ABSTRACT
The following essay is a history of the construction of conventions of music programming for youth on Australian TV. In some respects, then, it could be a history of standardization, or of the dominant national rock music programme Countdown, and the introduction of the now ubiquitous video music or rock clip. More than this, it is about the maintenance of, and struggle for, difference within programming and the struggle to maintain a boundary between youth culture and the mainstream. For Australians, it is also a history of cultural imperialism and local interventions.
