The SABC has prioritised South African music, with the broadcaster recently announcing new policy requiring its 18 radio stations to play at least 90% local music.
Change has come but the ball is now in the court of the millions of radio listeners across South Africa. Audiences will have to keep radio ratings up by supporting their favourite local artists on air.
Seven listeners from Tshwane, who tune in to different SABC radio stations, share their views on the new policy.
Vinecia Bothes
Which radio station do you listen to? Tuks FM
What do you think of the new music quota for SABC radio stations? I’m looking forward to hearing local music because it is scarce on Tuks FM. They usually play international bands.
What type of music would you like to hear more of on radio? I listen to alternative, rock or metal and I don’t know if there is a lot of that music on local radio stations. But I’d like to hear more local bands from those genres.
Karabelo Mofokeng
Which radio station do you listen to most? Lesedi FM
What do you think of the new music quota for SABC radio stations? I think it’s great and will uplift local musicians.
Do you think Lesedi FM plays a fair amount of local music? Yes, it does.
What type of music would you like to hear more of? I listen to hip-hop, kwaito and gospel music. I’d prefer the radio stations to play a mixture of local and international music.
Letitia Wannenburg
Which radio station do you listen to? I like gospel music and there are about five gospel stations, but you can’t listen to any one of them for more than 10 minutes. They are pedantic.
What do you think of the new music quota for SABC radio stations? It’s wonderful, but there needs to be a standard that will filter out the bad-quality music. More money needs to be put into the local music industry.
What type of music would you like to hear more of? I’m so frustrated with the standard right now, but I’d like to hear songs with positive messages. I like country because it’s storytelling.
Elmien Liebenberg
Which radio station do you listen to the most? I don’t listen to a lot of radio; I prefer watching DVDs. But when I get the chance, I listen to Jacaranda FM.
What do you think of the new music quota for SABC radio stations? I think it’s a great advancement for our musicians but I wish we could take our local music overseas. We could export music by artists, for example, Kurt Darren. I don’t know much about the black musicians yet, but if our rappers could go international then that would be amazing. I think their biggest problem might be the language barrier: people don’t always understand what they are saying.
Would you be open to songs sung in a different language? I wouldn’t mind. I like to listen to the rhythm of things, for example the drums. Words are important to me but what is most important is for the music to relax and calm me.
What type of music would you like to hear more of? Jazz. I love jazz.
Frans Malebye
Which radio station do you listen to most? Motsweding FM
Do you think Motsweding FM plays a fair amount of local music? Yes, they do. But it’s good to play overseas and local music so up-and-coming musicians can be inspired by various artists.
Would you be open to songs sung in a different language? Yes, I also listen to Afrikaans music. The stations should play music of different languages.
What type of music would you like to hear more of? It’s unfortunate that we don’t have a variety of country music. I like country music because it’s healing.
Wayne Renkin
Which radio stations do you listen to? Talk Radio 702 and Classic FM. Radio 702 is a good talk station with good deejays and they have relevant and informative topics.
What do you think of the new music quota for SABC radio stations? It’s good because for some obscure reason, South Africa is like this Americentric nation. We are so focused on what the United States does and we follow their trends. We assume that as long as it’s American, then it must be good. Having a policy like this on the radio will force people to promote local music. I think we are creating a new consciousness that says we have our own resources and local artists who are really good.
What type of music would you like to hear more of? I listen to classical music and hard rock-type music, but what I would like to hear less of is shitty Afrikaans music.
Puleng Pitsoane
Which radio station do you listen to? Metro FM, it’s my favourite station.
What do you think of the new music quota for SABC radio stations? I really think it’s a good thing because they don’t play enough South African music. You hear the same old playlist in different slots. So at least with that quota we will hear our local music often. #dankieSABC
What type of music would you like to hear more of? I listen to a lot of hip-hop and gospel music.