Indigenous artists have found themselves persistently marginalised on radio, according to newly-released research which shows that indigenous music has been confined almost exclusively to indigenous community stations.

Analysis produced as part of the Song Cycles research project – undertaken jointly by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) – indicates that indigenous performances made up only 0.14 per cent of all music played on commercial radio stations in 2008, with the proportion dropping as low as 0.05 per cent back in 2005.

The research found that “with the exception of Western Australia, every state and territory indicated a decline in the actual number of indigenous performances on Australian commercial radio for the period under review”.

Joan Warner, the chief executive of Commercial Radio Australia, told TSR in response to the report that commercial radio was “a great supporter of Australian music”, identifying Emma Donovan – an indigenous singer-songwriter and a winner at last year’s New Artists 2 Radio competition – as an example of an Aboriginal artist who “received airplay on a number of stations”.

On ABC radio stations, 1.37 per cent of music played in 2008 was from Aboriginal artists. By contrast, indigenous music constituted 4 per cent of the performances played on community stations, bolstered by high proportions on dedicated indigenous broadcasters.

“We’ll need to work with broadcasters to open the airwaves to more quality indigenous content,” said Mark Bin Bakar, the chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board.

The grim broadcasting findings were mirrored across the review, which also covered challenges faced by Aboriginal artists with respect to live performance and recording opportunities, education and training, and public funding for indigenous music. The report’s author, Sally Howland, stated:

“The Song Cycles research indicates that Indigenous musicians are disenfranchised at every stage: training up, playing live, recording, airplay, distribution and touring.

“No wonder people feel locked out.”

Source: The Spy Report