Classic Hits in a Digital Era: Music Radio and the Australian Music Industry

Abstract

Often the ‘forgotten’ form in media and cultural studies, contemporary music radio remains a significant presence in the daily pleasures of Australians. This paper briefly explores the current regulatory, technological and cultural challenges confronting the local music radio industry. The music format is taken as the key source of engagement between station, advertiser and audience, at the intersection of relationships with the music industry. As the music radio industry is forced to question its traditional modes of delivery and reception, it is argued that a re-examination of the role of contemporary music formats within wider local music infrastructure is needed, particularly in the development and presentation of new artists and music genres, and radio's role in the maintenance of ‘heritage’/canonical artists and genres.