How do you find your music? Maybe you read blogs like this one, maybe you use Spotify and subscribe to the tastemakers, maybe you trawl Soundcloud and Bandcamp late on lonely Saturday nights to find the freshest thing. As much as there are many new avenues for finding fresh, raw talent, the still great champion of unearthed talent is radio, in particular community radio.
Now, I’m slightly biased here. I have been a volunteer at SYN Media in Melbourne for over two years. In that time I’ve hosted shows with the freshest playlists, championed local unsigned talent on air, and hosted a 90s retrospective show. I’m a playlist geek and I’ve had the chance to share my meticulously crafted lists on air. I’ve been able to see someone I’ve never heard of play their first gig at my local, then head straight into the studio and give them some airtime, like I’m recommending it for my friends but on much bigger scale. I get to be a tastemaker, and give some true talent the boost they need. Everyone who’s ever wanted to be a radio announcer has wanted to choose their own playlist, share what they love. Community radio lets people do that and lets others consume raw music that hasn’t been found or trickled down from some micromanaged channel. I don’t need to consult anyone to do this. There’s no one I have to run it by. If I want to play Yeo or ScotDrakula or Hungarian throat singing for an hour, I can. We get to open minds and ears. It’s free programming and some of the best discoveries I’ve made over the last couple of years have been through community radio.
Yesterday, 37 community radio stations across Australia held a Day of Action asking listeners, participants and any one who cared to Commit To Community Radio. These stations are in danger of losing their digital licences in the next federal budget due to being underfunded. Though that wouldn’t mean much for the moment, radio, like TV has, will one day convert completely to digital broadcast. If this happens without community stations on board, there could be no community radio left. So what, you say? Just listen to Triple J. But where does Triple J get their music from? Those grass roots bands that become huge, that get cult followings, they come from community radio. They are fostered and nurtured by the community from which they come, in my case, it’s the 12-26 year olds of Melbourne. For others it’s the LGBT community or Indigenous communities or the older alternative music lovers of Australia spotlighting their favourite talent, not necessarily what has been fed to them by a barrage of PR, but the little guys.
The little guys need a voice so the little bands can make more music and eventually become big bands. We want to give great talent the push it deserves. Community radio does that. Bands that gave their support to the medium that championed them yesterday include Courtney Barnett, Eagle and the Worm, Saskwatch, Vance Joy, Dick Diver, Ainslie Wills, ScotDrakula and Kikuyu. To quote the Talks Manager of SYN Mason Smith, “music is the backbone of community radio”. And we’re always striving to bring you the very best. best.
-Nat Tencic
If you want to pledge support, please sign the petition over at committocommunityradio.org.au
