The APAs from AudioUK announces Amazon Music & Wondery as Pay What You Can scheme supporters

AudioUK is delighted to be joining forces with Amazon Music & Wondery once again on the Pay What You Can scheme for the APAs, which offers free or discounted entry to the awards and to the ceremony, for those who otherwise would not be able to do so due to financial constraints.

The APAs are sponsored by Audible and organised by AudioUK, the industry body dedicated to advancing the podcast and audio sector.

The Awards, now in their fifteenth year, recognise and celebrate outstanding achievement in podcasting and audio across a huge range of content: podcasts, audiobooks, sound design, radio, presenting and more.

There are 23 categories ranging from production excellence across Comedy, Factual & Documentary, Drama & Fiction, Arts, Music, Entertainment, Lifestyle & Society, Audiobooks, Sound Design and more, plus a variety of on-mic and emerging talent awards.

There will also be the coveted awards for Production Company of the Year, Publisher or Network of the Year and Producer of the Year.

The Little Ears category which made its debut in 2024 will return, celebrating the explosion of audio and podcasts being created for younger audiences. And this year, this category will be judged by its target audience - kids! There are also 3 new categories for 2025. True Crime has been added to recognise the plethora of content in this extremely popular genre. There is also Branded Content for producers making exceptional content for brands that really resonates with their audience. And the Changemaker Award for an individual, production team or company, network, publisher or community-based organisation that is really making a difference.

And a crucial difference this year is that most of the categories will be open to individual producers as well as teams of producers working closely together for the first time. This is in recognition that many productions cannot be narrowed down to the work of a single producer. Entrants are encouraged to read the category citations for the full entry guidelines.

The Pay What You Can scheme was first introduced in 2021 to enable those who would find the cost of entry or cost of a ticket for the Awards a barrier to taking part.

Chloe Straw, Managing Director of AudioUK, said:

“The ongoing partnership between AudioUK, Amazon Music and Wondery continues to be fundamental to the success of the Pay What You Can scheme. We’re proud to continue this collaboration and remain dedicated to making the APAs accessible to all, regardless of financial circumstances. By doing so, we aim to support meaningful career progression through award recognition and foster greater equity across the industry.”

Chris Baughen, Head of UK Podcast Content, Wondery, said: “"It’s an honour to continue our work with the Audio Production Awards by supporting the Pay What You Can scheme. We working alongside their team to help open up the opportunity for as many creators to participate in key industry recognition moments is something the team and I take great pride in.”

Contact: katie@audioproductionawards.co.uk to access the scheme.

Entry Information

The Awards are open for entries and will close on Wednesday 17th September at 2.00pm.

Early Bird entry fee for AudioUK Members is £45+VAT and £55+VAT for non-members and will run for an extended period of 10 weeks until Sunday 31st August. From then on, the standard entry fee will be £55+VAT for AudioUK Members and £65+VAT for non-members until the final deadline on Wednesday 17th September at 2pm (please note: there will be no late extension to the entry deadline).

TO ENTER plus all category descriptions, eligibility criteria, and further details, click here:

https://tinyurl.com/APAs-2025

If you’d like to find out more about joining AudioUK, you can do so here: https://www.audiouk.org.uk/join-us/

Key Dates:

• Entries are open (opened on 16th June)
• Early Bird entry fee: Mon 16th June - Sunday 31st August Midnight (10 weeks)
• Standard entry fee from Monday 1st September
• Final deadline: Wednesday 17th September 2PM. (Please note there will be no extension of the entry deadline)
• Shortlist announced & event tickets on sale: Monday 27th October
• Awards Ceremony at the BFI, London, Southbank: Thursday 27th November
• Winners Published: Thursday 28th November

The APAs from AudioUK - Categories for 2025:

INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM OF PRODUCERS WORKING CLOSELY TOGETHER:

1. Arts & Culture
2. Audiobook
3. Branded Content
4. Comedy
5. Drama & Fiction
6. Entertainment
7. Factual/Documentary
8. Lifestyle & Society
9. Little Ears
10. Music
11. News/Politics
12. Sound Design
13. Sport
14. True Crime

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS:

1. Narrator
2. New Producer
3. New Voice
4. Presenter/Host
5. Producer of the Year

OTHER

1. Ensemble Cast/Presenting Team
2. Changemaker Award
3. Network of Publisher of the Year
4. Production Company of the Year

All category descriptions and eligibility criteria can be found here:

https://tinyurl.com/APAs-2025

Sponsors:

We’re grateful to all our sponsors this year including our headline sponsor Audible. We also have support from Aiir, BBC Sounds, BetterHelp, Everybody Media, Great Big Story, Morley Radio, and The Podcast Show.

Media Partners:

We’re delighted to announce Content is Queen, Pineapple Audio Production, Podcast Rex, Podnews, Podomedy, Sounds Profitable, Sport Social Podcast Network, Student Radio Association, The Radio Academy and Transmission Roundhouse as our media partners for 2025.