CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The Immersive Audio Network (IAN) is pleased to announce a Call for Submissions for our upcoming spatial audio Festival — curated listening events and practical workshops celebrating excellence, experimentation, and innovation in immersive sound.

We welcome submissions from spatial audio practitioners, sound artists, composers, and producers working across immersive formats such as Ambisonics and Dolby Atmos.

Two Submission Categories:

Emerging Talent

For early-career creators, students, or first-time submitters working in immersive audio who wish to showcase their spatial sound pieces in a supportive and exploratory environment.

Established Talent

For more advanced practitioners, professional sound/music artists, and spatial audio creators with a demonstrated body of work. This category celebrates refined, ambitious, and mature immersive audio compositions — works that push the boundaries of spatial sound.

What are we looking for?

We invite immersive audio works that explore spatiality, depth, movement, and narrative in sound. Submissions might range from experimental ambisonic soundscapes to cinematic Dolby Atmos compositions, from environmental recordings to abstract sonic journeys. Works may be deeply conceptual, textural, musical, or narrative — what matters most is how you use spatial audio to engage and transport the listener.

Why Participate?

Selected works will be featured in live playback at our Spatial Audio Festival, experienced over the IAN immersive audio playback system — a 25-speaker and 3-subwoofer Genelec array specifically designed for both 4th order Ambisonics and Dolby Atmos 9.1.6 playback. This high-resolution system allows works to be heard with exceptional spatial precision, depth, and clarity.

You will gain exposure within the Immersive Audio Network’s community of artists, producers, engineers, and spatial audio enthusiasts.

This is an opportunity to test new spatial audio ideas in a curated, supportive festival environment.

About the Immersive Audio Network

The Immersive Audio Network (IAN) is a vibrant community of creators, technologists, and listeners dedicated to advancing spatial audio practice and culture. Through workshops, labs, networking events, and collaborative production, IAN fosters artistic growth, technical innovation, and shared listening experiences. Recent events, such as our Immersive Audio Lab at Bath Digital Festival, have showcased works on our mobile 25-speaker immersive rig and continue to build momentum for immersive sound as a creative medium.

Awards & Prizes

Best Emerging Talent Award 2026

Best Spatial Sound Award 2026

Rules & Terms

We are accepting audio-only submissions.

Submission Specifications

Maximum duration: Submissions may be excerpts, but on the day of the festival only up to 10 minutes of each work can be played (due to time constraints).

File formats:

Multichannel WAV or AIFF files
ADM (Audio Definition Model)
Spatial formats supported:
Ambisonics (preferably 3rd order or higher)
Dolby Atmos (rendered as 7.1.4 or 9.1.6, or submitted as an ADM file)
For any alternate formats, please do get in contact with us before submitting.

Submission materials:

A high-quality audio file (according to the formats above). You can add a Binaural Render of the work if you have it available.

A short description (150–300 words) of the piece: its concept, technical format, and spatial approach

An artist biography (50–150 words)

Optional: a short technical note (e.g., software/tools used, how it was mixed)

Selection Criteria

Entries will be evaluated by a panel of experienced immersive audio practitioners, including members of the Immersive Audio Network. Key factors in the selection include:
Artistic ambition and originality
Technical excellence (clarity of spatial mix, use of format)
Innovation in spatial thinking (how the work uses the 3D sound field)
Suitability for a listening-event context

Terms & Conditions

By submitting, you grant the Immersive Audio Network permission to play, record, and archive your work for promotional and non-commercial use within the festival context.
You retain full copyright ownership and may continue to distribute your work elsewhere.
Selected works must provide a high-quality render suitable for playback on our festival system.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

We warmly encourage both emerging and established spatial audio creators to apply, and we look forward to hearing your immersive sound visions.

Submit for free via FilmFreeway here.