RNZ cuts ‘enraging’
Former prime minister Helen Clark is leading the chorus of outrage over a proposal that will gut RNZ Concert in favour of a new radio station aimed at younger listeners.
RNZ’s decision has been described as ‘‘terrifying’’ and a ‘‘slap in the face’’ by musicians and industry professionals.
The state-owned broadcaster is proposing to remove RNZ Concert from its FM frequencies and instead broadcast an unmanned station that will stream online and play on AM radio. All the station’s hosts, and 17 jobs in total, would be cut.
The new station would hire 13 staff, RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson said.
RNZ staffers facing the chopping block say the new Concert format will be like ‘‘Spotify on air’’, and that it is a step towards axing the classical offering.
In its place, RNZ wants to establish a FM service focused on people aged 18 to 34.
But an RNZ Concert staffer says the public broadcaster is making a mistake by gutting a trusted brand for a new, experimental station. About 170,000 people listen to it each week.
‘‘Concert listeners are often the most loyal and committed RNZ listeners. They listen all day, every day, and have done for decades. RNZ is abandoning them and destroying tens of thousands of relationships for a brand that may or may not work,’’ they say.
The changes at RNZ have been known for some time. More than a year ago, RNZ head of radio David Allan told Stuff that he planned to establish a new youth-focused music station. In January, Allan and RNZ refused to deny speculation that RNZ Concert could be pulled off FM.
RNZ sources said they didn’t imagine that Concert’s entire hosting line-up would lose their jobs until they were called to a meeting with Allan and Thompson on Wednesday.
Clark, who held the arts and culture portfolio during her nine years as prime minster, said the decision was a ‘‘severe diminution of the cultural services available to New Zealanders’’.
‘‘The plans to decimate the Concert programme need to be seen in the context of the National Library no longer wanting to have an overseas collection and the National Archives deciding to drastically reduce its opening hours. What will be next?
‘‘Such decisions raise serious concern about the level of support for the cultural services available to New Zealanders.’’
Thompson said it was a tough decision to move Concert off
FM and cut its staffing. But, with limited government funding, RNZ had to make cuts to Concert to service more New Zealanders with the new station. RNZ would continue recording and broadcasting classical music, he said, but would start recording more contemporary music for its new station. ‘‘In this plan, we are trying to do more for the public but we do have to make hard choices.’’
The axing of all hosts on Concert, and the move to internet and AM radio only, was justified, Thompson said, as listener surveys showed most of the station’s audience tuned in from their homes and to hear music, not talk. He said Concert listeners should instead use internet or TV streams. Among those opposed to the decision is Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. ‘‘The loss of RNZ Concert, which has served the music community in
Aotearoa so well for 70 years, would be an inestimable blow to the arts in New Zealand,’’ the opera singer said.
‘‘So many of our young artists have become known to a wide audience, thanks to broadcast on RNZ Concert. I sincerely hope that the-powers-that-be in RNZ will reconsider.’’
Orchestra Wellington general manager Kirsten Mason said scrapping the hosted shows would deprive audiences of muchneeded knowledge and context about music. ‘‘It is going to be a fast-food music environment. There is nothing of us.’’
A petition to save Concert had garnered more than 4000 signatures by yesterday afternoon. The reaction from the arts community was justified, Mason said.
Celebrated pianist Michael Houstoun said he knew ‘‘hearts would be broken’’ by the news.
‘‘It is even worse for those who can no longer get to concerts.’’
Renowned conductor Marc Taddei said the logic behind the decision did not add up. ‘‘It is tantamount to saying: ‘Young people don’t go to museums, so why don’t we get rid of them?’ ’’
Forcing Concert to an AM radio broadcast was ‘‘atrocious’’ due to the frequency’s lack of bandwidth, Taddei said.
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra interim chief executive Peter Biggs said it was in dialogue with RNZ on the changes.
RNZ Concert would be taken off FM radio on May 29, with the youth station phased in ahead of its August 28 launch.