Commercial radio stations across the country are not meeting minimum standards for Australian music airplay, with only independent and publicly funded broadcasters raising the national average.
For the past five weeks, about five songs in the top 30 most played on Australian broadcasters have been from domestic artists, according to RCS Media Monitors.
In the seven days from March 27, just over 16 per cent of musicians played were Australian, 70 percent were from the United States, with another 10 percent from the United Kingdom.
The top domestic song was “Still Into You” by Central West producer Cyril in collaboration with American vocalist Maryjo. It peaked at number four on the top 30 charts.
The top artists played also come predominantly from American major labels like Universal and Warner, with only one song in the chart derived from an Australian label, Mushroom.
Data shows that smaller, independent stations are playing significantly more Australian music, but this can also be due to their license quotas.
Publicly funded youth broadcaster Triple J has a 40 per cent minimum, and half the songs that Sydney’s FBI Radio plays must be from local artists. Meanwhile, contemporary hit stations have only a 25 per cent quota, tracked from 6 am to midnight.
Triple J consistently exceeds its quota, while commercial broadcasters have been found to stack almost all their Australian music in the least popular hours.
Wollongong music fan Serena Lucato believes that radio is not just important for exposure, but through royalties, provides a means of financial support that local musicians desperately need.
“In this day and age, whilst there are so many other mediums that can introduce music, radio is still such a prominent way of getting exposure,” Ms Lucato said.
“Being able to have more and more local content on the radio not only increases the exposure for the artist themselves but also increases recognition for the music community as a whole.”
(Header image: Bruce Baker via Flickr.)