1970 radio ban
Encyclopedia
The Australian 1970 Radio Ban or 1970 Record Ban was a "pay for play" dispute in the local music industry that lasted from May till October. During this period, a simmering disagreement between commercial radio stations – represented by Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters (FARB) – and the six largest record labels – represented by Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) – resulted in major United Kingdom and Australian pop songs being refused airplay. The government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation
– which had its own copyright and royalty arrangement with recording and music publishing companies – did not take part in the dispute. The ban did not extend to releases by American artists. Some radio disc jockeys, such as Stan Rofe
, defied the ban by playing songs according to their personal tastes.
Teen-orientated pop music newspaper, Go-Set
, reported on the dispute: it interviewed affected musicians and its journalists argued for the removal of the ban. Once the ban was lifted, status quo ante
resulted: APRA's record companies returned to supplying free promotional material and FARB's radio stations resumed playing their records.
During the ban some Australian musicians recorded covers
of UK artists' hits on previously minor labels. The Mixtures
, for example, recorded Mungo Jerry
's "In the Summertime" on the Fable Label which was released in August. It peaked at No. 1 for nine weeks to be displaced by "Yellow River
" – originally by Christie
– which was covered by two Australian groups, Jigsaw (from Melbourne) and Autumn (from Sydney). Music charts from the period indicate that in the years immediately following the ban, there was a significant reduction in the number of Australian acts who scored major chart peaks.
, a group of recording companies – including most of the members of the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) – decided to scrap a long-standing royalty agreement with commercial radio stations that dated back to the 1950s. The recording companies included five major overseas labels Polygram
, EMI
, RCA
, CBS
and Warner
and Australia's leading local company, Festival.
APRA and the record labels demanded payment of a new levy for pop records played on commercial radio, claiming that they were providing free programming for radio stations, which had traditionally been supplied with free promotional copies of new records. The commercial radio lobby – represented by Federation of Radio Broadcasters (FARB) – baulked at the proposed levy, arguing that they provided a large amount of free promotion for the records they played. The government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation
– which had its own copyright and royalty arrangement with recording and music publishing companies – did not take part in the dispute.
In April 1970, teen-orientated pop music newspaper, Go-Set
, reported on the dispute and interviewed musicians including former King of Pop, Normie Rowe
, who feared "it could be a major blow to the Australian scene". Other musicians expected the situation would be resolved. Radio disc jockey and Go-Set columnist, Stan Rofe
claimed discussions were progressing and the threat of a ban was over. Fellow columnist and compiler of the Go-Set National Top 40, Ed Nimmervoll
, predicted that its charts would be compromised as local artists' record sales were dependent on radio play.
After negotiations between the parties broke down, in late May 1970, the recording companies imposed a six-month embargo on the supply of previously free promotional records to radio stations. In retaliation, FARB members boycotted all new major label releases by UK or Australian aritsts – but not by American artists – and refused to include records from these companies in their weekly chart surveys. This was a serious matter as there was only one Australian national pop chart – published by Go-Set – and most Top 40 charts were collated locally by individual radio stations in major cities and towns. Darryl Cotton
, lead singer of pop group, Zoot
was concerned that the public would be unaware of new releases by local acts. Solo singer, Ronnie Burns, believed it would affect groups more than individuals, who had greater access to television shows. Another singer, Russell Morris
, criticised the policy which led to the ban, "[the Government] didn't realise that the pop recording market is a very large and important industry". As from 30 May, Nimmervoll's charts in Go-Set were based on direct surveying of large record-selling stores instead of relying on radio stations' Top 40s. The ban did not extend to American artists on the same labels as UK or Australian artists. Some disc jockeys, including Rofe, defied the ban on their radio shows – he regularly played "Turn Up Your Radio" by The Masters Apprentices
which had been issued by EMI in April. Rofe also championed the cause of Australian musicians in Go-Set by criticising mainstream media coverage of the dispute.
During the ban, many UK hits like The Beatles
' "The Long and Winding Road
" and Mary Hopkin
's "Knock, Knock Who's There?" gained only limited exposure in Australia. Some local artists released cover versions of UK hits, Melbourne singer Liv Maessen's "Knock, Knock, Who's There" debuted in the Top 10 in May with co-credit to Hopkin and Maessen. It eventually peaked at No. 2 in early August and earned Maessen the first gold record ever awarded to an Australian female artist. "In the Summertime" by The Mixtures
, was a cover of Mungo Jerry
's hit which reached No. 1 in August for nine weeks. Melbourne band Jigsaw and Sydney band Autumn both had success with their respective versions of Christie's
hit song, "Yellow River
". "Yellow River" displaced "In the Summertime" at No. 1 in late October. For a short period, the ban had the inadvertent effect of putting more local musicians to air than ever before, and also opened the door to the 'underground' artists on previously minor labels such as Fable Label.
