Pardon My Portugese Pop

Reader Ryan Posly points us to this effort by Portugal to enter the 20th century (at long last!) by decreeing that the nation's radio stations must play at least 25 percent local pop or suffer the consequences:

Foreign pop and rock dominate the airwaves in the nation of 10 million people. The local music scene is best known for its traditional fado melodies—a kind of blues accompanied by a lute-like guitar—but also has a growing number of pop bands.

The measure gained cross-party support as a way of defending the national music industry as well as Portugal's identity in a 25-nation European Union….

In 2005, only 7 percent of stations' music was Portuguese while local music represented a quarter of music sales.

Feh on fado, but it could be worse: "It is similar to a rule in France, which requires 40 percent of music to be French." And the informal rule on dinosaur rock stations, which require 40 percent of all music to be Stones, Zeppelin, and Who.

Whole Portugese saga here.

Comments

[Brian Doherty]

This is a 12 year old memory and possibly unreliable, but I recall in the one night I spent in a Portuguese hotel that almost all the TV–including an episode of Herman’s Head–was merely subtitled in Portuguese. This could explain a nationalist media backlash in and of itself.

[Jeff P.]

I really can’t muster up a lot of anger here, primarily because the playlists of most stations are more restrictive (by several orders of magnitude) than any local content regs.
AOR stations still play Lenny Kravitz’ shitty cover of American Woman, dispite the fact that no one likes it. Go ahead, ask everyone currently in your vicinity.

[SR]

“And the informal rule on dinosaur rock stations, which require 40 percent of all music to be Stones, Zeppelin, and Who.”

You left out that no less than 10% must specifically be Boston’s “More than a Feeling”.

[Stevo Darkly]

AOR stations still play Lenny Kravitz’ shitty cover of American Woman, dispite the fact that no one likes it. Go ahead, ask everyone currently in your vicinity.

Um, I like it. But maybe that’s because of the video with Heather Graham.

[Matt L]

And the informal rule on dinosaur rock stations, which require 40 percent of all music to be Stones, Zeppelin, and Who.

Hmmm…all British rock bands. Perhaps we should petition the FCC to require the remaining 60 percent to be American Bands.

[Jeff P.]

Same rules apply in Canada. On a road trip from Montreal to Toronto last year Jennifer and I heard more Saga, Lover-Boy, and April Wine than I thought possible.
Strangely enough, no Rush was played.

[ralphus]

Finaly a market for K-Fed’s Portuguese flow.

Ya’ll aint ready.

http://music.yahoo.com/release/27916824

[mk]

I would support a law saying that 40 percent of all music videos must contain Heather Graham.

I’ve noticed other informal rules governing the playlists of classic rock stations like:

Only once a year, sometime after midnight, are you are allowed to play King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man”

[Pro Libertate]

Jeff P., Rush isn’t played on the radio, because Canadian law requires everyone to own all of Rush’s CDs. Or LPs–there’s a grandfather clause.

No Triumph, either? What hath Canada wrought?

[Jeff P.]

Yeah, there was some Triumph, and BTO. And apparently light radio airs a lot of Gordon Lightfoot and Anne Murray.

[mk]

Would Brazilian stuff count since it is in Portugese?
I kind of like that album by the Brazilian Girls

[Deus ex Machina]

You must have been driving during the Canuck hour. This is the time, usually in the early morning, when stations play a continuous stream of Canadian artists to get around the restrictions.

[Jaybird]

I fancy myself libertarian but if I had absolute power, I would erase the song “Grillz” like so many Yezhovs. It would be as if that song never existed.

[Yakov Smirnoff]

In Soviet Russia, Heather Graham contains a certain percentage of you.

[Eric the .5b]

…OK, that was funny.

[Eric the .5b]

Question: The article (if we can call something that short an “article”) is unclear. Is the law requiring Portugese-language songs or songs produced in Portugal? Brazil has almost twenty times as many speakers of Portugese, and I hear now and then of some anti-Brazilian prejudices on that end of Europe.

[rappeiro]

We straight outta Portugal
Our music can’t fuck wit’ y’all
So our governo makes some stupid rules
That make us the portugues look like fools

[David in Durham]

Hey, what’s wrong with fado?? Amalia Rodrigues was a GREAT singer.

[Mo]

In Soviet Russia, Heather Graham contains a certain percentage of you.

While this may be blasphemy in libertarian circles. This fact makes me pine for the USSR and would cause me to move there in a heartbeat. I only ask for her to contain 1% of me. No more.

[Rhywun]

I really can’t muster up a lot of anger here

Me neither. If their radio sucks ass as much as American radio, I’d have to say that in this case legislating a little more variety is in order.

K-Fed

Geez louise – it took three different browsers to get that goddamn link to work for me, and I somehow knew the song would be horrible, but… godDAMN.

[joe]

“Pardon My Portuguese Pop” would be a good name for a children’s book.