Aussie radio station pulls Michael Jackson songs due to Leaving Neverland

Once a solid feature on FM dials, odds are you won't be hearing Billie Jean or Man in the Mirror on Australian radio stations again – or, at least, for a while.

Local radio network Nova Entertainment Group, whose stable includes easy-listening station smoothfm, has joined international networks in pulling Michael Jackson songs from its playlists, in the wake of renewed sexual abuse allegations against the late singer featured in the documentary Leaving Neverland.

"The decisions we make about the music we play on any of our stations are dependent on the relevance to the audience and the current context," said Paul Jackson, Nova Entertainment's Group Programme Director. "In light of what is happening at the moment, smoothfm is not currently playing any Michael Jackson songs."

Leaving Neverland – which features two men, including Australian choreographer Wade Robson, detailing explicit allegations of sexual abuse against the singer when they were children – has spectacularly re-cast Jackson's legacy since its premiere at Sundance in January.

The documentary was this week televised in the US and UK; it will air in Australia on Friday and Saturday night on Network Ten.

Michael Jackson during the Singapore stop of his HIStory tour in October 1996.Credit: AP

For adult-listening stations, who've long relied on Jackson's countless inoffensive hits to populate their playlists – from 1979's Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough to 1995's You Are Not Alone, the Grammy-nominated ballad written by R. Kelly – the backlash has sparked an urgent response.

Earlier this week, New Zealand's two major radio networks NZME and Mediaworks stated they had pulled Jackson's songs from airplay, at least temporarily, in light of the documentary. Similar decisions have been made by radio broadcasters in Canada and Holland.

"I don't think people can listen to the songs the same way anymore. They are supposed to make you happy, make you sing and dance," editor of Dutch station NH Arjan Snijders explained in a Tuesday broadcast, Reuters reported.

However, not all local networks appear so definitive on the contentious decision to pull Jackson's music from their platforms.

The Australian Radio Network (ARN), which hosts easy-listening station WSFM, is awaiting a stronger response from its listeners.

"At this stage, ARN stations with music formats that play Michael Jackson won't be removing his music. However, as always, we will continue to regularly review our playlists based on what audiences want to hear," an ARN spokesperson said.

And Southern Cross Austereo (SCA), whose stations include Triple M and 2DayFM, have no immediate plans to remove Jackson's songs.

"We take allegations of this nature very seriously. However, these remain allegations and therefore we currently intend to continue to play his music on occasion," an SCA spokesperson said.

Streaming service Spotify, which recently introduced a new feature allowing users to "block" specific artists in the wake of a damning R. Kelly documentary aired in January, did not immediately reply to questions regarding their policy on Jackson's work, nor did rival service Apple Music.