Database_d Airplay
How does music reach free radios?
Radio is still an important medium for bringing music to people. Similarly, music plays an important role in the programmes of independent, non-commercial and community radio stations. In contrast to commercial radio programmes, however, independent radio stations are not simply concerned with audibility and a certain type of music, but with making diversity and niches accessible to audiences. Independent radio stations want to offer a stage for music and musicians that are not heard on commercial radio stations and also receive little airplay on public radio.
Music databases play an important role in this: most radios access the repertoire, which is used in particular for the automated part of the music programme, from a central database.
In order to answer the question of how music gets onto independent radios, the project deals with the question of what function music databases in independent radios fulfil for the programme and what framework conditions are needed for their use. Two perspectives take centre stage:
- On the one hand, the question of how the populating of such a database works and how the selection is curated
- And secondly, the question of how access to music databases can be organised for the many volunteer radio producers at independent radio stations.
Together with the cooperation partners ORANGE 94.0 and mica – music austria, the aim is to find answers to the questions of how music databases influence the profile of the respective radio station and how they can contribute to the targeted visibility and promotion of local and underrepresented music. In addition to desk research, the project centres on interviews and focus groups with representatives of the music scene, experts and radio producers. In this way, different perspectives and needs are incorporated into the study and allow music databases to be analysed on a content-related, structural, technical, legal and financial level.
The starting point of the study is the situation at ORANGE 94.0 Independent Radio in Vienna; (best) practice examples in Austria and other countries are analysed. The results should allow scalable conclusions to be drawn for other independent radio stations.
