The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #103574 Message #2112239
Posted By: GUEST
26-Jul-07 - 08:36 PM
Thread Name: Lack of Folk Music on BBC - thoughts
Subject: RE: Lack of Folk Music on BBC - thoughts
Folk music was swept off local radio for a very good reason - folkies only tuned in for that particular hour and then switched off. My local radio station boss (Manchester) says that the schedule lacked continuity and coherence when it pigeon-holed particular interests. He promised to put folk, gardening, Irish, Asian, Polish, gay and lesbian stuff into the mainstream. Well that hasn't happened yet.
I can understand his point of view - he wants a loyal constituency that tunes in regularly. The frustrating thing for listeners is that there is nothing we can do about the BBC's impenetrable denseness in thinking we are a small group of beardy weirdies.
It will take something like the Classic FM model (the station that tapped into the classical music lovers who could not bear the patrician Radio 3,) to shake the almighty Radio 2 from its perch.
Because that's where folk, roots and traditional music belongs: Eliza Carthy beside the superlative Amy Winehouse, the scottish trio Lau rubbing shoulders with Muse and the rest.