If ever we needed proof of just how vital community radio is to the national music landscape, one only needs to look toward a new study released this month.
Launched at the Victorian Music Development Office's (VMDO) Music And Data Insights Summit, the three-year study was funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) and led by Monash and Griffith Universities researchers Associate Professor Shane Homan (Monash University), Professor Susan Forde (Griffith University), and Professor Heather M Anderson (Monash University).
Together, they examined the 292 community radio stations in Australia that specialise in music content – approximately two thirds of the entire community radio sector in Australia – to deliver the first economic analysis of Australian community radio.
The results are impressive, discovering that the top 39 "high intensity" music stations contribute more than "more than $105m in promotion, gigs, studio time, and music industry personnel training annually" to the Australian music economy
Additionally, it outlines the plain fact that the community radio sector is a "valuable national asset," explaining how for "every $1 invested in community radio music stations, up to $5.55 is returned to the Australian music industries in socio-economic value." This includes a median return of $2.47 for the aforementioned top 39 "high intensity" music stations.
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“These stations provide critical first exposure for artists who are often overlooked elsewhere, while also creating direct economic benefits for the wider music industries," explained Associate Professor Homan.
"Community radio is doing the heavy lifting in Australian music discovery and development," he added.
Other findings include the fact that community radio broadcasts 390,960 hours of Australian music annually – more than double the volume of the entire commercial radio sector – and generates more than "$38.9m in airplay value for listeners, artists and venues" alongside the royalties directly paid to artists.
Influence of community radio was also underlined, with findings noting that exposure on community radio leads to roughly 1.3 million Australians making a purchase (be it music, merchandise, or concert tickets) after hearing an artist's music on community radio, while 28% (that is, 1.5 million Australians) looking local artists up on digital music platforms after hearing them on community radio.
"If we went and did a live performance on air at a community radio station the day before the show, we were selling a minimum of 20 to 30 tickets the next night," explains L-FRESH The LION. "And that’s huge when you’re trying to break into new spaces."
This impact of community radio is also underlined by other figures in the report, including how around 30% of weekly listeners (1.6 million Australians) discovered a local or emerging act via community radio, while 19% would go so far as to either share this music or recommend these acts to friends after hearing them broadcast.
Additionally, the research also discovered that First Nations stations account for one-third of the top 39 "high intensity" music stations, with audiences reporting that dedicated First Nations music programming and artist-focused content has led to "strong feelings of ownership, representation and belonging."
“Seeing is believing. Representation matters,” First Nations rapper DOBBY said of these figures.
Alongside its findings, the study also makes a number of recommendations that could be made to ensure community radio continues long into the future, including the recognition of these findings by arts funding bodies, increased funding and support for "content-sharing infrastructure" from the CBAA, and directing funding to support paid Music Director roles to help increase the levels of grassroots music activities for social and economic benefits.
The full report is available to read now via Monash University.
