“B” RADIO STATIONS.

Waikato Times, Volume 108, Issue 18168, 5 November 1930, Page 15

“B” RADIO STATIONS.

THE USE OF RECORDS. NO PROHIBITION AT ALL. BUT FAIR DEAL ASKED FOR. The message from Dunedin stating that “B” class stations would have to cease operations after November 1 was referred by a Wellington Post reporter to the managing director of one of the chief gramophone record distributing companies. He said that sued statements were very misleading, for the record distributors had no intention whatever of forcing stations off the air: what they did Insist upon, however, was that a fair deal should be given the music trade. The real position could best be put by quoting from a circular letter sent by his company—very similar letters being sent by all the other distributors —to their retailers: —

“Under instructions from our principals ... we beg to advise you that on and after November 1, 1930 . . .

records are not to be supplied to A or B class broadcasting stations, except they be purchased in the ordinary course of business, at retail prices. No records are to be loaned, given, or sold at less than retail prices.” “There is the whole thing,” he said. “We are not saying that the broadcasting of records has to cease: we have no power to say so, but we do say that the stations, either A or B, should purchase those records. The .broadcasting of records is a straight-out business proposition; there should be a business return to the people who depend for their livelihood on the sale of records. Record manufacturers are facing a tremendous falling off in business, very largely due to indiscriminate broadcasting of records. As is clear from the circular letter, we are making no difference between A and B stations.

“Sutely the Radio Listeners’ League which, I presume, is composed of business people, will recognise that we are asking a fair thing and will be only too glad to assist legitimate business by arranging for the quite moderate funds required.” There was a great deal of difference between common-sense broadcasting and indiscriminate broadcasting, he continued. It was the latter type which worried the record traders. Either one station or another would be on the air from breakfast time to bed time, before breakfast sometimes, and certain records were so effectively killed by endless repetition that no one wanted to hear them again—let alone buy them. It was for this reason that the reoord traders were asking dealers who were also station operators to eliminate request items altogether. A record might be put on\on Monday afternoon; that evening someone rang up and asked for it again; it went on. On Tuesday there was another request, and on it went again, afternoon and evening; and thereafter, to make sure of pleasing a lot more requesters it stayed on at least once a day for the rest of the week. Not only were listeners sickened of that record over the air, but they were made far too sick to buy it. In some cases retailers who were station operators had adopted a neat trick when announcing records broadcasted by them, of giving a special shop code number. A listener might like it and decide to buy, but the only shop where that code could be understood would be the broadcaster’s. They therefore insisted that retailer-broad-casters should announce the standard number on the record, and not a “fake” special shop number. 2ZW Going Ahead. That the attitude of the gramophone distributors does not mean prohibition of record broadcasting in any shape is shown by the further consideration of plans for Wellington’s “B” class station to be known as 2ZW, for which a license has been approved in the name of Mr L. E. Strachan, and which, it is stated, will be definitely on the air on December 1. The station will have 500 watts aerial power and will operate on a wave length of 268.9 metres (1120 kilocycles). This wave length is slightly shorter than that of 3YA.