More cost cutting?
The new ABC Classic logo looks alright, but I thought they were gradually moving towards the “oneABC” typeface family for everything?
Love that logo!
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There’s a lot of different fonts in the oneABC family, it might be from it. I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t.
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What, spending money to update an out of date logo?
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Is it telling that they don’t have “FM” as part of the logo. Maybe a coincidence but just saying… A lot of speculation they’ll be moving online and DAB only with ABC Local potentially moving to FM…
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Possibly, but streaming is another way people may be listening to it these days, along with DAB and FM.
I doubt it. No need to move capital city ABC Local to FM where it gets a much greater coverage out on AM. I think the “FM” branding is just very dated and unnecessary. Not too many stations do it anymore?
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If I’m not mistaken, it’s typically once you go to the four digit frequencies that most AM reception problems start to occur. With ABC Local Radio on the three digit frequencies in all capital cities except Darwin, it probably hasn’t been a major issue in the past.
But with AM receivers starting to become less common and reception not as good as it once was due to buildings, electrical interference or other factors, I could see a point where the ABC (and other major broadcasters currently on AM) think about the idea of FM conversions for Local Radio at some point in the future.
From a Sydney market perspective, 2Day, Smooth and WS are still running “FM” as part of their branding while the other three commercial stations don’t. On the AM side, the commercial stations might include those two letters in their logos but they don’t really emphasise it on-air.
But since the ABC is across AM, FM, DAB+ and online streaming, it probably doesn’t make much sense to include either “FM” or “AM” in any of their station names.
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Yeah, it seems like (from reading the press release) that dropping the FM from the name was done so that ABC Classic could become an ‘umbrella term’ to encompass all of the ABC’s classical output
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AM reception is terrible in major cities these days. You lose it altogether in the CBDs. AM receivers are also getting rarer. Of course there’s DAB but I still think this is the first step in converting ABC Local to FM in metro areas. Time will tell.
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All AM is unlistenable in Melbourne CBD due to tram lines and buildings
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Wonder if Classic 2 will finally bite the dust? The station’s website - hosted on Tumblr, of all places, has been all but deleted.
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They hadn’t used that Twitter account for two and a half years anyway.
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Shows I didn’t do enough digging then!
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ABC Classic and ABC Jazz ring in new year with Beethoven, baroque and our very own Valentine
National networks ABC Classic and ABC Jazz will bring the best sounds to Australian audiences in 2020, led by a year-long celebration of Beethoven, new studio recordings of Indigenous and female composers and the inaugural Jazz 100 countdown.
Ludwig van Beethoven was declared Australia’s favourite composer in this year’s Classic 100, which attracted a record-breaking 127,971 votes. Next year, ABC Classic will celebrate his 250th birthday by broadcasting every note he ever wrote in the new weekly program Beethoven 250 , plus the latest live performances of his music and a special Classic 100 countdown that lets listeners choose their favourite work by the famous composer.
Building on a record-high audience in 2019, ABC Classic’s line-up will also feature two new weekend programs hosted by Alice Keath, including one dedicated to baroque music. Other highlights include: new studio recordings of Indigenous composers, female composers and young artists; the return on-air of New Waves as part of a special events program across the year; and extended Weekend Brunch with Greta Bradman.
ABC Jazz lovers are in for a treat with the launch of the nation’s first Jazz 100 listener poll, culminating in a two-day countdown of jazz greats in October. James Valentine will also join the line-up to present new program Upbeat , alongside his ABC Radio Sydney gig. “I first heard jazz on ABC Radio in the 1970s. I’ve attempted to play jazz my entire life. It’s a beautiful circle to now be presenting music I love on ABC Jazz,” he says. “I’m a bit teary.”
Next year’s highlights on ABC Jazz, which turned 10 in 2019, also include: new weekday segments of Mal Stanley’s Jazztrack program and a showcase of live music on Saturdays; new recording scholarships for emerging Australian artists; and a new Artist in Residence program starring leading musicians such as Paul Grabowsky, Sandy Evans and Mike Nock.
Toby Chadd, Content Manager for ABC Classic and ABC Jazz, said: “As we enter a new decade, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz have never been stronger. Every week, we connect millions of Australians to music-making across the country and the world, bringing the joy of music into everyday life.
“In 2020, we will delve into the music of Beethoven in his 250th anniversary year, launch a new program celebrating baroque music and hold our inaugural Jazz 100. We will look to the future, too, with a new series of classical studio recordings and the inaugural ABC Jazz Scholarship, exemplifying the ABC’s role in nurturing emerging artists who will bring music to life for Australians over the coming decades.”
Next year, ABC Classic, Australia’s only national classical music network, will continue its role as the nation’s concert hall, bringing the best live music from here and around the globe to audiences, including the Sydney International Piano Competition.
Listeners will also stay close to ABC Classic’s family of presenters, from Breakfast’s Russell Torrance and Ed Ayres to Vanessa Hughes on Drive and Damien Beaumont on Evenings , continuing to bring music into the lives of millions of Australians each week.
Classic 100: Music in the Movies
Across the Australia Day long weekend, ABC Classic will replay every one of the nation’s top 100 soundtracks as voted in 2013 – from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Superman to classical music by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, that has featured in iconic films. We’ll also ask whether Morricone’s The Mission is still the nation’s number one soundtrack, revealing the new favourite on Monday 27 Jan at 5.00pm.
