BBC 6 Music

BBC Radio 6 Music
Broadcast area United Kingdom – Nationally via Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)
Frequency DAB: 12B
Freeview: 707
Freesat: 707
Sky: 0120
Virgin Media: 909
TalkTalk TV: 632
UPC Ireland: 912
First air date 11 March 2002
Format Classic rock
Alternative rock
Indie rock
Funk
Jazz
Hip hop
Audience share 1.0% (March 2011, [1])
Owner BBC
Webcast WMA
Website bbc.co.uk/6music

BBC Radio 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations. It was known officially as BBC 6 Music from its launch on 11 March 2002 until April 2011.[1] 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years.[2]

It is available only on digital media: DAB radio, the Internet, digital television, and in northern Europe through the Astra 2A satellite. The station plays "alternative" genres of music, including indie (which includes indie pop, indie folk, indietronica, shoegaze, post-punk, goth rock, garage rock revival, grunge & brit pop etc.), wonky pop, classic rock, cock rock, punk, funk, Jamaican music, blues, folk rock, soul music, jazz, trip hop, hip hop, classic dance, krautrock & art rock. It is claimed to be an alternative to the mainstream chart oriented Radio 1 and Radio 2. It operates a playlist of similar 'A/B/C' structure to Radio 1.[3][4]In actuality it regularly shares selective tracks on its 'A' playlist with radio 1's 'A' list (& other tracks played on mainstream stations that have a high play), although less reliant upon than the more mainstream stations.

6 Music features BBC music archives (including the "Peel Sessions" put together by John Peel from the late 1960s to his death).

In July 2010 the BBC Trust announced it had rejected a proposal by the BBC to close 6 Music in order to provide commercial rivals more room.[5] The Trust commented that the station was "well-liked by its listeners, was highly distinctive and made an important contribution."[6] In the second quarter of 2010, 6 Music was reported to be the most listened to BBC digital radio station with an average weekly audience of 1.194 million.[7]

Contents

History

BBC 6 Music was proposed in October 2000 as a "digital-only" radio station and named "Network Y".[8][9][10][11] ("Network X" became BBC 1Xtra and "Network Z" BBC 7).[12]

The station opened at 7 am, Monday, 11 March 2002, with a show presented by Phill Jupitus. At the start-up, presenters included Liz Kershaw, Andrew Collins, Tom Robinson, Gideon Coe, Janice Long, Chris Hawkins, Gary Burton, Craig Charles, Stuart Maconie, Brinsley Forde, Suggs, Clare McDonnell, Bruce Dickinson, Tracey MacLeod, Sean Hughes, and Bob Harris.[13]

6 Music attracted criticism for changing daytime schedules during late 2007 and early 2008.[14][15] In response, Lesley Douglas, Controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music at the time, said that the changes were intended to attract more female listeners. She claimed that men listened to music in an intellectual way while women were more emotionally attached. This in turn brought on more criticism of perceived sexism on Douglas' part.[16]

In March 2006, BBC 6 Music moved from Broadcasting House to new studios in the adjacent Western House.[17]

Proposed closure

In February 2010, in anticipation of a review by the BBC Trust, newspaper reports suggested 6 Music might be axed.[18] The review stopped short of recommending closure but noted that only one in five UK residents were aware the station existed, and that it lacked presenters with credibility as music experts.[19] The Times claimed that Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, proposed closure as part of a bid to scale back BBC operations and allow commercial rivals more room.[20] A high profile campaign to oppose closure of the station attracted media attention and led to "#SaveBBC6Music" quickly becoming a trending topic on Twitter. A Facebook group set up to oppose the proposed closure gained nearly 180,000 members.[21]

The Sunday Times reported that following the public outcry over the proposed closure, 6 Music would be rebranded as Radio 2 Extra, retaining a similar playlist but broadcasting for only 12 hours a day[22] but Tim Davie, head of audio and music at the BBC, denied this was a possibility.[23]

Five months after rumours of closure first emerged, the BBC Trust announced that it was not convinced by the BBC Executive's plans and that the station would not be closed.[24][25][26]

In the first quarter of 2011 some BBC radio services, including 6 Music, were part of an efficiency review conducted by John Myers.[27] His role, according to Andrew Harrison, the chief executive of RadioCentre, was "to identify both areas of best practice and possible savings."[27] The Telegraph suggested that this was due to 'commercial sector criticism'[27] whist The Guardian cited an National Audit Office report.[28]

