<\/p>\n
\n\tSYDNEY, Australia \u2014 The registration of Australia\u2019s new radio code has hit such a bum note with the domestic music community, multiple trade bodies have referenced the situation as disappointing, a \u201cmissed opportunity\u201d and an end-result that should\u2019ve gone the way of the dinosaurs. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tAt the heart of the issue is local radio content quotas. Commercial, contemporary music-led radio stations in Australia are generally required to play a minimum of\u00a025% domestic content, as stipulated in the Commercial Radio Code of Practice. <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n
\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tPlaying more homegrown music, more new local artist, creates more opportunities to shine.<\/p>\n
\n\tSome programmers, the industry has argued, haven\u2019t played fair. Various leading broadcasters have consistently struggled to meet these targets, advocates have warned, and others have met them by playing golden oldies during the small hours, when\u00a0audiences peter out.<\/p>\n
\n\tARIA and APRA have issued separate, strongly worded statements after the Australian Communications and Media Authority\u2019s (ACMA) registered the new Code, claiming the update doesn\u2019t tighten the loopholes.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Commercial Radio Code of Practice 2026<\/a> is \u201clike Jurassic Park and doesn\u2019t reflect the opportunity that\u2019s right in front of commercial radio right now,\u201d\u00a0says Dean Ormston, CEO of\u00a0APRA\u00a0AMCOS.<\/p>\n \n\tWith CRA and ACMA \u201cnot doing anything meaningful through this code,\u201d he continues, \u201cwe\u2019re calling directly on stations to seize the opportunity and join the Australian music renaissance.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tAustralian artists are hot, but they need all the help they can get. Content quotas is one part of the solution. <\/p>\n \n\tAccording to APRA AMCOS, international revenue for local songwriters and composers hit a record A$98.8 million ($70 million) in the last financial year, a result up nearly 15% year-on-year, and more than double the corresponding figure in 2019.<\/p>\n \n\tSeparately, Music Australia\u2019s Listening In<\/a> research series, published in 2025, found that 71% of music-engaged Australians feel a sense of pride when they hear Australian music, two in three want to hear more, and one quarter of music-engaged audiences still turn to radio to discover new music.<\/p>\n \n\tSeveral recent national polls and charts, however, have shed light on how, in today\u2019s an all-access streaming landscape, local recording artists are increasingly overshadowed by major label signings from the United States and United Kingdom.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWe are extremely disappointed that despite all the evidence put forward showing that these quotas aren\u2019t working, the ACMA has not pursued any reasonable or practical changes,\u201d comments ARIA\u00a0and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd. <\/p>\n \n\tCommercial Radio & Audio (CRA) Code reviews \u201cdon\u2019t happen very often and yet this has become another instance of Australian\u00a0radio\u00a0policy failing the country\u2019s homegrown culture and artists in the very market where they should have a natural advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tUnder the current framework, Herd explains, \u201cstations are meeting their obligations while relegating Australian music to overnight and off-peak slots. The practical effect is that the quota exists on paper but delivers little for artists or the Australian listeners it was designed to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tACMA states that a significant number of submissions to the review called for strengthened rules around the broadcasting of Australian music. As a result, changes were made to the station categories that determine how much Australian music must be played to \u201cbetter reflect contemporary broadcasting practices and music genres,\u201d with\u00a0ACMA, CRA and the commercial radio industry working closely on compliance and teething problems over the coming year.<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s not the full picture, remarks ARIA\u2019s Herd. For the ACMA \u201cto agree to changes to important music genre categories without any input from the music industry,\u201d she continues, \u201cis baffling.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAnd despite lobbying from the music industry, the ACMA didn\u2019t review the application of local music quotas to digital radio services, addressed in \u201cRevive,\u201d the National Cultural Policy<\/a>. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAt a minimum we are simply are asking for Australian music to be played when Australians are listening,\u201d Herd says. \u201cThat is a modest and reasonable expectation, and it is disappointing that the opportunity to deliver on it has been rejected by the ACMA.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tCRA has welcomed the registration of the code, which is effective from July 1, 2026, applies to all commercial radio broadcasting licensees and introduces\u00a0\u201csubstantial enhancements\u201d\u00a0to\u00a0the existing\u00a0community safeguards. Those upgrades include a requirement for AI transparency<\/a> for programs \u2014 including news spots \u2014 hosted by synthetic voices.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOver the course of the review we\u2019ve worked closely with the Australian Communications and Media Authority, our members, and the Australian public who shared their views during consultation,\u201d remarks CRA CEO Lizzie Young<\/a>. \u201cThe result is a new Code that reflects what matters most to the communities that commercial radio connects with every day, and we\u2019re committed to continuing our work with the ACMA as it takes effect\u201d\u00a0concluded\u00a0Young.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe music business is promising to continue the fight for creatives. \u201cIt now falls to government to recognize this gap and examine the ways in which it can ensure Australians are hearing local music in their own country,\u201d Herd reckons. \u201cOur artists carry Australian stories to the world: they deserve a framework at home that gives them a genuine foundation to build on.\u201d<\/p>\n