ABC Classic and ABC Jazz to go all-Australian tomorrow
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ABC commissions diverse new Australian works to support local musicians
ABC Classic and ABC Jazz will bring 25 new Australian works to music audiences over the next year, in a series of commissions to help safeguard local creativity and content against the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
The works were selected from 486 applications to the ABC’s new Australian Music Fund, highlighting the potential of Australia’s emerging composers and performers and the strength of its more established musicians.
In an initiative designed to celebrate the diversity and range within the Australian musical sphere, 55.5% of the selected composers and 62.5% of the performers are female. Almost 30% of the successful composers identify as Indigenous Australians.
The Australian Music Fund is part of the ABC’s $5 million Fresh Start Fund to provide urgent and critical support to Australian artists and creatives at a time when they need it the most. Applications closed on 12 June.
The successful works to debut on ABC Classic over the next 12 months include musical responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, a suite of dances by a collective of female composers written in response to the 2019-20 bushfire season and emerging Indigenous composers bringing their perspectives to 250 years of European cultural heritage – in works inspired by, and incorporating the use of, an historic piano.
New works premiering on ABC Jazz include a selection from award-winning emerging composer Natalie Dietz and a new project from Australian-Armenian composer Zela Margossian and Jeremy Rose (The Vampires). Respected Australian jazz bassist Jonathan Zwartz joins fellow composers Mike Nock, Hamish Stuart and Julien Wilson to write and record a new series for broadcast.
Toby Chadd, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz Content Manager, said: “This extraordinarily diverse selection of new works embodies Australian composition and performance at its finest and builds on the ABC’s established tradition of discovering and developing new music. We are very pleased to be able to bring such a superb collection of emerging and established artists to audiences over the next 12 months.”
The successful applicants each receive up to $6000 to cover writing and recording, a studio session at the ABC, airplay for the completed recording on ABC Classic or ABC Jazz and a commercial digital release of the work via ABC Music.
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ABC Classic and ABC Jazz launch commissioning fund to support new and diverse Australian voices
ABC Classic and ABC Jazz have launched a $90,000 fund to support the creation of new music works from emerging and diverse Australian voices.
Applications open today for the composer commissioning fund, which will develop creative talent from under-represented groups by prioritising opportunities for women, Indigenous Australians, culturally and linguistically diverse artists, gender diverse artists, LGBTQI+ artists and differently abled artists.
Following on from the success of last year’s ABC $5 million Fresh Start Fund, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz will commission 15 new works or collections of works to be recorded for broadcast and digital commercial release, bringing the talents of diverse Australian musicians to audiences across the country.
Toby Chadd, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz Content Manager, said: “In 2020, the ABC’s Fresh Start Fund gave opportunities to hundreds of classical and jazz composers and musicians at a time when their industry was in dire straits.
“It was the biggest music commissioning project in the history of the ABC and it was more than a rescue package – out of it came a range of music that reflects Australia today. And we’ve heard from our audience about how those new works have delighted, inspired and challenged them.
“The projects were so successful that we’ve decided to run a new composer commissioning fund in 2021, inviting musicians and composers to apply for funds to get a new work commissioned, recorded and broadcast by the ABC. The focus will again be on championing under-represented voices, continuing ABC Classic and ABC Jazz’s long tradition of nurturing Australian music-making and bringing the very best artists to our audiences, here at home and around the world.”
Last year’s Fresh Start Fund saw ABC Classic and ABC Jazz bring 25 new Australian works to audiences, in a series of commissions that helped safeguard local creativity and content against the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 55% of the selected composers and 62.5% of the performers were female, while almost 30% of the successful composers identified as Indigenous Australians. Click here to listen to some of the commissioned works.
Successful Fresh Start Fund applicants included Australian composer Emma Jayakumar and her Bell Birds suite – an expression of profound love for the Australian bush and its unique, audacious animals .
“It’s funny, this piece has really I think solidified for me that I am… I’m a composer,” she said. “Before I kind of had a foot in either camp, I think – I’m a singer but I also write. And now I’m – absolutely, I’m a composer. And it’s really wonderful for me to have had that real affirmation.”
Yuwaalaraay writer, musician, composer and educator Nardi Simpson said the process of composing and recording her Fresh Start Fund commissioned work The Binary was “a really wonderful journey for me”.
“I’m really easy going. So, if someone says ‘Think about doing this’, I say ‘Yeah, I’ll have a go’. And I negotiate things in the making and often I can tailor things to what they need to be. This has been an experience of where I’ve pushed a little bit on what I want things to be.”
Recipient of the ABC Jazz Fresh Start Fund, Angela Davis, said the award was a “dream come true.”
“During a time where all of my gigs were cancelled for the foreseeable future, this support gave me the motivation I needed to keep writing and working on my craft with the knowledge that I had a recording date in the future. And what a time to write! I feel extremely lucky to have the support of the ABC – it has absolutely changed the trajectory of my career in what was a difficult time to be an artist.”
Applications for the new $90,000 ABC Classic and ABC Jazz commissioning fund are open from 9 April to 21 May, with recordings of the selected works scheduled to occur in late 2021 and the first half of 2022.
Each successful commission receives a total fee of up to $6000 to cover writing a new work and recording musicians, plus a studio session at the ABC, airplay for the completed recording on ABC Classic or ABC Jazz and commercial digital release of the work via ABC Music.
To apply or for more information, go to the ABC Classic & ABC Jazz Composer Commissioning Fund site.