Youth radio, music cities and the role of urban sociability: Case study of Radio KUT FM (Austin) and Triple R FM (Melbourne)

This chapter examines the role that youth radio plays in the history and development of two popular music cities of Austin (capital of Texas in the United States) and Melbourne (capital of Victoria in Australia), both of which located in the global north. Because of their vibrant popular music economies, backed up by a strong youth participation in music activities, these cities are linked to global music branding (Baker 2019). In 1991 Austin became the “self-proclaimed live music capital of the world” (Rowling 2015: 5). In 2018 Melbourne self-identified as the “live music capital of the world” (Newton and Rosa-Hayward 2018:1). However, largely shaped by the global cultural economy, this top-down approach often fails to explore how the social and cultural aspects of how youth radio feeds into music making, dissemination, promotion and engagement. Based on a theoretical framework of “urban sociability”, the chapter explored how the Austin-based, Radio KUT FM and the Melbourne-located, Radio Triple R FM, are publicly- funded youth radio stations which nurture the social and cultural value of their urban music scenes (Creed-Rowan 2017: 3). The study adopted a “mixed methods” research design by triangulating quantitative data, (such as textual analysis of government policies, industry reports and media coverage) with qualitative data (eleven interviews from music spokespersons from Austin and Melbourne) (Creswell 2009: 2). Researched across disciplines of radio studies, youth subcultures, social history, musicology, and political economy, the chapter argues that reportage from the youth radio stations, such as KUT FM and Triple R FM, supported music urban activities, beyond the dominant political economic discourse. It found that these music cities are tied to a rich urban sociability (Creed-Rowan 2017), supported by their ties to the public radio sector of the European model and the youth focused, Third Sector/Alternative radio model (Priestmen 2002). These youth radio ties have led to a rich urban music ecology (Park, McKenzie and Burgess 1925) and commitment to the globally renowned music branding (Bull 2013) of Austin and Melbourne.