Music charts in the years immediately following the ban show there was a significant reduction in the number of Australian acts who scored major chart peaks. The Go-Set charts for 1972, for example, indicate that only two Australia acts (Colleen Hewett
and Blackfeather
) had national No. 1 hits; while in 1973 no Australian act scored a No. 1 hit.
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) – resulted in major United Kingdom and Australian pop songs being refused airplay. The government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
– which had its own copyright and royalty arrangement with recording and music publishing companies – did not take part in the dispute. The ban did not extend to releases by American artists. Some radio disc jockeys, such as Stan Rofe
Stan Rofe
Stan 'The Man' Rofe was Melbourne's first and most influential rock'n'roll disc jockey. He is remembered as playing the first rock and roll music on Melbourne radio 3KZ in 1956 and as a champion of Australian music, a pioneer who played songs other DJs were too scared to play.-Career:Stan Rofe...
, defied the ban by playing songs according to their personal tastes.
Teen-orientated pop music newspaper, Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
, reported on the dispute: it interviewed affected musicians and its journalists argued for the removal of the ban. Once the ban was lifted, status quo ante
Status quo ante
Status quo ante is Latin for "the way things were before" and incorporates the term status quo. In law, it refers to the objective of a temporary restraining order or a rescission in which the situation is restored to "the state in which previously" it existed...
resulted: APRA's record companies returned to supplying free promotional material and FARB's radio stations resumed playing their records.
During the ban some Australian musicians recorded covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of UK artists' hits on previously minor labels. The Mixtures
The Mixtures
-Biography:Australian musicians Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of The Strangers, and the three decided to form a band together after a jam session. They quickly signed to EMI that same year and released three singles. They went through...
, for example, recorded Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry is an English rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit "In the Summertime". It remains their most successful and most...
's "In the Summertime" on the Fable Label which was released in August. It peaked at No. 1 for nine weeks to be displaced by "Yellow River
Yellow River (song)
"Yellow River" is a popular song recorded by the British band Christie. Written by band leader Jeff Christie, the song was offered to The Tremeloes, who recorded it with the intention of releasing it as a single early in 1970...
" – originally by Christie
Christie (band)
Christie were an English rock band formed at the end of the 1960s. They are best remembered for their UK chart-topping hit single, "Yellow River" released in 1970.-Career:...
– which was covered by two Australian groups, Jigsaw (from Melbourne) and Autumn (from Sydney). Music charts from the period indicate that in the years immediately following the ban, there was a significant reduction in the number of Australian acts who scored major chart peaks.
Background
The 1970 Radio Ban had it origins early in 1969, following the enactment of the new Copyright Act 1968Australian copyright law
The copyright law of Australia defines the legally enforceable rights of creators of creative and artistic works under Australian law. The scope of copyright in Australia is defined in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 , which applies the national law throughout Australia...
, a group of recording companies – including most of the members of the Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) – decided to scrap a long-standing royalty agreement with commercial radio stations that dated back to the 1950s. The recording companies included five major overseas labels Polygram
PolyGram
PolyGram was the name of the major label recording company started by Philips from as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. In 1999 it was sold to Seagram and merged into Universal Music Group.-Hollandsche Decca Distributie , 1929-1950:...
, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, RCA
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
and Warner
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
and Australia's leading local company, Festival.
APRA and the record labels demanded payment of a new levy for pop records played on commercial radio, claiming that they were providing free programming for radio stations, which had traditionally been supplied with free promotional copies of new records. The commercial radio lobby – represented by Federation of Radio Broadcasters (FARB) – baulked at the proposed levy, arguing that they provided a large amount of free promotion for the records they played. The government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
– which had its own copyright and royalty arrangement with recording and music publishing companies – did not take part in the dispute.
In April 1970, teen-orientated pop music newspaper, Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
, reported on the dispute and interviewed musicians including former King of Pop, Normie Rowe
Normie Rowe
Norman John "Normie" Rowe AM was a major male solo performer of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Pat Aulton, house producer for the Sunshine Records, Spin Records and...
