Original Audio is partnering with the SONARR Awards, Australia's first ever awards night celebrating the full audio landscape, and we're providing the soundtrack for the evening as well as the audio branding for the event itself.
For as long as I've worked in audio, the industry has been recognised in pieces. Radio had its awards. Podcasting had its own (until 2024). Audiobooks and voice-over mostly got left out altogether. But that's not how audio actually works anymore, the lines between radio, podcast, audiobook and voice have well and truly blurred, and the people making great work move across all of them.
SONARR is short for Sound and Narrative, and it's the first awards to put it all under one roof. Thirty-five categories across podcast, radio, audiobook and voice-over. Independent creators judged on equal footing with the major networks. Dedicated recognition for First Nations, CALD, LGBTQIA+, female, student and indie creators. A $10,000 prize pool split evenly between commercial and indie streams.
Huge credit to founder Pariya Taherzadeh for building something the industry has genuinely never had before. When she told me about the vision we were excited from the first conversation, and we're super excited about this partnership.
Here's the thing about an audio awards night: it has to sound incredible, and most awards audio is an afterthought. Not this one… we can't wait to come up with something truly unique, creative and different for this event!
So we're treating the event the way we'd treat any brand, building a sonic identity for SONARR from the ground up. The moment you walk into Machine Hall in October we're going to help set the mood: the award stings, the walk-up music, the atmosphere between moments, all of it distinctly SONARR. Our job is to make the night feel like what it is: the biggest celebration of Australian audio ever staged.
The inaugural SONARR Awards gala is on 15 October 2026 at Machine Hall in Sydney. Submissions are open now at sonarr.au — if you've made great audio this year, whether you're a network or a bedroom producer, get your entry in before 31st July.
— Aaron, Founder & Creative Director, Original Audio
