GUIDANCE NOTE FOR CODE 8
Code 8 requires stations adhere to an Australian music quota to ensure more Australian songwriters and music creators receive the recognition they deserve. Of all music programming, at least 25% of Australian music must be broadcast unless a station is licenced as Ethnic or Fine Music.
To meet the Australian music requirement, aim to play 30% Australian music across all general programming to allow for discrepancy in specialist programs (music and/or talk based) which may not be able to meet the 25% quota.
Some community radio stations set higher music targets than required. 4ZZZ a music station that represents the Specialised Music community interest that is located within a thriving music scene, averages 60% Australian music and 32% local (in their case Brisbane) music. The community broadcasting sector is very proud of the key role it plays in supporting and championing Australian music and Australian artists.
Ethnic and Fine Music stations
If your station is licenced as an Ethnic or Fine Music station the station is required to meet at least 10% Australian music of all music programming.
To find out, on your licence, check your station’s Community Interest listing. An Ethnic station will have ‘Ethnic – General’ community interest. A Fine Music station’s Community Interest is ‘Music – Fine Music’.
How to meet the quota
Some stations require every program to play and track Australian content to ensure the station and each individual program meets their Australian music quota. A good way to communicate to everyone at the station is with a music policy.
For a station needing to meet the 25% quota, a simple way to explain this to station staff or volunteers is to tell presenters to aim to play 1 Australian music track in every 3 music tracks played in a program. This is a good way to allow for specialist programs which may not meet a 1 in 4 ratio for Australian music tracks played.
Ethnic and Fine Music stations can meet the 10% quota using the ‘1 in 10’ rule – play 1 Australian music track in every 10 tracks. One example of how an Ethnic station meets their quota is by playing 2 Australian music tracks every hour. The station’s programs are usually an hour long without the space to play multiple music tracks. Focusing on broadcasting 2 Australian music tracks each hour helps to keep the quota achievable. The station also finds it helpful to create playlists with lots of Australian artists which is used to fill any gaps in their broadcast schedule and make up for not playing enough tracks in their programs.
How to monitor Australian music content
Ways to monitor your Australian music content are changing. Historically stations manually logged their Australian music playlists. As technology has become more sophisticated, digital tools can be used to track airplay.
One way to monitor Australian music content is complete air checks in your station’s music programming schedule to ensure your quota is met. Making sure Australian music is tagged as Australian music can make the exporting process easier.
Another way is by using digital tools to monitor Australian music content. Currently, MetaRadio provides software that helps stations monitor music content through integration with a playout system.
The CBAA along with APRA AMCOS, are beta-testing content recognition technology which monitors and tracks all station music airplay.
The project aim is to eliminate the need for manual reporting processes by providing an accurate record of music tracks that are broadcast.
Use AMRAP to access Australian music
The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project (AMRAP) is an exclusive and free platform for community radio presenters to discover and download new Australian music.
AMRAP connects community stations and program makers with musicians, record labels, and music representatives through amrap.org.au. AMRAP helps stations meet their Australian music quotas and stay at the forefront of new music.
By downloading tracks to broadcast via amrap.org.au as either high quality MP3 or lossess.wav files, program makers can broadcast the music on their community radio station. By downloading tracks, stations are supporting Australian artists and music to be ranked on the AMRAP charts.
AMRAP also holds a licence directly with music royalty collectors APRA AMCOS and PPCA, meaning that copyright fees for music airplay on community radio is collected by APRA AMCOS and PPCA without a station managing that on their own.
Sourcing music legally
Under community radio licences, licenced music can be broadcast when legally sourced. Licenced music that is legally sourced includes hard copy vinyls/CDs as well as digital files purchased from online stores.
Digital files can be purchased to add to your music library from a variety of online sources. These sources include but are not limited to:
Broadcasting music on radio from a streaming service including but not limited to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Juno Download or Youtube is not allowed as their terms and conditions state their services operate for personal use only. Streaming services retain ownership of their music content even after music is installed on a user’s device. Music streaming is licensed by the streaming service which means that a user gains access to music content under conditions. When using a streaming service, music content is not sold or transferred to the user for redistribution by radio broadcast.
For example, broadcasting music from Spotify is contrary to Spotify’s Conditions of Use which permits personal, non-commercial use only and prohibits the redistribution or transfer of Spotify content.
Copyright and Music Licenses
Community broadcasters generally need permission to broadcast material protected by copyright, such as music. Rather than needing to approach each individual rightsholder, this permission can be obtained via two licenses: one from APRA AMCOS and one from the PPCA.
Stations need to hold licenses because there are multiple copyrights in most recordings and music videos.
For community radio stations, both PPCA and APRA AMCOS play a role in the licensing and royalty collection process for broadcast music, but their areas of focus and the rights they represent are different. The PPCA licence covers the use of recorded music, while the APRA AMCOS licence covers the use of musical compositions. Obtaining blanket licences from them means that stations don’t have to seek individual permissions for different pieces of music they broadcast.
Community radio stations need to obtain a licence from the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) to play recorded music. The PPCA collects licensing fees from the radio stations for the public performance and broadcast of recorded music. These fees are then distributed as royalties to the copyright owners, including artists and record labels. These fees are collected and paid on your behalf by CBAA and calculated at 0.8% of annual revenue with a 50% discount due to being a CBAA member.
The PPCA offer the broadcast licence (for music on air) and the simulcast licence (for online streaming) currently there is no finalised on-demand licence (for podcasts or recorded shows) available to community radio stations.
Community radio stations also need to obtain a licence from Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (APRA AMCOS) for the public performance of musical works, which includes the compositions and lyrics of songs. APRA AMCOS represents the rights of songwriters. The fees collected by APRA AMCOS are distributed as royalties to the songwriters and music publishers. The CBAA is not involved with the collection of APRA AMCOS fees.
Australian music definition
Amrap defines Australian music for the purposes of Amrap as performances by Australian artists who are citizens of, or, ordinarily residents of Australia. This includes:
- where a band is comprised of 50% or more of Australian citizens/residents and
Unless the above criteria has been met, it does not include music that is:
- performed by session musicians (even if they are Australian citizens or residents)
- produced by an Australian
- written by an Australian (lyrics or music) but performed by a non-Australian artist or
- recorded in Australia (if the artist is not a resident or citizen).