In the 70ies Austrian galleries occasionally featured sound-installations, performances, presentations of tapes, records, radio-work. As everywhere composers/musicians felt more at home in art galleries than in concert halls.

Occasionally there were sound-projects in the public space.

As an extension of the works of conceptual artists, galleries and artists' associations featured artists' records (and books). Some of them published editions of audio-cassettes.

Artist's sound works were also featured on radio along with works especially produced for the radio-medium.

In this period some of the most important Austrian galleries considered themselves not so much as commercial venues but as spaces of information on the latest international developments in art. Together with the exponents of already existing non-commercial organisations, they formed a non-profit-organisation, (Österreichischer Kunstverein), which in 1978 organised an important International Performance Festival containing many sound-and media-art elements.

After that the galleries went into different directions:

the Galerie nächst St.Stephan, Vienna, - together with Ingrid Carl and Franz Koglmann explored new music, the Galerie Krinzinger in Innsbruck initiated a project discussing a new concept of art (including performance, social and media-art) and the Modern Art Galerie in Vienna went into organising an international event on 'Sound as a medium for visual arts' (Audio Scene '79).

The saleable objects of the New Painting and New Sculpture of the early 80ies catapulted these galleries back into a more commercial orientation, but a new generation of painters and sculptors found sound/music (and radio) still very interesting and attractive and media-artists of varied orientations and backgrounds had no difficulties at all in juggling every kind of available medium.

In 1979 the Ars Electronica Festival was founded in Linz.

Access to the communication media remained an issue among artists using new media: in 1984 at an international symposium and exhibition on "Art & Massmedia" in Vienna Austrian artists and their international colleagues demanded more access to the broadcast media.