Nominations and awards

Several of BBC 6 Music's presenters and shows have won Sony Radio Academy Awards. In 2006 presenter Marc Riley won a Silver award for The Music Radio Personality of the Year.[29] In April 2008, comedy duo Adam and Joe's 6 Music Saturday morning show won the Broadcasting Press Guild award for Radio Programme of the Year.[30] George Lamb also won the Sony 'Rising Star' award. In May 2009, Adam and Joe won three Sony Radio Silver awards.[31]

Following the announcement that 6 Music was to be closed, Adam and Joe won the best comedy prize at the Sony Awards in May 2010, with Jarvis Cocker winning the rising star award, voted for by listeners, for their 6 Music shows.[32]

Ratings and listenership

In February 2010, 6 Music was reported as showing growth in its audience, winning an audience of 695,000 listeners, up 12.3% year-on-year.[33] However, in the quarter to December 2009, its 'reach' (proportion of the adult population who listen for at least 5 minutes in the course of an average week) was 1%, and Total Survey Area share (of total listening time) was 0.4%.[34]

According to the BBC's service review of Radio 2 and 6 Music, published in February 2010, the average age of 6 Music listeners is 36, which it considers too low. The review implied that the deficiency in appeal to female listeners apparent in 2007 was still in existence, and that there should be changes to attract more listeners from ethnic minorities and lower income groups.[35] However, the review did not give details of the scale of these issues.

Following the proposal to close the station, online listening figures rose significantly. The number of unique online listeners rose to an average of 133,653 in March 2010, up 50 per cent on the previous March.[36] When the RAJAR listening figures were released in May 2010, it was revealed that 6 Music had an average of 1.02 million listeners in the first three months of the year, compared to 695,000 the previous year.[37]

In 2011, 6 Music had a total audience of 1.3 million listeners in the three months to March 27, up from 1.14m in the previous quarter, according to the latest data from the Radio Joint Audience Research (RAJAR) board. Buoyed by shows from high-profile DJs such as Jarvis Cocker, Huey Morgan and Lauren Laverne, 6 Music has also grown its audience from 1.02m in the first quarter of 2010.[38]

Press coverage

In 2007 BBC 6 Music was in the press because of scandals over rigged competitions. It emerged that in 2006 the Liz Kershaw Show faked a competition by using producers and their friends as 'competition winners', leading to the firing of a junior producer.[39] On 20 September 2007, it was announced that the Head of Programmes, Ric Blaxill, had resigned.[40]

In May 2008 George Lamb was reprimanded for using his programme to back Conservative candidate Boris Johnson for London mayor.[41]

