Earlier this year, we reported on an exciting new campaign formulated by some passionate Australian rock fans, who decided it was about time that Australia’s most prominent rock-focused radio station, Triple M, start playing Australian music.

Members of The Hard Rock Society, who are behind Channel 31 music program The Hard Rock Show and the online radio station THRS Radio, banded together to form what they dubbed, Triple M Give Us Back Our Rock Music.

Their push to get more local music on the airwaves rapidly gained steam, amassing several thousand Facebook likes shortly after launching. Dave Smiles, one of the ringleaders of Triple M Give Us Back Our Rock Music, said at the time that the campaign is a multi-pronged assault.

Smiles and other members of The Hard Rock Society called on venues around Melbourne to bolster the movement. “If fans, musicians and venues all pool our collective endeavours and work together we could really achieve something,” Smiles wrote.

So, several months on, how is the campaign going? “We have a lot of passionate people involved who are dedicated to requesting Triple M plays some more local bands on their station,” Smiles tells Tone Deaf via email.

“At the same time there are those who say that we’re wasting our time and that Triple M won’t change. That doesn’t bother me. I believe that the more people we get on board, and if we all work together, we can achieve something.”

“There is strength in numbers and for every person who says it’s a waste of time, I’ve been told by ten others that they really admire my passion and appreciate what we’re doing. There are calls, messages, emails and tweets being sent to the station on a daily basis.”

However, the group has indeed experienced trouble with getting Triple M to budge. “I’m still hearing the same old things on the station though. If a local band does get a go on the station, you can almost guarantee they’ve been through Triple J first,” says Smiles.

“Most replies we’ve received from Triple M have referred to the ‘Head of Rock’ who is Mr Shaun Gough. I’ve tried contacting Mr Gough through this Facebook page and through Twitter, but my messages, along with those from many others, have gone unanswered.”

“If Triple M are content to continue playing  ‘Living on a Prayer’ for the billionth time… their targeted audience demographic is just going to continue ageing.”

“There are some simple questions being asked. The most obvious being, why can’t you find time to play one song from a local band per hour? This past week I emailed Triple M’s parent company Southern Cross Austereo asking them to consider adding more local content to the airwaves.”

However, Smiles tells us the Triple M are well aware of the campaign. “We’ve had responses… some have been sarcastic while some have actually been helpful. This campaign has never been an attack on the station or anyone who works there.”

“It seems like there are some staff there who are well aware of how many world class bands we have right here in Melbourne, not to mention Australia-wide, and would love to play some of their music but their hands are tied. The decision for what songs get played is made by the Head of Rock, Mr Shaun Gough.”

Smiles also insists the campaign isn’t about music snobbery or cultural elitism. “This isn’t about telling people who they should listen to, or what music they should like,” he says. “It’s simply about giving the listener a selection to make a choice from.”

“In the long term we’d like to address the amount of local content that is required in Australian broadcast media,” Smiles adds. “A lot of countries, in comparison, have quotas of 40 percent locally produced content. Australia’s is capped at 25 percent.”

“Triple M for the most part play it safe by playing AC/DC, Cold Chisel, INXS, etc. I love these bands. I’ve heard these bands, though. I own their music on CD. Is it that hard to add in a song by Warbirds, Dellacoma, Electric Mary, Massive, Arcane Saints, The Lazys, etc.”

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“Rock radio overseas is still very relevant in building a band’s career. Halestorm fans recently requested airplay for their new song, ‘Amen’. What happened? The song is now a hit. Sydney band The Lazy have a song called ‘Shake it Like You Mean It’. It’s huge in Canada.”

Even in our modern world of unlimited access to any song a person could want through iTunes, streaming services YouTube etc, radio still plays an important part of our daily lives and is the best avenue for a band to receive mass exposure.”

“If Triple M are content to continue playing tracks from twenty years ago, ‘Living on a Prayer’ for the billionth time, and Foo Fighters every hour, their targeted audience demographic is just going to continue ageing.”

“Any good business makes plans to continue into the future. At this point, it really looks like Triple M are living in the past.” If you want to support the campaign, head on over to the official Triple M Give Us Back Our Rock Music Facebook page.

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