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12 March 2020

WORLD’S BEST IMAGER, BRENDAN “BT” TACEY TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AGAINST FINALIST CHRIS LONGMAN IN 9TH ANNUAL IRON IMAGER CONTEST

Iron Imager Contest 2020 and Benztown 50 Celebration Postponed Until Worldwide Radio Summit is Rescheduled

LOS ANGELES, CA, March 12, 2020 — Benztown, a global leader in radio imaging, voiceover, programming and jingles, announces that Chris Longman, Sound Designer, Capital FM in London, UK, has been selected as the finalist in the 9th Annual Iron Imager Contest, the international radio imaging contest where audio production professionals compete for the title of World’s Best Imager. Current Iron Imager Champion Brendan “BT” Tacey, Head of Production, Triple M Network, Southern Cross Austereo in Melbourne, Australia, will face off against Longman in a head-to-head live competition in the U.S. later this year. Iron Imager is the first and only competition of its kind. Longman has worked at Capital FM and Capital XTRA (Global Radio) in Leicester Square since 2015. He studied Radio Production at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK.

Concurrently, Benztown announced that the 9th Annual Iron Imager Contest, previously scheduled to take place at the Worldwide Radio Summit 2020 in Burbank, CA, on March 26th, has been postponed, along with its official celebration of the sixth annual Benztown 50 List of Radio’s Biggest Imaging Voices. The Benztown 50 List of Radio’s Biggest Imaging Voices is the radio industry’s exclusive listing of the top 50 voiceover artists in the U.S. and Canada. Both annual events are traditionally held at the Worldwide Radio Summit. The Worldwide Radio Summit 2020 was postponed yesterday until a later date, following the announcement by the World Health Organization that the COVID-19 Coronavirus has been designated a global pandemic.

Andreas Sannemann, Chief Executive Officer, Benztown, said: “In challenging times likes these, we as a community need to stand united, be supportive and reasonable and put our focus on handling a complex situation in the best way possible. Our imaging heroes will be able to compete for the title in the future and show the world their incredible skill sets.”

Dave “Chachi” Denes, President, Benztown, commented: “While we are disappointed that we will not be able to hold the 9th Annual Iron Imager Contest or celebrate the Benztown 50 List of Radio’s Biggest Imaging Voices at the Worldwide Radio Summit as originally planned, we look forward to shining a light on our industry’s biggest imaging and VO talents at a later date. In the meantime, we thank Joel Denver and his team for their leadership during this challenging time and will be first in line to support this phenomenal annual event whenever it is rescheduled.”

Denes added: “Chris Longman and Brendan ‘BT’ Tacey will be ready to throw down for the title of World’s Best Imager and WWRS attendees won’t want to miss it!”

The sixth annual Benztown 50 List of Radio’s Biggest Imaging Voices will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information, please visit: benztown.com or contact Susan Aksu at Benztown at sa@benztown.com or (818) 842-4600.