Three D Radio is a beacon of the Adelaide music scene. This is never more clear than when the community radio station hosts their annual Top 93+7 Countdown, this year slated for January 31st.
Over an afternoon Zoom call, radio veterans Tiff Stodart, Margaret Legedza, and Sonia Mir discuss their love for the local music scene, and the endless preparation that goes into the anticipated countdown.
“I love the diversity. The endless production of it, it just keeps coming,” Tiff says, glowing with enthusiasm. “They just keep creating more and more artists and bands. It never ends.”
“I’d have to agree with Tiff, there’s a lot of diversity,” Margaret says. “I know COVID was a bad time for a lot of artists, but I also think that it spawned a lot of new sounds here. It’s fantastic to see the quality and number of artists coming out of Adelaide.
“I’d say we absolutely bat above our weight.”
While at the national music conference BIGSOUND, Tiff found that “every single person” they spoke to, no matter the forum, would express how much they loved Adelaide music.
“So that makes us feel really proud, because as 3D radio that is our remit, to support local artists, and it’s really good to have those conversations on a national level.”
Tiff laments, however, that there don’t seem to be enough live venues to properly showcase the talents of Adelaide.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
Margaret adds, “And I think there should be more South Australian artists touring nationally and going overseas. When international artists come here, so often an interstate act is supporting them. Why is that happening?”
“And that goes for the AFL Grand Final as well,” Tiff jumps in, lamenting the fact that international acts always rule the Grand Final stage. “I’m digressing here a little bit, but essentially, they’ve got an audience already, it’s an opportunity to have the sounds of Australia heard. So we’re let down right from the top.”
Three D Radio is trying to address the imbalance and the lack of institutional support for local artists.
“Any station presenter can add any music they like to our catalogue,” Tiff explains. “We have no influence on what anyone plays, except we have a couple of quotas that need to be met: 40% Australian, 40% femme content, and 25% local.”
Over the years, they have watched local bands cut their teeth and improve and grow and reach exciting new heights. “You absolutely do feel like a proud parent,” Tiff gushes.
The 93+7 Countdown is an excellent showcase of their commitment to blasting local music. Last year, local music made up a whopping 82% of the countdown charts.
The countdown kicks off at 8:00am in Adelaide on Saturday, January 31st, building momentum across the day to the reveal of the number one track sometime after 7:00 pm. Artists are interviewed throughout the day as they place on the charts.
“The Top 93+7 reflects the music that has genuinely connected with our presenters and our audience over the past year,” Sonia says. “It’s shaped by what’s been played, supported and talked about on air – and it consistently highlights the depth of independent and local music coming through our library.”
It isn’t an event to be missed. “The last couple years I’ve been there on the day, the atmosphere has been really lovely,” she smiles. “It’s normally warm, there are drinks and photographers, and we’ve got the barbecue going, and the bands, volunteers, and announcers all hang around.
“It’s really nice, there's a constant flow of people in and out.”
The people who stop by on the day particularly enjoy perusing Three D Radio’s extensive library of physical media.
“We’ve had some artists come through on the day and after seeing the library, they want to volunteer, they want to have their own radio show,” she says. “There are lots of countdowns there, but this is our countdown. It’s very local and community-driven.”
“There is a lot of work that happens before we even start contacting local bands for their interviews,” Margaret says. “We invite the artists to come into the station on the day because it’s a lot more fun. If not, we do phone interviews… Sometimes there are bands we want to interview and on the day they’re playing at Tamworth, or Froth & Fury. It’s pretty much a juggling game.”
“It’s definitely a big team effort,” Sonia adds. “Margs is driving it and coordinating it. Being 100% volunteer-run as we are – Three D is unique like that – people are happy to pitch in. It’s a bit of a divide and conquer approach.”
“We’re all volunteers here, so it does come from generosity of time and commitment to elevate,” Tiff chimes in.
Margaret mentions that this will be her 11th year running the countdown. “Local representation is always extremely high. Since it started, we’ve redefined what the countdown is.”
In the past, newly-released compilations of old music used to nab coveted spots on the chart. Margaret recalls, years ago, hearing a Blondie song playing during the countdown.
“Now I love Blondie. Who doesn’t? But it just felt strange, hearing Blondie. Debbie Harry isn’t going to care that Three D radio played her. Instances of that can potentially bump out local bands who would love to be featured and heard on Three D’s 93+7, so that’s why the decision to cut out compilations was made. We want to see as many local artists in there as possible.”
Though the event is best experienced in person, listeners can easily tune in by radio stations, or even by downloading Three D Radio’s special app.
In the age of the internet, amongst the proliferation of streaming platforms, the notion of listening to a radio station is not as popular as it used to be. But the team at Three D radio is committed to making sure that the radio is still a huge part of a young audience’s listening habits.
“From my perspective, we focus really heavily on bringing young people into the station,” Tiff says. “Hosting live shows at the station encourages young people to engage in the space and find community there.
“We’ve got a real focus on ensuring that radio remains relevant,” she adds. “And we know that there is a lot of competition out there with streaming services, but what they don’t have is community. You get community through the radio – that’s what we provide. It’s local, it’s authentic.
“The same people who are presenting on the radio are going to gigs and talking to artists in real life. They often are artists themselves.”
The app and the website – which allow people to listen live or on demand – also make the content more accessible to a younger generation.
Margaret touches on the controversial subject of music generated by artificial intelligence. “At Three D, we don’t play music that is generated with AI,” she says emphatically.
She concludes with great vigour and vim, “We’re keeping it real. We’re influencers via the airwaves. We’re here to tell you what’s good about South Australian music.”
Find out more about Three D Radio’s Top 93+7 Countdown here.
This piece of content has been assisted by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body
