I really cannot believe that the BBC management think that axing 6Music is a good idea.
It is the one BBC station that regularly plays new and interesting music. It is the spiritual home for those of us who grew up with John Peel, Whispering Bob Harris and Annie Nightingale back in the 1970s.
R1 is rubbish and R2 is mainly rubbish except for a few decent evening shows. Where is the diverse stuff, the underground, the word-of-mouth things and the alternate music that doesn’t have a home anywhere else?
There are plenty of us who are not interested in chart rubbish or AOR Golden Oldie playlists, why is “our” station getting the chop?
I wake up to 6Music. There isn’t an alternative. I am never going to listen to the insufferable Fatty Moyles or Mrs Daily Mail Personified Sarah Kennedy (I really really really hate Sarah Kennedy), so what else do I listen to?
Commercial radio? No thanks. I don’t want inane adverts, chart rubbish playlists and moronic DJs and phone-in dullards.
If the BBC wants to axe crap – get rid of BBC3.
While they are at it, they can cut back on moronic “reality” TV programmes too.
Just save 6Music. It isn’t like it costs much.
Of course, they won’t save it.
The BBC is running scared of Rupert Murdoch and wants to concentrate on safe, dull, boring light entertainment to keep up a big audience.
Music lovers don’t amount to much. What we want doesn’t matter, just chasing the ratings.
I have written to complain to the BBC Trust and joined the Facebook group.
If you want to complain here are a couple of email addresses;
srconsultation@bbc.co.uk
trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk
What do other people think about this?
12 comments:
Totally agree.
Totally agree.
Just discovering 6 myself. I had no idea it was this good. It reminded me of the old GLR which I loved too. I'll be sorry to see it go.
I mentioned this the other day on the RR blog and got quite a bit of response. I've joined a Facebook "Save Radio 6" group.
As you say, axe the crap like "Casualty", "Holby City" etc. Who said the BBC has to have winning programmes? I thought part of its remit was to cater for minority tastes.
I'm pretty teed off about The Asian Network too. Heard some good music on there from time to time.
I've only started listening to Radio 6 yesterday after hearing the news, determined not to miss out (I only found out who John Peel was after he died). It's disappointing really to see the BBC taking decisions like this, being a big wimp basically.
Both of these stations serve a section of the public which is otherwise not really represented so for the Beeb to withdraw them means another step on the way to a serious homogenisation-lowest-common-deniminator-dumbed-down state where all we have is Chris Moyles and his ilk shoving shit at those who can bear to listen. I recommend people check out the following while they still can:
* Bhangra Mixtape with Sonny Ji - saturdays at 8 p.m. so if you are staying in it's a great alternative soundtrack - not all great but there will always be some gems...
* Electro East- DJ Fresh plays some wicked stuff in this show (if you like Drum n Bass that is...)Sundays at Midnight
* Forget the Farchers on radio 4 - "Silver Street" is great fun and has an Omnibus every sunday at 5 p.m.
Radio 6 only pulls me in with things like Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service (though I wish he'd pronounce 'Kraftwerk' properly...)and Don Letts' awesome show BUT...we should be DEFENDING diversity NOT cutting back - get RID OF BBC1 if anything...or maybe sack some of the managers creaming of the license fees.
Rant over. Apologies.
The Asian Network does carry some excellent programming but i have a lot of sympathy for the various commercial groups providing radio services to the same communities who say their progress was put back years by the BBC coming in, poaching their best staff and presenters and taking over a significant proportion of the market. It's a higher-quality offering, for sure, though.
6 Music doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. In terms of daytime broadcasting, it started out as a strongly independent station in the tradition of the old GLR and XFM (when it was going through its licensing phase). Alas, it has ended up far too similar to current-day XFM and, to some degree, Radio 1. An A-list with Ellie Goulding, Marina and the Diamonds, Mumford & Sons, Jimi Hendrix, Delphic, Gorillaz, Groove Armada, Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend doesn't exactly do a great deal not already being offered elsewhere.
It's in the evening shows that the spirit of Peel lives on. If that could be extended to the whole schedule, on a radically-reduced budget, we'd have something i think would be unquestionably unique and important.
I'd hate to see either of them being cut though. It's a cheap political gesture. If they want to reduce costs, they should bite the bullet and admit BBC3 was an expensive mistake.
The following suggestions are from another Guardian blogger:
1. Start listening to 6Music using the IPlayer.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/playlive/bbc_6music/
Leave it on for as long as possible on as many computers as possible. Get your friends to do the same.
2. Fill in the consultation (but wait until activity settles down as it crashed on me half an hour ago).
https://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/departments/bbc/bbc-strategy-review/consultation/consult_view
3. Write a short note to the trust objecting to the proposal: trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk
4. Sign up to the Facebook save 6Music group
5. Sign the petition (already nearly 30,000 strong)
6. Sign up to the last.fm radio 6 listener's group
7. Tell everyone you know to protest, too
mnemonic-thanks for the tip on Last.fm group gives an american a shot at a listen. also in today's Guardian Lilly Allen has joined your cause. Nice letter on the music page.
I only bought a digital radio because of 6Music and despite not listening to it as much since Andrew Collins went away (he's back again at the moment), it is the only station which plays things I want to hear more than things I don't want to hear.
I'm a member of the facebook group, signed the petition and will do the consultation too. I think it's a great shame that two stations that offer something different are under threat, especially as this publicity (the most 6Music has ever had) will lead to more listeners discovering the excellent shows like the Freak Zone and DJs like Gideon Coe, Andrew Collins and many others there.
Classic Carole rant.
Perhaps we should organize a boycott?
Should be saved, it's good - reminds me of Radio Caroline and listening to / discovering new music through the Radio when I was young. I owe most of my musical taste to Radio.
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