I don't know how it worked in Germany but in the Netherlands the government had a monopoly on broadcasting. Their public radio stations did not play rock and roll and was not in tune with "youth culture".
Rock'n'roll yes. Youth culture seems harder for me to say anything about, because that can mean a wide range, attitude towards drugs etc. But popular music young people dance to, for sure. You remember Neue Deutsche Welle, right?
Dunno if they were "in tune" though, maybe I'm too literal, because in my mind, anything, even the coolest stuff, that was made by adults and/or legal was not the stuff. Actual youth culture can only happen among the youth, if you know what I mean, so there's at least always this lag.