Station management

Presenters and shows

Current

Past

See also

Notes

  1. ^ BBC, "BBC Radio 6 Music Programmes - Radcliffe and Maconie, With Guy Garvey, Cerys Matthews and Jarvis Cocker", 4 April 2011, retrieved 15 December 2011.
  2. ^ BBC 6 Music pre-release website – archived website from 15 Feb 2002. "Stand by for the BBC's first new national music radio station in 32 years"
  3. ^ "Radio 1 playlist". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/playlist/. 
  4. ^ "6 Music playlist". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/listen/playlist.shtml. 
  5. ^ "BBC 6 Music and Asian Network face axe in shake-up". BBC News. 2 March 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8544150.stm. Retrieved 2 March 2010. 
  6. ^ BBC Trust Strategic Review Interim Conclusions Retrieved 5 July 2010
  7. ^ "BBC 6 Music's audience rises again" The Guardian 5 August 2010 Retrieved 5 August 2010
  8. ^ BBC, "Launch date for BBC digital radio", 17 January 2002.
  9. ^ Jane Robins (19 January 2001). "BBC plans to spend £313m on digital radio and TV channels". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/bbc-plans-to-spend-pound313m-on-digital-radio-and-tv-channels-703005.html 
  10. ^ BBC, "BBC Proposed New Services", 2001.
  11. ^ "BBC News Release, "Licence payers consulted on new BBC radio and television services", October 2000". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 23 October 2000. http://web.archive.org/web/20001023180125/http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/news/news272.htm. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  12. ^ BBC Annual Report & Review 2000–2001. Confer section on Future Plans: Introduction & New Services.
  13. ^ "BBC 6 Music website list of presenters in 2002". Web.archive.org. 5 September 2002. Archived from the original on 5 September 2002. http://web.archive.org/web/20020905162248/www.bbc.co.uk/6music/presenters/. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  14. ^ John Plunkett (15 February 2008). "Lesley Douglas defends 6Music changes". Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/18/bbc.radio?gusrc=rss&feed=media. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  15. ^ Ro Cemm. "6Music: Leading the fight or losing its way?". Thelineofbestfit.com. http://thelineofbestfit.com/2008/02/29/6music-leading-the-fight-or-losing-its-way/. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  16. ^ Simpson, Dave (20 February 2008). "Women and men do not listen to music differently". The Guardian (London). http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/02/women_men_music.html. Retrieved 26 April 2010. 
  17. ^ "BBC site about Western House". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/about/westernhouse. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  18. ^ ""Pass notes No 2,727: BBC 6 Music. Is there any truth in the rumours that the BBC may axe 6 Music." Retrieved 22 February 2010". Guardian (London). 10 February 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/10/bbc-radio. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  19. ^ Plunkett, John (15 February 2010). ""How can Radio 2 get its older listeners back – and who should 6Music hire." Retrieved 22 February 2010". Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2010/feb/15/radio2-6music-organ-grinder. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  20. ^ Foster, Patrick (26 February 2010). "BBC signals an end to era of expansion". The Times (London). http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article7041944.ece. Retrieved 11 August 2010. 
  21. ^ Busfield, Steve (5 July 2010). "BBC 6 Music: Is its reprieve a triumph for social media?". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/organgrinder/2010/jul/05/bbc-6-music-saved. Retrieved 27 July 2010. 
  22. ^ Axed radio station BBC 6 Music returns to life The Sunday Times 11 April 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  23. ^ BBC 6 Music 'will not be rebranded as Radio 2 Extra' The Guardian 14 April 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
  24. ^ "Lyons sets out initial conclusions on future direction of the BBC". BBC Trust. 5 July 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/news/press_releases/july/strategy_review.shtml. Retrieved 5 July 2010. 
  25. ^ Robinson, James (5 July 2010). "6 Music saved from closure". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jul/05/bbc-6-music-saved. Retrieved 5 July 2010. 
  26. ^ "BBC Strategy Review: Initial Conclusions". BBC Trust. 5 July 2010. pp. 33–35. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/review_report_research/strategic_review/interim_conclusions.pdf. Retrieved 5 July 2010. 
  27. ^ a b c Andrews, Amanda (28 Nov 2010). "BBC enlists commercial sector help to shake up radio". The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8164936/BBC-enlists-commercial-sector-help-to-shake-up-radio.html. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
  28. ^ "BBC could do more to keep cost of radio shows down, says report". The Guardian. 5 February 2009. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/05/bbc-should-keep-radio-costs-down. Retrieved 20 March 2011. 
  29. ^ Sony Radio Academy Music Awards 2006
  30. ^ "1975". Broadcasting Press Guild. http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/?p=176. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  31. ^ "Adam and Joe scoop three Silvers at the Sony Radio Awards". Adamandjoe.com. http://www.adamandjoe.com/2009/05/12/adam-and-joe-scoop-three-silvers-at-the-sony-radio-awards/. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  32. ^ Plunkett, John (11 May 2010). "BBC's 6 Music and Asian Network win hat-trick at Sony radio awards". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/11/bbc-6-music-sony-radio-awards. Retrieved 11 May 2010. 
  33. ^ "Jazz FM, 6Music and Radio 7 are bright spots amid digital radio's gloom" Retrieved on 22 February 2010
  34. ^ "Quarterly Listening, All Individuals 15+ for period ending December 2009". Rajar. http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php. 
  35. ^ "Service review of Radio 2 and 6 Music". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/our_work/r2_6music/r2_6music.pdf. 
  36. ^ Plunkett, John; and agencies (30 April 2010). "BBC 6 Music's online audience soars". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/apr/30/bbc-6-music-audience-rise. Retrieved 11 May 2010. 
  37. ^ Plunkett, John (13 May 2010). "BBC 6 Music's audience rises 50%". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/may/13/bbc-6-music-chris-evans-rajars. Retrieved 13 May 2010. 
  38. ^ Laughlin, Andrew (12 May 2011). "BBC 6 Music attracts record audience". Digital Spy (London). http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/news/a319089/bbc-6-music-attracts-record-audience.html. Retrieved 11 June 2011. 
  39. ^ Andrew Pierce and Andrew Porter (20 September 2007). "BBC staff face sack in cheat inquiry". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1563617/BBC-staff-face-sack-in-cheat-inquiry.html. Retrieved 25 September 2009. 
  40. ^ "BBC 6 Music head resigns following 'serious' editorial breaches". Daily Mail (London). 20 September 2007. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=482950&in_page_id=1770. Retrieved 25 September 2009. 
  41. ^ Paul McNally (13 May 2008). "6Music's Lamb warned over Boris gaffe". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/may/13/bbc.radio1?gusrc=rss&feed=politics. Retrieved 20 May 2008. 
  42. ^ "Shennan becomes head of Radio 2", BBC News, Tuesday, 27 January 2009. "Bob Shennan has been appointed the new controller of BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music, succeeding Lesley Douglas who resigned over the Russell Brand affair."

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