RTRFM (call sign: 6RTR) is a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station based in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, the state capital of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, on 92.1 in the FM band, and digitally at www.rtrfm.com.au, RTR2, A digital only alternative was launched in 2024. The name RTRFM is a contraction of "aRTy Radio". 309,000 people listen to RTRFM per month. The programming on RTRFM includes

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

, indie, LGBTQIA+ news, and current affairs.

History

The station that would eventually become RTRFM started at the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

. It was started on 1 April 1977, broadcasting with the callsign 6UWA. Shortly afterwards,

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

got involved and the station's callsign was changed to 6UVS. On 26 November 1990, the UWA Senate decided to close the radio station down and transmission was terminated that night. 6UVS was off the air for six months while negotiations between the University, volunteers at the station, and the

Australian Broadcasting Authority The Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radio communications and telecommunications. The Authority took over the functions of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal ...

were carried out. A public hearing was held, and it was determined that Universities Radio Ltd. (a joint company of UWA and

) could become Arts Radio Ltd. with the callsign of 6RTR. The station remained based at UWA.

Murdoch Murdoch ( , ) Is a Scottish and Irish surname and given name. An Anglicized form of the Gaelic personal names ''Muireadhach'' ‘mariner’, ''Murchadh'' ‘sea-warrior’, and ''Muirchertach, Muircheartach'' ‘sea-ruler’, the first element i ...

remained involved through the program Murdoch Magazine (later to become Morning Magazine and now The Mag). In 2005, RTRFM moved from its old home in the Sanders Building at the

to its own premises on Beaufort Street in

Mount Lawley Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, Co ...

, which is where it is located today. In 2017, RTRFM celebrated its fortieth anniversary with an exhibition at the State Library, a birthday celebration Neon Picnic, a donor drive and a concert at the Perth Concert Hall in November.

Programming

RTRFM programming consists of fifty different programs which cover a range of topics and music genres including indie rock, indigenous music and current affairs, music of the 1960s and 1970s, experimental music, punk and hardcore, dance and electronic music, chill wave and other genres. Daily programs include Breakfast with Pam (hosted by Pamela Boland), Out to Lunch, Full Frequency, and Drivetime. A recently released local feature album and RTRFM feature album are chosen each week to feature across all relevant RTRFM programming.

Events

RTRFM hosts a number of annual events including Neon Picnic, In the Pines, Radiothon, the Fremantle Winter Music Festival, and Courtyard Club.RTFM , Events
rtrfm.com.au. Retrieved 10 September 2024.

Neon Picnic

RTRFM's Neon Picnic, held at the Hyde Park Amphitheatre, features a selection of local hits, both new and old. Neon Picnic is a family-friendly and free event.

In the Pines

RTRFM's 'In the Pines' event is hosted annually at the

's Somerville Auditorium and celebrates local music talent from a variety of different genres.

Fremantle Winter Music Festival

RTRFM established the Fremantle Winter Music Festival in 2007, which has since been held annually in multiple venues throughout Fremantle. The event showcases both well-known and up-and-coming bands from Fremantle and Perth.

Radiothon

RTRFM's major fundraiser is known as Radiothon. The event is hosted over a ten-day period in August and encourages listeners to subscribe to the station. Radiothon is kicked off each year with an Opening Party event (and in some years, also features a Closing Party event).

Courtyard Club

Since 2014, RTRFM and The State Theatre Centre of WA have been collaborating to organise a free concert series each year in the State Theatre Centre Courtyard. The free event runs on Friday nights in the lead up to Christmas.

References

External links

RTRFM official website

Listen Online
{{coord, -31.9349, 115.8720, display=title, format=dms Radio stations in Perth, Western Australia Community radio stations in Australia