ABU Radio Song Festival Launched at Radio Asia 2012

On the opening day of the conference, Radio Australia CEO Mike McCluskey launched the ABU Radio Song Festival, which aims to unearth unpublished talent across the region and give them exposure through an ABU hosted website. The aim is to make their music available to all ABU member broadcasters and to encourage them through an international competition.

“It will reflect the now, by capturing contemporary culture across new and traditional genres. Music reflects the diversity of cultures within cultures as well as diversity across borders. It will allow stations to play one another’s music on their radio stations and websites. The ABU will host a website which will contain this content and be a gateway into the culture of the participating countries.

“It is not about the established stars, it is about those making music in their garages and in their communities, not about the people who are already on stage and on air. A lot of music exists behind the popular music, and we want to it become viral in the cyber world as well as to be played on stations across the region” explained McCluskey.

Each ABU member station is being encouraged to run a local competition to try and find new musicians. Winners of those local competitions will then be put on the website and become that country’s entries. The best 8-15 artists will perform at the ABU’s General Assembly in Seoul, Korea in October 2012.

Story compiled by Steve Ahearn, from the Radio Asia 2012 Conference.