Key features
A system for increased levels of New Zealand music on commercial radio should be simple in design and cost effective to administer. The Government's view is that a system incorporating the following elements would effectively promote awareness of New Zealand music and musicians among the full range of potential audiences.
Definitions
New Zealand music items
Music items with a New Zealand performer should be counted. While there are several options for determining whether an item counts as New Zealand, a performer-based specification is likely to capture the majority of music with significant New Zealand involvement. This approach is consistent with current APRA criteria and with the Australian Code of Practice.
Onus on broadcaster to identify New Zealand music items
An informal system, which places on the broadcaster the onus of identifying items as New Zealand has the advantage over more formal systems of minimising compliance costs. Evidence of an item's status as a New Zealand item might include the performer's citizenship, nationality, residence, ancestry or other personal connection with New Zealand.
Targets
Target level
An initial target level of a minimum of 10 % New Zealand music as a proportion of total music items entails a modest improvement in performance by most stations in the first year. A period of five years allows stations time to adjust incrementally to a 25% level.
Single target for all formats
A single target applying across all formats is considered administratively less complex than format specific targets. Adult contemporary and pop formats, averaging 7.30% and 9.77 % New Zealand music respectively as of June 2001, are broadcast by the majority of existing stations and have the largest audience share. The proposed target, applied across formats, would on average require an increased New Zealand music content in these formats in the first and following years and would require an improvement over time from most stations broadcasting a rock format.
Broadcast Hours
Applying the system for increased levels of New Zealand music to broadcasts between 6am and midnight allows programming flexibility within the day and ensures that awareness of New Zealand music is promoted among a wide range of audiences at both peak and off peak listening times.
Value of music items
Each music item should have the same value as another, irrespective of the number of times it is (or has been) played. Variations would complicate the system.
Exclusions
Music in advertisements and programme or station themes should be excluded from the system. Counting such uses of music is unlikely to advance significantly the aims of the proposed system and would be complex to measure.
Performance measurement
Quarterly figures
Individual stations should provide quarterly playlists (e.g. in the format currently supplied to APRA) to an appropriate monitoring body. This would minimise compliance costs for stations by using data already collected.
Annual assessment
Assessing compliance annually by averaging quarterly performance over a calendar year contributes overall to greater exposure of New Zealand music while allowing for programming flexibility. This retains the opportunity to rectify a shortfall in a calendar quarter in the remaining quarters of the year.
Sanctions
Appropriate sanctions
A system for increased levels of New Zealand music on radio system should include provision for appropriate sanctions for non-compliance to be applied by an appropriate monitoring body. These might include such measures as compulsory broadcast of notices and fines.
