RADIO LISTENERS

Southland Times, Issue 21195, 23 September 1930, Page 8

RADIO LISTENERS

SUPPORT EOR LEAGUE ■ I ' /.’'"A SOUTHLAND BRANCH -FORMED COMBATING ROYALTY CHARGE The action that is being taken by the radio listeners of New Zealand to counteract the decision of the Performing Rights Association of Australia to charge a levy on all copyright ■ items broadcast from B class stations received enthusiastic support from a large meeting of radio listeners in Invercargill last night. Mr S. B. Macdonald, of Dunedin, provisional president of the New Zealand Radio Listeners’ League, attended and addressed the meeting. His Worship the Mayor (Mr J. D. Campbell) presided. The gathering was most enthusiastic and • decided to form a branch of the league.

The Mayor said he took pleasure in introducing Mr Macdonald who was now a resident of Dunedin, but had previously lived in Invercargill. The question before the meeting was u vital one. Invercargill and Southland had been receiving excellent service from the two B class radio stations, and it would be very regrettable if they found it necessary to close down through the imposition of a royalty charge. Invercargill was under a disadvantage in not having a Government radio station, and it would be a great pity if the ,local services had to be discontinued.

Mr Macdonald said that although the Radio Listeners’ League had only been formed about 10 days it had many thousands of members. No definite policy could be formulated until a conference had been called of Dominion delegates. The position was that a demand had been made by the Australian Performing Rights Association for a royalty on gramophone records and all other musical items from B class radio stations. Unity was strength and it was desirable that the Radio Listeners’ League should be able if necessary, to go to the Government with the weight of 53,000 radio set owners and perhaps 500,000 listeners behind it. Expensive Litigation. It would cost a very large sum of money to fight the demands of the Performing Rights Association and he appealed to all radio listeners to support the league by becoming members. The league was determined to see the matter finalized and had received very enthusiastic support from Bluff to Auckland. It was necessary that quick action should be taken, as the royalty charge would come into force after the end of this month; In view of the support already accorded the league he was satisfied that the Performing Rights Association would think twice about imposing the royalty charge. It was an unthinkable thing that the radio listeners of New Zealand would be prevented from getting entertainment from their radio sets. whenever they wished unless they were prepared to dig deeplv into their pockets. Mr Macdonald said he was thoroughly in accord with the motion carried earlier that the B class stations should be granted a portion of the listeners' license fees. The Radio Listeners’ League when properly constituted would take up this matter seriously and would be prepared to demand that instead of a heavy license fee being handed unconditionally to the Radio Broadcasting Company, the league should handle the money and utilize any. surplus funds for the benefits of listeners. He was prepared to state that the listeners were not compltely satisfied with the service form the Radio Broadcasting Company. Questions Answered. In reply to Mr L. .S. Alsweiler, Mr Macdonald said the Copyright Act had been in force for a very long time and protected all new inventions or music for a period of 30 years. Answering another question, Mr Macdonald said he had been given a legal opinion that as the B stations received no revenue no royalty could be charged. This was a matter for the Courts to decide and it might cost' a very huge sum to secure the decision if the matter was taken as far as the Privy Council. Mr L. Bates, of Dunedin, said that a request had been made to the Performing Rights Association to extend the period before imposing the charge until the organization of the league was completed. Mr J. H. Tattersfield stressed the importance of the matter to Southlanders. He moved that a branch of the Radio Listeners’ League be formed in Southland on the lines that Mr Macdonald had outlined. He recognized that the time element entered very much into the question and said that all listeners should be asked to join up at once. Mr P. R. Miller seconded. In reply to a question, Mr Macdonald said that the subscription to the league was half-a-crown. Of this amount, the local executive would retain one shilling, the remainder being sent to the central executive to meet any expenses in fighting the case.

Dr Stanley Brown said it might be possible for the provisional executive to approach the Government before the close of the present session for protection. Mr Macdonald said that it was with this object that hurried endeavours were being made to perfect the organization. In the event of the full amount of the subscription not being required to settle this question it would be applied to form the nucleus of a fund for future endeavours. He hoped the Listeners’ League would become a very influential body to protect the interests of listeners. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr D. W. McKay suggested that an interim secretary should be appointed to collect subscriptions. Mr A. W. Jones said that a small committee should be set up to work in with the provisional central executive. He moved that a committee of six be set up. -This was carried and Messrs J. B. Reid, D. W. McKay, J. H. Tattersfield, G. Dennis, L. S. Alsweiler and Dr S. Brown were elected to the committee. It was decided to ask all radio dealers to take books of tickets and endeavour to secure members. , A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Macdonald. The committee announced that Mr J. B. Reid had been appointed to collect subscriptions.