Dear Mr Chairman,

All sounds quite fascinating and bound to be of interest to many within radio. But THREE HUNDRED FUCKING QUID to be told by Andrew Collins why his off-mic shambolic podcasts are the future?

Talk about pricing yourselves out of the market. There are a great many people working in radio who are onto their third year without a pay rise and are more likely to be sacked than given one any time soon. Is this conference not for the likes of them?

If you work for a Radio Academy patron (you do), then you can get in for TWO HUNDRED FUCKING QUID.

Alternatively, you could go to the Digital Radio Show (today and tomorrow) for SEVEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-FIVE FUCKING QUID; or to The Guardian’s Radio Reborn conference for FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY FUCKING QUID; or to… I think I might have made my point.

There are a great many people working in radio who can’t afford to go to any conference whatsoever. Radio at the Edge is the most affordable. And, like all Radio Academy events, it makes sure that the Radio Academy continues to be able to function.

Sorry if your employer doesn’t think that TWO HUNDRED FUCKING QUID (or indeed, if you’d have acted quicker, NINETY-NINE FUCKING QUID) is too expensive to safeguard the future of their medium. But then, I’ve been pretty clear what I think about UTV Radio anyway, so you’ve probably got no hope anyway…

Exciting to hear that value for money is being offered in comparison with the rest of the market. Shame that this still closes the door to the event on those who would actually benefit most from the wisdom being imparted therein and thus makes the Radio Academy slightly less relevant than it aspires to be.

I think you’ve been assimilated by the BBC borg far too much if you believe that in the real world there are employers that would pay for their worker drones to attend such events rather than get on with the business of, you know, actually making radio programmes.

Instead of an elitist event populated by expense account upper management patting themselves on the backs at how much they are shaving from the bottom line and to hell with the audience, why not a genuinely inclusive occasion featuring people from right across the industry who might benefit from the creative thinking and mutual exchange of ideas that would result.

This isn’t “an elitist event populated by expense account upper management” – I’ve seen the attendance list so far, and it’s far from that.

Genuinely interested in how you think this event should be paid-for, and how to raise revenue for the Radio Academy at the same time. Ideas, please, not bitter carping.

And I will NEVER be assimilated by the BBC borg. That much, I promise you. There is much at the BBC to hate.

James said “There are a great many people working in radio who can’t afford to go to any conference whatsoever.” I totally agree, and yes I’m one of them!

So, I feel very :( as I would love to come, but – I don’t have the money to attend, as I’m currently a volunteer on a Radio station, so am not making much.

But here’s a solution – can I come as your official podcaster!? – and produce some top content from the day, in to maybe, 3x 30 minute podcasts, ala the type of podcasts I did for the Future Of Web Apps conference (FOWA) which took place last month at ExCel in London. (hear these on my website!)

What you say (top man at BBC A&M Interactive) ?

The official podcaster of Radio At The Edge is Blue Barracuda, I’m afraid. (And I’m not the top man at A&Mi – though the top man at FM&T for A&Mi, at least, today.)