The BBC announced this week that it’s planning to close 6 Music as part of its shake-up of services. It’s concerned to divert more money to programme-making and do less in the digital space – both digital radio (it’s planning to close the BBC Asian Network) and a large chunk of its web presence.
I can’t help feeling that these are the wrong priorities. The music industry is going through one of the toughest times it’s faced in years, with the labels cutting their artists rosters – especially among newer, emerging performers. These are precisely the kind of artists that benefit from exposure on 6 Music. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Radio 1 does a great job of promoting new music – but 6 Music has greater opportunity to give listeners exposure to those musical genres that are out of the mainstream and which need airtime to reach a larger audience. Is this worth sacrificing for yet another costume drama populated with the great and good of British acting or even the dreary ‘Waking the Dead’ which bears no comparison to great US TV police drama such as ‘The Wire’?
In the end, people who love music need to fight to keep 6 Music and its exploration of the eclectic and excellent in contemporary music, wherever that’s to be found: blog, tweet and join the Facebook Group – Save 6 Music.
