ARIA Winners in Support of Amrap Funding

AWARD WINNING MUSICIANS DEMAND THE GOVERNMENT RESTORES FUNDING TO THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC RADIO AIRPLAY PROJECT (AMRAP)

“It is essential that Amrap remains funded by the government so that they can continue to help musicians be heard on community radio” – six time ARIA Award winner, John Butler

As the music industry gathers on Thursday for the annual ARIA Awards; past winners and music industry heavyweights are urging the Federal Government to ensure that community radio can continue to access new Australian music for airplay through Amrap.

Amrap was funded by Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) and is managed by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) to gather up and distribute new Australian music to community radio stations. Over 4.4 million Australians (25% of radio listeners) tune to community radio every week and since inception Amrap has facilitated a 5% jump in Australian music airplay on community radio nationally, to a new average of 37%. Currently over 3,000 Australian musicians and 1,500 broadcasters from 300 radio stations rely on Amrap to get new Australian music to the airwaves.

An independent review of Amrap commissioned by the DBCDE in 2011 returned positive results but the Federal Government failed to renew the four-year $600,000 PA funding term for Amrap in the 2012 Federal Budget. Since July the Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has stated that “the government is investigating a range of options for the project’s continuation”, but current reserves run out at the end of the year, and Amrap urgently requires a funding commitment from the government so hundreds of community radio broadcasters can continue to access new Australian music for airplay.

The full media release is available here.