Commercial radio and the music industry unite to tackle quota non-compliance

The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), music rights society APRA AMCOS and Commercial Radio Australia (CRA) have agreed to work together on the issue of radio stations that do not comply with local content quotas.

These quotas form part of the Commercial Radio Code of Practice (the ‘Code’), which can be found here.

This marks a new era for the three bodies, with the music industry long expressing dissatisfaction with the procedure monitoring errant stations.

The news of the new collaboration emerged in an email sent this week by ARIA to its members.

It confirmed that the three organisations will jointly work together to obtain and review relevant data, and then contact any station found not to be complying with the Code.

ARIA told its members, “In general, in relation to any part of the Code (including the obligations relating to Australian music), if a listener has a complaint in relation to compliance the process is that they write directly to the station concerned.

“The station must then reply in writing within 30 business days.

“If the listener is not satisfied with the response, they may then escalate the complaint to the Australian Communication and Media Authority (ACMA), the regulator responsible for oversight of media and communications codes of practice.”

ARIA and APRA AMCOS say that Australian music quotas have been raised by their members over the past 12 months.

They had private discussions at BIGSOUND in Brisbane last September.

That same month The Music Network revealed that there was no longer any independent monitoring of Australian quotas on commercial radio as the Australian Music Performance Committee (AMPCOM) was quietly wound up in 2016 by CRA.

AMPCOM was made up of delegates from ARIA, CRA, APRA AMCOS (representing AMPAL, the Australian Music Publishers’ Association), the Musicians’ Union and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA).

From 2004 to 2015/16, ARIA on behalf of AMPCOM produced regular reports on commercial radio’s broadcasting of local content.

ARIA and APRA AMCOS have been lobbying the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) for an independent monitoring scheme.

A spokesperson for APRA AMCOS told TMN at the time that "When the Code of Practice was reviewed in late 2016, APRA AMCOS met with the ACMA and expressed its view that AMPCOM was an ineffective instrument for monitoring CRA’s compliance with the commercial radio code of practice.

"At that time APRA AMCOS also advocated for ACMA itself to potentially take greater responsibly with regard to that process, however that suggestion was not adopted."

"APRA AMCOS will continue to lobby the ACMA for an independent review mechanism with the necessary authority and audit provisions to ensure commercial radio stations’ compliance with the CRA’s Code of Practice."

An ARIA representative also told TMN last September, “At the time ARIA made submissions to ACMA proposing that an alternative review process (for example, managed by ACMA itself) be established.

“That suggestion was not taken up, and in March 2017 a new Code - absent AMPCOM or any other specific review body for the Australian music requirements - was adopted.”

AMPCOM’s goals were:

“(a) To maximise the exposure of Australian music on commercial radio, having due regard to the availability of appropriate broadcast-worthy material and the needs and preferences of the Australian listening public.

“(b) To monitor the commercial radio industry's observance of Code of Practice 4 of the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice (Australian Music) registered by the Australian Communications and Media Authority ("the Code").

“(c) To monitor the music industry's production of Australian music performances and composition.

“(d) To monitor the effects of the Code on performers, composers, producers of sound recordings, musicians and broadcasters.

“(e) To review the operation of the Code and to recommend changes to CRA as considered necessary.

“(f) To consider such other matters, relevant to the above objects, as the Committee thinks fit.”

TMN will update this story with more information on the collaboration between the three peak bodies as it comes to hand.