Friday 26 February 2010

Save 6Music

We cannot let 6music go without a damn good fight. Seriously.
As a board member of AIM< the assoc of independent music blah blah>, i am sure this will be immediately put on the urgent agenda and i hope some high level discussions can take place asap. there is no doubt in my mind that this will cripple an already ailing sector of our music industry. radio 1 in the 80s and 90s was partially, through peel able to cater for those with tastes outside the mainstream but since 2000, the AMOUNT of new music that is released, available, every day is staggering, and 6Music does an absolutely brilliant job of catering for the vast number of people who listen and enjoy it.

If one had a gripe about 6music it would simply be that the BBC have NOT invested enough thought in promoting the station heavily enough. A six month blast of 6music ads on BBC1 television peak time and through the evening, would soon redress that, and i cannot work out why they wouldnt do that/havent done that. My bands like fleet foxes, midlake etc, would NOT have reached the ears of the radio 1 and radio 2 producers without the early championing by the likes of marc riley, tom robinson, steve lamacq, lauren laverne etc...we are so lucky in the UK to have 6 music and believe me, as many of my bands are American, i know that with 6Music, we are the envy of them. The US radio system, NPR besides, is atrocious, and to hear the news today/last night, should it be confirmed, is staggering. I really didnt sleep so well last night. 6Music is not something that would EVER work in the commercial radio sector, so that excuse really is hogwash. The only stations most of us seem to listen to on our DABs are 5live and 6music, (radio 4, 2 and 7 to a degree) and for all those people that dont want to hear wall to wall pop music and dance music on radio 1, to scrap this unique station is simply ludicrous. Apart from the obvious glaring anomalies like george lamb's show, the programming is brilliant and the dj's are a delight, collins, jarvis, garvey, maconie, nemone, shaun keveney, gideon coe and the others mentioned and more. I, for one, fear greatly for our culture if 6music goes. It suggests that the powers that be, do support the dumbing down of our media output. It suggests that the BBC is no longer a voice of intergrity, diversity and no longer truly reflects all corners of the society it purports to represents.
Sky tv had very low audience for several years in the early days and now most households have a sky box or equivalent service. you have to commit to something for the long haul, not just rip it up and pretend it doesnt matter. If the BBC needs to become leaner, reduce the amount of people who had to go to vancouver to cover the winter olympics. we all want to see it but i dont think we needed to have live coverage every night from 12am-7am did we? 6Music supporting music is the BBC investing in the ailing music industry. To abandon it right now, would be treason.

8 comments:

  1. Absolutely agree. I hope there are enough people who feel the same way and are willing to act/petition/complain to save 6music, and the campaign is co-ordinated in such a way to make a difference and show the depth of feeling.

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  2. Hi Bella, I also completely agree- I support the BBC in great part precisely because of their radio output- specifically for me Radio 4, BBC 6 and parts of 5- and although it's not for me 3 seems to do for it's audience very well. British radio is amazing and it's because of the BBC. They should treasure their heritage and the support they have. Sometime soon there is going to be a crunch at the BBC and people will want to save it because the radio is part of their lives- not because they really enjoyed the last season of Mad Men (though I did and do).

    I don't really know about costs but in the grand scheme of things I don't think the savings on 6 will make a great difference compared to the effect it will have on new music and also those who have come to love this station.

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  3. 6Music's audience may be (relatively) small but I wouldn't underestimate its passion, strength and eloquence. As the BBC may be about to find out...

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  4. oh for gods sake - listen to nme radio and stop whinging

    i bet 90% of the people moaning dont actually listen in the first place

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  5. Well said... I worry for independent music if this goes ahead, as it's another promotional stream for emerging musicians cut off in an increasingly difficult industry. 6Music's audience may be small, but it's vital to gaining exposure for up and coming artists.

    Matt

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  6. i do listen to nme radio, alot. and i aint whingeing. and i've been to ibiza rocks. i think your post is incorrect, i would say 100% of the people posting messages, care alot...i have 6music on at home but of course i dont spend all day listening to it cos i work but that was not my point. my bands go in to 6 music every week and it's a great station that we should embrace not dismiss so inadequately...nme radio has improved out of all recognition and i hope it continues to do so, it has my support and should have a better audience than it does..

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  7. 6Music is the only reason for me to have a radio.

    Stuart Maconie's 'FreakZone' show - that show must be unique, nothing like that anywhere. Jarvis Cocker's new show is very good indeed. I could just list all the things I like about the station, but since that covers everything except G****e L**b, I won't.

    I suspect they're going to axe it anyway, regardless of facebook campaigns etc.

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  8. I am portuguese and I know that my opinion probably doesn't matter that much to you all because I can't listen to that radio station here, but the fact is if things are like Simon says (and I really believe so), 6Music is a "maternity hospital" of innovative great bands, the ones that can go against the market rules and get bigger day by day. So, if you close this world's important "maternity hospital" the world's music scenary will start to get old, boring and unimaginative.
    About 2 weeks ago I was so glad about the fact that when I arrived the venue where i use to go with my friends I heard them talking about Midlake. The town where I live has 40.000 people and to realize that there were other people who were in love with the same non mainstream band that I am, was something magical, and this is something that is only possible thanks to the radios and people who do this wonderfull job of somehow making these bands be heard all over the world.

    I'm with you!

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