The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has announced that 90% of its radio music content will be sourced locally.
With 18 channels, broadcasts in 11 languages and the largest reach of any broadcaster in South Africa, the SABC’s decision to broadcast such a high quota is seen as a huge boost to the local music industry.
According to an AFP report the broadcaster claimed that the new quota will help it to better “reflect the diversity of South African cultures” with a focus on kwaito, jazz, reggae and gospel music – although stations will not have to play language specific content.
The move has been widely welcomed and goes well beyond the required 40% quota set by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. It comes after a long period of lobbying from producers, artists and members of parliament.
Radio is still considered one of the main sources of entertainment in South Africa, where there are more than 15.4million radios, 30million listeners and an average listening time of 3.5 hours per day.
The new music quota follows similar changes to SABC’s television content, despite substantial funding concerns. In early May South Africa’s Communications Minister Faith Muthambi announced that SABC will “cease to [show] international content repeats”, with the empty slots due to be replaced by local content.
By Kristian Porter