David Kent (historian)
David Kent | |
---|---|
Born | David Cyril Kent 3 February 1941 Music historian, writer |
Genre | Music culture |
Subject | Rock music, popular culture |
Website | |
www |
David Cyril Kent (born 3 February 1941)[1] is an Australian music historian and pop culture writer. Kent produced the Kent Music Report, compiling the national music chart from May 1974 to 1996; it was known as the Australian Music Report from 1987.[2] The music reports were a weekly listing of the National Top 100 chart positions of singles and albums.[2][3]
Kent's music reports were used by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) as its official ARIA Charts from mid-1983 until July 1988 when ARIA developed an in-house chart.[2][4]
Kent continued to publish his Australian Music Report on a weekly basis until 1996.[2] In 1993, Kent collated his charts into a book, Australian Chart Book, 1970–1992.[5] He followed with Australian Chart Book (1940–1969) in 2005,[6] Australian Chart Book (1993–2005) in 2006,[7] and The Australian top 20 book (1940–2006) in 2007.[8]
Early life
David Kent was born in Mount Lawley (a suburb of Perth), Western Australia, Australia, to Cyril Kent (an industrial chemist) and Marjorie Goodwin (née Dalton).[citation needed]
He listened to local radio broadcasts of top hits such as "
Australia had no nationwide chart system for singles or albums when Kent was a youth.
Career
Kent initially worked for record companies,
In 1958, radio station
Kent's aims were to provide the Australian music industry with information on singles and albums, and to chronicle the history of music tastes.[9][12] The Kent Music Report was sold commercially after July 1974, and it became the sole nationwide chart following the demise of Go-Set in August.[11]
Kent expanded his business and, from 1976, incorporated actual sales figures to supplement information from radio stations.[12] By 1977, major record companies used his chart information in their advertising.[12] Kent's staff sent surveys to retail stores, collated sales figures together with radio charts by states and then used his ranking system to assemble the national Kent Music Report. By 1982, retail sales by survey was the main source of Kent's reports.[12]
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) was established by the six major record companies operating in Australia: EMI,
At the beginning of 1987, the Kent Music Report was renamed the Australian Music Report. It was used by major record companies in preference to ARIA's own charts.[9][13] Kent continued production of his music reports until 1996, but sold off his interest in the Australian Music Report, which continued to the end of 1998, after which changes in technology, such as barcoding, enabled point-of-sale information to be sent directly to ARIA.[9][14] This meant that Kent could no longer compile reliable sales information.[9][14]
Publications
In 1993, Kent used his resources to compile charts dating back to 1970. He added information from the weekly Kent Music Report and the Australian Music Report to publish the charts in book form as Australian Chart Book, 1970–1992.[5] He followed that with Australian Chart Book (1940–1969) in 2005,[6] Australian Chart Book (1993–2005) in 2006,[7] The Australian top 20 book (1940–2006) in 2007,[8] and Australian Chart Chronicles (1940–2009).[15]
Bibliography
- Kent, David (29 June 1987). "Kent music report 1974–1987". Australian Music Report (1–675). ISSN 0156-2223.
- Kent, David (1993). ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- Kent, David (4 January 1999). "Australian music report : Kent music report 1987–1999". Australian Music Report (675–1270). ISSN 0156-2223.
- Kent, David (2005). Australian Chart Book (1940–1969). ISBN 0-646-44439-5.
- Kent, David (2006). Australian Chart Book (1993–2005). Turramurra, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book, 2006. ISBN 0-646-45889-2.
- Kent, David (2007). The Australian top 20 book (1940–2006). Turramurra, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book, 2007. ISBN 978-0-646-47665-0.
- Kent, David (2009). Australian Chart Chronicles (1940–2008). Turramurra, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book, 2009. ISBN 978-0-646-51203-7.
- Kent, David, ed. (2010). Australian Chart Book (1993–2009). Australian Chart Book. ISBN 978-0-646-52995-0.
References
- ^ Mathews, Wallace H. Certified Copy of Register of Birth (Report). Perth: Western Australia District Registrar.
3rd February 1941, Ellesmere Rd., Mt.Lawley (sic)
- ^ a b c d Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History". Archived from the original on 21 November 2005. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ "David Kent". nla.gov.au. National Library of Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "ARIA Charts FAQs". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ ISBN 0-646-44439-5.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ ISBN 0-646-45889-2.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ ISBN 978-0-646-47665-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Top 40 Radio and the Pop Charts". Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ a b c Kent, David. "Australian Chart Book history". Australian Chart Book. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ a b "Go-Set Magazine Charts 1966–1974". Poparchives.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History, Part 1". Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History, Part 2". Archived from the original on 2 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ^ a b Lowe, Daniel (2003). "Australian Chart History, Part 3". Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 22 March 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-646-51203-7.