I’ve tried to keep my feelings of a political slant off TBW recently no matter how much actions the music industry and Google in the continuing #musicblogocide2k10 or the BBC’s plans to close 6 Music annoy me, but with a free gig being offered for everyone to show their support for 6 Music now might be a good time to start…

6 Music is, in my mind at least, exactly what this so called digital revolution with more space for radio stations was supposed to be for. They have taken the ideas and aims behind the late great John Peel‘s radio show and turned that into an entire station, helping struggling artists and unsigned bands get a leg up towards wider recognition. It has become a fantastic breeding ground for new musical talent, and helps foster and channel those talents so that the wider listening public will get to hear new music.

Radio 1 and Radio 2 cater to a wider listening audience and serve their purposes well, but they don’t foster grass roots talent – that is not their objective and never really as been outside of a few shows such as that of Huw Stephens and a couple of others. I don’t mean to insult Huw at all – he does an excellent job of scoping new talent, but his is just one show whilst 6 Music is a whole station. So where do the bands come from before they get the mainstream media attention, a record deal and onto the playlists of Radio 1 or 2 depending on their audience demographic? That is where 6 Music sits, as the first baby steps of exposure for new bands.

Yes, before 6 Music was launched bands had to find other ways to scramble into mainstream playlists and some found fame, but so much good music was never heard as bands never got that lucky break. And that was it, luck had a good part to do with getting discovered. 6 Music is one of the reasons that the current musical landscape is so exciting, with new coming to mainstream attention more quickly. Yes blogs (possibly like this one…) are another reason, and we’d all like to claim a role in the launch of a few careers, but the BBC has the infrastructure and access to the public consciousness that no other media entity can compare to, and using that power to foster new talent is what I see as one of the primary roles of the BBC. In their Mission Statement, the BBC claim “creativity is our lifeblood” – well this is where that comes from. The BBC = talent (not U2!), and 6 Music is where that talent gets discovered.

As Matthew over at Song, by Toad put so eloquently “Radio One is what is already happening, and Radio Two is what was never happening.  These stations are entirely dominated by the finished article, but who is going to finish that article for them?  In the absence of 6Music there will be the shiny, professional mainstream at one end, and tiny DIY enterprises like this one at the other, and absolutely not a single bloody thing inbetween.”

Mark Thomson (BBC Director General) claims that 6 Music overlaps too much with commercial stations. Really? Can someone, anyone point me to a commercial station that covers such a wide variety of musical styles and tastes? Or one that puts quite so much effort into scoping new talent? Yes Xfm offers some good indie and alternative playlists and some of the artists may not have a mass following yet, but that would conflict more with Zane Lowe’s show on Radio 1 than anything on 6 Music.  If you want commercial overlap look at both radio 1 and Radio 2, I’m quite happy with them and the BBC doesn’t seem to want to change them, but between them the majority of their shows overlap with almost every commercial station in the UK from Absolute Radio to Capital FM. The Beeb has never pussy footed around the commercial sector, and just because Murdoch’s son has started whining because he can’t monetise parts of his media empire does not mean now is a time to start. And even if it was, 6 Music is not what the BBC’s commercial competitors are complaining about.

What can you do about this?

Most importantly listen to 6Music and appreciate what they do
(no-one likes those who fight for a cause because they read about it in the paper and thinks they should… *ahem* Daily Mail readers *ahem*)

Social Media and Online support
Sign the petitions at Petition FM and Go Petition
Join the Save BBC 6Music Facebook Group
Fill in this BBC Strategy Review consultation form and email them to make sure they know your thoughts.

Show your support in person

There is a free gig in support of 6 Music at 93 Feet East on May 4th showcasing some of the fantastic talent 6Music has nurtured over the years including Ian McNabb (Icicle Works), Goldheart Assembly, I Like Trains, RedTrack, We Rock Like Girls Don’t, Shabby Rogue, Isa & The Filthy Tongues, and Alexander Price.
Bands are on from 18.30.

In a band?

Do some busking in front of the BBC Broadcasting House. Record it and upload the video to Youtube and post the video to the Facebook group

(Thank you to Love 6 Music for the pictures from the protest)