RAGE REVAMPED

Anon dives into the renaissance of Australian music television and the guest celebrity video jockey

Australia’s favourite all-night alt-network has recently reanimated, bringing the world’s most eclectic artists to our TV screens nightly. ABC’s rage has aired since 1987, making it the “longest-running music television program still in production”.

Since then, rage has welcomed the world’s most vibrant artists to the iconic red couch to catalogue the show’s extensive music vault and invite viewers to experience their unique tastes and genres, including favourites like Metallica, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Arena, Kylie Minogue, Lily Allen, Nicolas Allbrook, Tame Impala and Lime Cordiale – someone for every generation. 

Growing up in the aughts and 2010s, my underdeveloped brain was drilled with ‘rage’ flashing on my TV screen every Saturday morning. I sat cross-legged on the couch in my Barbie pyjamas, hypnotised by Madonna’s idiosyncratic “Papa Don’t Preach”. Maybe a bit too much for a primary school kid but, who cares, I loved Madonna since. 

Fast forward to the 20s, recent analysis by Parrot Analytics highlighted audience demand for rage as “1.3 times […] the average TV series in Australia”. In the last 30 days, this placed rage in an “average position”, likening to the demand of 64.1% of shows in the market. Whilst the ratings may seem ordinary, the program airs well outside of peak viewership periods, namely between 11 PM and 1 AM on Friday and Saturday nights, 5 AM to 11 AM on Saturday mornings and 7 AM onwards on Sundays. With an increased social media presence, rage continues to be loved by Australians, seemingly rising to be an important part of the ABC’s culture and revenue once again. 

Prior to August 2023, rage’s Instagram account paled at 37K followers. But, since the introduction of a largely Gen Z editorial and production team rage’s social media presence has gained significant youth traction, with their current following climbing to 65K. 

Skilfully crafted and edited content is posted daily, with insightful captions and consistent visuals. Most recently, Amyl and the Sniffers’ feature video for single “Chewing Gum’’ received 2.9K likes and, back in July, Lily Allen’s interview garnered 332K views and 22.9K likes – a rage instagram record. This suggests a massive uptake in online interest since 2023 and prior, where videos averaged between 5-20K views. 

Many artists and influencers have purchased merch promoted on rage’s socials, including Lime Cordiale, Dune Rats, San Cisco and Dimeon. Australian wellness and lifestyle business owner Revie Jane also rocked iconic rage shirts with her family. And if that’s not enough, Netflix’s acclaimed ‘Heartbreak High’ awards rage its laurels as a worthy cultural reference in Cash’s viral spoof music video. 

Rage is alive and well, entrenched in Aussie culture through its timeless eccentricism and promising future as a reinvigorated stalwart of homeland cultural distribution. With an influx of carefully curated social media posts, slowly but surely, rage is showing new generations how to appreciate music television, and reminding parents of the Aussie staple every home will come to require again.