Radio annual and television yearbook (1939)

WHAT AUSTRALIANS LIKE IN AMERICAN-MADE & TRANSCRIPTIONS # .fry RALPH L. POWER, Ph.D. Radio Counsellor, Los Angeles OVER a period of years, the major portion of my radio consulting activities has centered in buying American-made transcriptions for export. Most of these purchases have been for Australia and New Zealand, but South Africa and Canada have been important selling points and Continental Europe is now absorbing many of our waxes, though script predominates in that market. Sales In all, counting duplicate sets and replacements and samples, I have probably purchased some 100,000 "sides" or programs. A minute percentage has been poor buys, and the discs are still on the shelves. Others have been sold six or seven times, or enough to get the money back. Some have been extraordinarily good buys and have sold repeatedly. Once in a foreign country, the discs have to have a fair turnaround to make a profitable investment. There are, of course, many charges besides the original cost. These include the transportation charges from the point of purchase to the dock; the boxes and packing and customs brokerage; freight, insurance and the tariff. Besides this, in Australia at least, the music fees are high and there is a government fee every time a transcription is played over the air. Overhead To this must be added an overhead for my services, since I do not act on a commission basis but on a flat annual fee. Once in the country of destination, there are additional charges for sales commissions, freight and so forth when the programs are sold and sent from station to station. Out of this tremendous traffic in American-made programs one point in particular is an outstanding one. But, before discussing that, what programs have proved most popular in other coun * Resident American transcription and script buyer for Macquarie Broadcasting Services Pty. Ltd., Sydney, Australia, and All-Canada Radio Facilities, Ltd., Calgary, Canada. tries. Canadians like the programs that are the most popular in the United States. So let's take the audience reaction of the Antipodes. Australians Like Mysteries There was the epic called "Detectives Black and Blue" to the tune of nearly 300 episodes. It went over in a big way in this country, and fans liked the crazy antics of the correspondence school detectives. The waxes are still gatheringdust in Sydney. By the same producers, there were 130 in the Count of Monte Cristo series. In this country it has enjoyed a huge run and is now airing the second and third time in many stations. Over in Australia and New Zealand it has proved to be a consistent seller, aided and abetted of course, by the background of the film and book of the same title. Under the banner of a stomach cure sponsor it ran on 38 stations in Australia. Chanclu Take the case of Chandu, which was also produced by the same firm as the above two programs. This has been off the air a good while here. Yet the name Chandu is still a household radio name and the "Return of Chandu" may be good news any day now. Still, for no reason at all, it sold only enough in the Antipodes to bring back the money invested. Why, I do not know! Over in Australia there has never been anything like the original Watanabe and Archie skits, longtime KNX favorites here. For three consecutive years they placed first in Australia radio popularity 542