Political Parties plead for set percentage of Dutch songs for Radio 2

I know this is old news, but I just wanted to say a few words about how ludicrous the idea was to start with. So, some background, some political parties (largely the same that have been hacking into the Art subsidies and support while heralding the physical adulation of, for instance, Sports) have voted in favour of, and consequently passed,  a law that would state that one of the biggest public radio stations, Radio 2, should play Dutch music 35% of the time. Also, it has to be music in the Dutch language, so Dutch producers and DJs (who wouldn’t fit the programming anyway) apparently do not count. So it is not even the promotion of Dutch music, but of something that goes beyond that.

I find this against everything Art should stand for. But more than that, this and the Art cuts are the start of something quite concerning; namely the limiting, the muzzling, of the Arts and the broadcasting, the pushing, the supporting of an agenda that fits only a particular group and ideology. They cannot and should not be dictating what is played, what is performed, what is shown, what to think, which is where we are heading if this trend continues. The art cuts already has muzzled the art scene, which always functions as a sharp eye on contemporary culture and sociology, and through this the government has made its first move into deciding what is shown and played and what cannot be shown and played. Which is absolutely disastrous.

Popular entertainment remains untouched and is encouraged, but the platforms that have a voice, an independent voice, are slowly being pushed away. If the government starts to intervene in what can and cannot be talked about in order to promote its own agenda, then we are moving away from everything art, theatre, and even music should stand for. This, in addition to the cuts in the Arts, surely is a cause for concern. For this, indeed, is manipulation of what is said and heard. And that should definitely not be down to whomever is in charge of the country. For what is so democratic and free about that? For, as I see it, this measure doesn’t concern public safety, public well-being, or public happiness in any any any way. So one has to ask, what does it concern?