On 18th February, Commercial Radio & Audio held its 2026 HEARD Conference at Sydney's International Convention Centre. Steve Ahern was there for RadioToday, he tells Jen Seyderhelm what he thought.

We also share some audio from the conference of Mark Ritson, Lara Thom and breakfast radio stars.

This week it’s a HEARD special as Commercial Radio and Audio held their annual audio showcase. I’ll catch up with Steve Ahern in a moment who was there for a reflection on the event, and later the National Radio Airplay Chart song of the week.

Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) unveiled its industry roadmap at the annual audio showcase event HEARD, with Australia's commercial networks uniting to deliver what agencies and advertisers have asked for: frictionless access to audio's growing reach and proven effectiveness. For more on the event Steve Ahern joins me. 

Our conference reports:

https://radiotoday.com.au/audio-the-campaign-catalyst-for-brand-growth-2026-heard-conference/ 

https://radiotoday.com.au/ad-campaigns-that-invest-in-audio-are-more-effective-mark-ritson-at-heard26/ 

https://radiotoday.com.au/ad-campaigns-with-regional-audio-are-33-more-effective-heard-conference/ 

The RCS National Radio Airplay Chart Song of week this week takes us 100 times around the sun with Guy Sebastian. It debuted at #31 on the Chart with 239 spins across 23 stations.  

Don't forget to enter the Australian Audio Awards. Closing date is approaching fast!