Australian Community Radio Station RTRFM Nominated For Major International Award

Perth community radio station RTRFM has been nominated for a major international award.

RTRFM recently celebrated 48 years on the air. The radio station has been nominated for Best Music Website at this year’s Webby Awards, and is up against titans of the music industry, such as Apple Music, Lady Gaga, and Billie Eilish.

The fresh, exciting RTRFM website was designed by local web agency Start Digital and has now been officially recognised as one of the five best in the world. It was nominated out of 13,000 submissions to the Music Website category, showing strength and making for an underdog story.

The Webby Awards are the leading international awards that honour excellence on the internet.

Commenting on the website’s nomination, RTRFM General Manager Simon Miraudo said, “We’re definitely the underdogs in the category, but to even be mentioned in the same breath as these other brands and artists, for the most prestigious award on the internet, is absolutely massive for our humble community radio station here in Boorloo.

“It’s a credit to the legends at Start Digital, who worked tirelessly with us to develop and launch an innovative new site for the station last August. That included the debut of RTR2, our deep-listening, online-only channel that runs parallel to RTRFM programming.”

You can vote for RTRFM at the Webby Awards until Thursday, 17 April. You can have your say on the RTRFM website.

However, Miraudo has revealed that the RTRFM team can’t get to New York for the ceremony, which will be hosted by Broad City actress Ilana Glazer on Monday, 12 May. You can follow the 29th Annual Webby Awards Show on Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter), and YouTube.

Miraudo said, “We’ll be rooting for Start Digital to overcome the odds and bring home the hardware. We know we can hold our own against any music outlet in the world, and this is proof.”

Neil Mason, Managing Director at Start, added, “Being recognised at this level, and in that kind of company, is a testament to our team’s talent and creativity.

“This project represents everything we love about what we do—creative freedom, cultural significance and digital work that stands far apart from the crowd. And, of course, it’s lovely to get some global recognition for RTR and Perth in the web space.”

Crissy Foster, General Manager at Start, concluded, “RTRFM has always punched well above its weight.

“We knew how much the station meant to people, so every decision we made—from the design to the user journey—was about honouring that legacy and setting them up for the future.”