, who feared "it could be a major blow to the Australian scene". Other musicians expected the situation would be resolved. Radio disc jockey and Go-Set columnist, Stan Rofe
Stan Rofe
Stan 'The Man' Rofe was Melbourne's first and most influential rock'n'roll disc jockey. He is remembered as playing the first rock and roll music on Melbourne radio 3KZ in 1956 and as a champion of Australian music, a pioneer who played songs other DJs were too scared to play.-Career:Stan Rofe...
claimed discussions were progressing and the threat of a ban was over. Fellow columnist and compiler of the Go-Set National Top 40, Ed Nimmervoll
Ed Nimmervoll
Edward Francis "Ed" Nimmervoll is an Australian rock music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock magazines Go-Set and Juke both as a journalist and as an editor...
, predicted that its charts would be compromised as local artists' record sales were dependent on radio play.
After negotiations between the parties broke down, in late May 1970, the recording companies imposed a six-month embargo on the supply of previously free promotional records to radio stations. In retaliation, FARB members boycotted all new major label releases by UK or Australian aritsts – but not by American artists – and refused to include records from these companies in their weekly chart surveys. This was a serious matter as there was only one Australian national pop chart – published by Go-Set – and most Top 40 charts were collated locally by individual radio stations in major cities and towns. Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton
Darryl Cotton is an Australian pop singer, television presenter and actor. Cotton is best known as a founding member of Australian rock group Zoot in 1968, along with Beeb Birtles, Rick Brewer and, later, Rick Springfield....
, lead singer of pop group, Zoot
Zoot (band)
Zoot are a pop/rock band formed in Adelaide, South Australia in 1965 as Down the Line. They changed their name to Zoot in 1967 and by 1968 had relocated to Melbourne...
was concerned that the public would be unaware of new releases by local acts. Solo singer, Ronnie Burns, believed it would affect groups more than individuals, who had greater access to television shows. Another singer, Russell Morris
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
, criticised the policy which led to the ban, "[the Government] didn't realise that the pop recording market is a very large and important industry". As from 30 May, Nimmervoll's charts in Go-Set were based on direct surveying of large record-selling stores instead of relying on radio stations' Top 40s. The ban did not extend to American artists on the same labels as UK or Australian artists. Some disc jockeys, including Rofe, defied the ban on their radio shows – he regularly played "Turn Up Your Radio" by The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
which had been issued by EMI in April. Rofe also championed the cause of Australian musicians in Go-Set by criticising mainstream media coverage of the dispute.
During the ban, many UK hits like The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "The Long and Winding Road
The Long and Winding Road
"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
" and Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
's "Knock, Knock Who's There?" gained only limited exposure in Australia. Some local artists released cover versions of UK hits, Melbourne singer Liv Maessen's "Knock, Knock, Who's There" debuted in the Top 10 in May with co-credit to Hopkin and Maessen. It eventually peaked at No. 2 in early August and earned Maessen the first gold record ever awarded to an Australian female artist. "In the Summertime" by The Mixtures
The Mixtures
-Biography:Australian musicians Terry Dean and Rod De Clerk met in Tasmania in 1965. They then met Laurie Arthur, a member of The Strangers, and the three decided to form a band together after a jam session. They quickly signed to EMI that same year and released three singles. They went through...
, was a cover of Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry
Mungo Jerry is an English rock group whose greatest success was in the early 1970s, though they have continued throughout the years with an ever-changing line-up, always fronted by Ray Dorset. They are remembered above all for their hit "In the Summertime". It remains their most successful and most...
's hit which reached No. 1 in August for nine weeks. Melbourne band Jigsaw and Sydney band Autumn both had success with their respective versions of Christie's
Christie (band)
Christie were an English rock band formed at the end of the 1960s. They are best remembered for their UK chart-topping hit single, "Yellow River" released in 1970.-Career:...
hit song, "Yellow River
Yellow River (song)
"Yellow River" is a popular song recorded by the British band Christie. Written by band leader Jeff Christie, the song was offered to The Tremeloes, who recorded it with the intention of releasing it as a single early in 1970...
". "Yellow River" displaced "In the Summertime" at No. 1 in late October. For a short period, the ban had the inadvertent effect of putting more local musicians to air than ever before, and also opened the door to the 'underground' artists on previously minor labels such as Fable Label.
Music charts in the years immediately following the ban show there was a significant reduction in the number of Australian acts who scored major chart peaks. The Go-Set charts for 1972, for example, indicate that only two Australia acts (Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett is an Australian actress and popular singer. She is perhaps best known to international audiences for her 1984 guest role in the television series Prisoner as Sheila Brady.-Pop singer:...
and Blackfeather
Blackfeather
Blackfeather was an Australian rock group in the 1970s. The group had many members and went through two major incarnations - the earlier heavy rock version of the group, which recorded the album At The Mountains of Madness and the hit single "Seasons of Change", and the later piano-based lineup...
) had national No. 1 hits; while in 1973 no Australian act scored a No. 1 hit.