10 May 2008

Compulsory Maori music

Oh please, with millions being poured into commercially unsustainable Maori radio, it still isn't good enough for some Maori musicians. According to the NZ Herald:
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"composer Tihi Puanaki, who is leading the campaign for more airtime, are calling for a compulsory te reo Maori quota. "Its invisibility creates a perception of this whole genre lacking in status. "There is fantastic work being produced by Maori musicians that is not receiving the support it should be." While she understood that commercial radio had an imperative to make money, there was still a "moral responsibility" to help to revitalise an official language which was still at risk. She said the campaign was not about "ramming" music down people's throats."
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Actually it is - a quota means you are ramming down the throat of a radio station you don't own.
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It's simple. You think the work is fantastic, it may be, it may not be. However if you can't convince people of its merits, you have no right to force it onto anyone.
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I realise that the Maori, Green, Labour and NZ First Parties all don't understand that, but forcing radio stations to play what they don't think their listeners want to hear is immoral. After all, should Maori stations be forced to play music they don't want? Go on, promote your music, even set up your own radio station - but don't expect radio stations to be forced to play what they don't want to play, anymore than you should expect newspapers to publish what they don't want.

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