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The medium is also a curator since many artists and musical groups consolidated their careers as a result from those negotiations and from the listeners’
feedback, sustaining the Brazilian music industry’s profitability. Although sharing with television the public exposure of the musicians, it was the redundan‑
cy of the artists in the radio programming the responsible for their persistency in the listenership’s memory. It is also important to note that domestic music
has always been predominant over the international music in Brazil, even with multinational corporations controlling the national market. According to IFPI
data, the domestic music catalogue represented 63% of official sales in Brazil in 2011, against 44% in Mexico and only 14% in Argentina. Besides, the period
from 1960 to the years 2000 saw the emergency of musical movements of great political and artistic relevance, such as Bossa Nova, Tropicalismo, MPB, Bra‑
zilian Rock in the 1980’s and the Mangue Beat in the 1990’s. Primarily we will make a brief historical introduction on the role of “divulgators”– employees
of record companies – and how they negotiate with the radio stations the decisions on which music should be played and stressed. This approach results
from an investigation conducted by the authors during 2015 and 2016, for which retired and active professionals of both fields have been interviewed.
The main subjects are the strategies of record companies, divulgators and station workers to select the music to play on the programming. From those
information, we will draw a comparison with the current moment of radio in Brazil, present on the internet and facing competition to the listeners’attention
with streaming services that supposedly replace radio as music curator, such as Spotify and Deezer. Our hypothesis stands that radio keeps its relevance as
a curator even though music subscription software brings new formats for musical consumption, especially in massive musical genres as Brazilian country
music (Sertanejo) and Brazilian Funk. Radio’s specific language and the presence of stations on the web allow managing demands of both listeners and
record companies, complementing the role performed today by software instruments to organise the offering and consumption of cultural content.
PP 315
Mediating the Continuity of Radio: Contribution of Public Media to the Digitization of the Airwaves Across Europe
D. Fernández Quijada
1
1
European Broadcasting Union, Media Intelligence Service, Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland
As a technology enabling a century-old medium to remain relevant in the future, digital radio is increasingly the preferred platform for the continuity and
modernization of its languages, narratives, practices and identities. Despite the vast amount of radio services available on the internet, audiences still
show a clear preference for broadcast radio. In those countries where DAB and / or DAB+ services are widely available, digital terrestrial radio is far ahead
of online radio in terms of consumption. This is why the digital terrestrial network is the focus of this project. Specifically, this research examines the role
public radios, often defined as the driving force behind digital terrestrial radio, are playing in its deployment in the 22 European countries where DAB or
DAB+ services can be received. It analyses the number of services offered by public radio and their distinctiveness. Although the concept of distinctiveness
can also be measured externally against other broadcasters, in this case the concept was applied internally, meaning that the services provided by the same
broadcaster in analogue and in digital were compared. To measure internal distinctiveness, three indicators were applied: exclusive availability of services,
the genres of the stations, and the target audiences. The analysis was based on the list of services broadcast by EBU Members, a list maintained by the Euro‑
pean Broadcasting Union (EBU).The results show that the public broadcaster offer in the digital terrestrial network is distinctive in the three criteria applied:
a remarkable amount of services are exclusive, this offer privileges stations defined by their set of genres that are traditionally marginal on analogue
radio, and the target groups, for example those defined by age, are notably different. As may be expected, beyond the aggregate figures the trends are
different from country to country. As a result, a set of key countries was identified in terms of the internal distinctiveness of their public radios on the digital
terrestrial network. The results of this research provide useful insight into the role of public media as drivers of digital radio and more generally speaking
of technological innovation, fostering the development of a digital network that can offer more guarantees to keep radio as relevant in the future as it has
been during the last century.
PP 316
Myths and Realities of Non-Profit Radio in Canada
G. Bonin
1
1
University of Ottawa, Communication, Ottawa, Canada
Of the three radio sectors in Canada, non-profit radio has often been characterized as underfunded, marginalized and amateurish. However, with more
than 180 stations serving Canadians, this sector can be described as anything but, as it boast the use of multiple languages; employs both volunteer and
professionals from all walks of life; as well as highlights content that is truly representative of Canada’s multicultural and multifaceted people. As Canada’s
Broadcasting Act, 1991 stipulates, broadcasting should reflect the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada. This sector embodies this article
of the law. Nonetheless, it has not received the attention it deserves both in the broadcasting industry and in the academic world. Non-profit radio has been
studied in Canada as it has worldwide, but mostly under the campus or community radio labels rather than by the nature of the stations that encompass
the sector. Consequently, very little attention has been given to the financial structure of stations other than to determine the cost of doing business and
very little is known about the way in which stations function to meet the goals of the sector whether they be individual or collective in nature. With this in
mind, this paper presents the results of the first two phases of a four-part study involving the Canadian non-profit radio sector. Through the use of in-depth
interviews using an evaluation framework questionnaire with participants from different radio associations in the country from the French, English and
aboriginal communities, it was possible to gain a better understanding of the sector’s objectives, particularly in relation to its financial goals and its use
of technology. Then, an assessment of the financial reports of participating stations provided evidence of how stations present themselves and allowed
for a comparison of the goals they set in relation to their actual financial situations. Some studies discuss the sustainability of the sector in comparison to
the public and commercial sectors, however, this study is original as it goes beyond emphasizing the need, rather focusing on the financial health of stations