership Benefits and Discounts Type Professional Development AIR offers a range of services and resources to support individual audio and media makers. Our members continually remind us that the most significant benefit of belonging to AIR is the intangible feeling of community they experience th…

AIR supports audio + media makers—but the real value? Community. Forums, AIRster Slack, virtual mingles, co-working & training help you connect, collab + grow. Plus: 3-month Hindenburg PRO 2 trial, 30% off + 30 hrs free transcription. Explore: https://ow.ly/rN8950YH8Q8

🎧 Press Play: AIR's Listening Challenge – April

Discover new audio & support indie creators! This month: listen to a first-time podcaster. Log your entry by Apr 30, 2026. Be among the first to hear the next big voice! 🌟

Join: https://ow.ly/qE9i50YBSuT

Audio Makers in Chicago Meetup!

🗓️ Fri, Apr 17
🕐 5:30 - 8 pm CDT
🎟️ RSVP for free: https://ow.ly/UlNT50YCmv7

Join local and visiting audio creators to connect, network, and mingle with Chicago’s audio community. Organized by CAC, IIJ, and AIR.

AIR 2026 Spring Gala Join us at the AIR 2026 Annual Spring Gala on May 28th at DCTV.

🎉 Join us for the AIR 2026 Spring Gala! 🎙️ Celebrate independent radio, connect with NYC creatives, enjoy food + drinks 🥂

📅 May 28, 6–10 PM ET | 📍 87 Lafayette St, NYC
🎟️ Tickets + info: https://givebutter.com/air-spring-gala-2026

Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers

Virtual Water Cooler for Audio Producers

🗓️ Mon, Apr 13
🕐 7:30 - 8:30 pm ET
🎟️ RSVP: https://ow.ly/CUgm50YFM7c

The “virtual water cooler” connects freelancers and remote audio pros for casual chats, breakout-room networking, and freelance insights, hosted by Katie McMurran.

Independent audio, IRL 🎧✨

AIR Spring Gala | May 28 | 6–10pm | DCTV, NYC

Tickets 🎟️ Early Bird $45: https://bit.ly/41bqGTt | Members free: https://bit.ly/4sO7KGu

| AIR Active AIR Active is a space for audio makers and supporters to move, connect, and recharge. Any sport, any pace, all welcome. Whether you’re running solo, lifting at the gym, cycling, walking, or finding creative ways to stay active, this club is for you. Created by AIR (Association of Independents in Radio), we’re a network of storytellers, journalists, and media makers who know that movement fuels clarity, creativity, and community. Track your workouts, cheer each other on, and stay grounded with a crew that gets the hustle, on and off the mic.

AIR Active = your space to move, connect + recharge 🎧💪

For audio makers, storytellers + supporters: run, lift, cycle, walk… any pace, any sport, all welcome!

Track workouts, hype the crew, stay grounded.

Join us: http://bit.ly/4lCB7Y8

Membership Benefits and Discounts

Are you looking to upgrade your gear or start your first studio build?

Sweetwater, Inc. offers AIR members between 5 - 15% off gear depending on the product. Access the discount code here: https://ow.ly/wIEq50YCnZ8

Audio Makers in Chicago Meetup!

🗓️ Fri, Apr 17
🕐 5:30 - 8 pm CDT
🎟️ RSVP for free: https://ow.ly/UlNT50YCmv7

Join local and visiting audio creators to connect, network, and mingle with Chicago’s audio community. Organized by CAC, IIJ, and AIR.

Weekly Goals & Accountability Group

🗓️Apr 6
🕐12 - 1 pm ET
🎟️Register at https://ow.ly/w39650YzlQR

A weekly meeting for AIR members to set intentions for the week + check in on goals from last week. Use these meetings to stay on track, break down goals + have community support.

Community Skillshare: Freelancers’ Survival Guide

Community Skillshare: Freelancers’ Survival Guide

🗓️ Fri, Apr 3
🕐 1 - 2 pm ET
🎟️ RSVP: https://ow.ly/fO6z50Yzlng

Join AIR members Johnny Flores + Andrea Klunder to master the "Shit Sandwich" method for raising rates, negotiating confidently + keeping strong client relationships

Press Play: AIR’s Listening Challenge Thanks for joining this month’s listening challenge! You’re taking part in Press Play: AIR’s Listening List, our 2026 monthly audio challenge designed to help you explore bold, independent storytelling with a year of great listening. Once you’ve completed the challenge, use this form to tell us what you heard and how it landed. Select responses may be featured in AIR’s newsletter or social posts (with your permission). At the end of the year, the top three participants with the most completed challenges and the fastest average time will receive a free AIR membership or renewal.

🎧 Press Play: AIR’s April Listening Challenge!

Support indie creators & discover new audio. This month: listen to a first-time podcaster—you might be hearing the next big voice.

Submit by 4/30: https://ow.ly/5oYM50YBOyk

Join

AIR members always attend for free. Not a member yet? This is a good time to join: airmedia.org/join

This is also one of the few times AIR members and the broader network are in the same room. People meet collaborators here. Projects get started here. If you’ve ever said, “We should work together,” this is where that conversation happens.

AIR is growing in a real way this year, with new investment behind the work and a stronger foundation for supporting independent creators long-term. The gala is a moment to be in that shift together.

This year, we’re hosting the Gala at DCTV, a working media center inside a converted firehouse. It’s a space built for storytelling, which makes it the right setting for a night centered on independent audio and the people behind it.

AIR 2026 Spring Gala Join us at the AIR 2026 Annual Spring Gala on May 28th at DCTV.

Early tickets are now live for AIR’s Spring Gala

🗓️ Thu, May 28, 2026
🕐 6-10pm ET
📍 DCTV, 87 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10013
🎟️ Purchase Tickets:
• Early Bird Special $45 for non-AIR members: bit.ly/3PIWoFm
• Free for AIR members using promo code at checkout: bit.ly/4s4iGyv

Meet the podcasters taking their shows to the next level! Supported by Apple Podcasts, AMPLIFY helps creators go beyond content—getting it heard. Follow as these creators amplify their voices: bit.ly/3PILvmN

Get Featured! Listening Booth AIR's Listening Booth features audio pieces made by members of the AIR community. Please fill out this form to submit a piece to be featured in an upcoming AIR newsletter. The information you submit will be what is used for the feature. This is for AIR Members only! Please indicate who on your team is an active member and link to their talent profile. Not a member? Join now! AIR's weekly newsletter comes out on Wednesdays. Subscribe at https://airmedia.org/community/newsletter

AIR's Listening Booth features audio pieces made by members of the AIR community. Please fill out this form to submit a piece to be featured in an upcoming AIR newsletter: https://ow.ly/cE2r50YzlBb The information you submit will be what is used for the feature.