B-CLASS STATIONS.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19610, 4 May 1929, Page 10

B-CLASS STATIONS.

j QUESTION OP COPYRIGHT. Mncu tJio announcement naa made j iliat the Commonwealth Government i i.ill tmite tenderers to lodge proposals j tor the provision of broadcasting entertainment programmes for the whole of I Australia, B class stations aro renew- { m& their requests for what they conj .-uler to be adequate protection under tho new policy, says the Melbourno 'Argus." '1 he B class stations contend that the lee-, which the Australian Performing liight Association demands for the broadcasting ol gramophone records arc M> high that the stations will be forced to close unless they are protected by law. Gramophone" records comprise a In:;-' part ot Jt claw programmes, and I iu> »latlons are used by music dealers to advert iso the records. Apart from tlio additional sales ol records which li.llow, the quality of tho B class broadcasting of records is so high that many listeners prefer their programmes lu tluo-e provided by the A class Stations. I ho A class stations are paid to attract listeners. Tho M '-lass stations receive tu> proportion ol revenue I'r.mi listeners' fees, and their grievance is that they are forced to pav performing right fees tor records. They claim that this is really a super-tax", since portion of tho revenue received from listeners' fees is paid in copyright fees. Mr ri. Morgan, secretary of 3DB (..Melbourne) said that, though A class stations broadcast many gramophone records, they were not required to pay tho exorbitant fees demanded by the Australian Performing Right Association, since the proportion was deducted from their share of license fees. The A" class stations paid only "4 per cent, of the sum received from licenseholders, but they did not pay on their gross revenue. The B class stations paid "J per cent., or 6d, whichever nas greater. To 3DB that represented between 20 and '25 per cent, of its paidup capital. "If we signed an agreement with the Australian Performjng Right Association to pay 7i per cent.," said Mr Morgan, "there are three other performing right associations which would demand an equal amount. It is au axiom of business that a trader must pass on the cost of an article to his customer. This would mean that gramophone dealers would have to pay on an average Is 8d for every twosided record which they advertised by broadcasting made up as follows: — Twopence for each side for copyright, 4d for broadcasting, and Is for the performing right. As the majority of records is sold at an average price of 4s, tho cost to the dealer would be too great. The result would be lees advertising, fewer sales, and poorer programmes for the listener."

'"Wq claim to-day as many listeners as A class stations claim," remarked Mjr Morgan. "If it were not for the B clan stations there would be a reduction of between 30 and 50 per cent, in the number of license fees. If we are compelled to pay... 6d for every item broadcast, We shall be paying, not onetenth of the rate paid by an A class station for the performance of copyright music, as Mr Sutherland asserts, but one-quarter. Actually A class stntiojjg pay- nothing. The money is-de-ducted'mite listeners' fees. It is the listener who pays all the time."