Folk festivals on the radio

Subject: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 12:35 PM

Hello all.

Just trying to get some feedback on whether there is a demand to hear performances from festivals on the radio?

I relaise that BBC Radio 2 cover Cambridge Folk Festival, but there doesnt seem to be any coverage of smaller festivals even on local radio stations.

I personally think that the talent thats out there within the folk scene, would make excellent airplay especially when captured live at some of the superb festivals that are in abundance throughout the country.

What do you guys think?

Thanks

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Leadfingers
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 04:16 PM

Its hard enough getting a mention in the local paper , let alone on radio

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 05:58 PM

I find it such a shame that local radio and press, cant see the value in some of these fabulous festivals.

I am actually a freelance outside broadcast engineer and I run my own sound mobile based on the Wirral. As a consequence of my location I get a lot of work from over the border in Wales for BBC radio Cymru and BBC radio Wales. These guys have got the right idea by putting on small local festivals and putting them on the radio.
I have recorded and mixed live many welsh acts ranging from kids in a school band to the likes of Seth Lakeman and Kate Rusby at Sesiwn Fawr in Dolgellau. There is no discrimination in the quality of the acts, just that they were playing in Wales and they all deserved some airplay.

Over the years I have contacted many folk festivals and their local radio stations to suggest some quality airplay but generally there seems to be little interest in doing this.

My frustration with this is that its obvious there is some fantastic talent just dying to receive live airplay at virtually every folk festival in the country and I personally think they deserve to be supported by their local radio station.

My big question to all you folk fans is, would you listen to your local festival if it was on your local radio station?

Cheers

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Bernard
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 06:07 PM

Well, Saddleworth Festival had three live broadcasts on Oldham Community Radio both last year and this year from the Festival Café in the Civic Hall, Uppermill.

An hour on Friday evening, and an hour on Saturday and Sunday lunchtimes. We interviewed the headliners and a few others, and played tracks. It wasn't practical to do any live performances, but maybe next year...!

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: peregrina
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 06:15 PM

radio coverage of ffs? Yes please.

The NPR transmission and archive from Newport this year was excellent. Everything available live via internet (which is entirely different from edited highlights a week or more later) plus an extensive range of archived sets.

And the simultaneous international chat during the finale created an entirely new level of virtual/actual effervescence and bonding.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Leadfingers
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 06:35 PM

Even if you were AT the festival , it would be nice to hear recorded extracts of events you had missed because you were at a different bit !!

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 06:39 PM

Great to hear that Bernard! In fact I remember you doing that last year as Elbow Jane (for who I do their live sound) were interviewd by Ali. Fantastic to know youre still doing it and if you need any help to do some live performances for airplay next year, I would be more than happy to help.

All the best to you and everyone at Saddleworth.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Bernard
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 07:20 PM

Thanks, Richard. Maybe we will do some recordings for later use next year as well. The tricky bit is permission from the artistes concerned, as they understandably would want to know what we were using, which we wouldn't know until after we've listened to it ourselves!

Anyway, the second broadcast of Ted Edwards' new Peterloo musical has just finished airing, so our gradual takeover of the station is coming on nicely...!!

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: John J
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 07:39 PM

Radio Shropshire cover Shrewsbury Festival - I've spotted their OB van.

JJ

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Bernard
Date: 16 Aug 09 - 07:49 PM

Broadside Outcasts, eh?!

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Mr Happy
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 03:45 AM

.........or even cover some regular Folk Clubs, sinarounds, seshes etc?

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 04:35 AM

Yep, broadcasting rites are a complicated business Bernard, and especially for the BBC, contracts have to be signed and often payment to the artist or artist management have to be made. This seems to be the major stumbling block as most local BBC radio stations dont have a budget for this.

John J, youre quite right that BBC Radio Shropshire do cover Shrewsbury FF, but as far as Im aware, they only do interviews and the odd impromptu session from the artistes they are interviewing. There is no actual airplay from the concert itself. I actually approached BBC Shropshire this year with regards to some airtime from the main marquee at SFF and offered my services for free to capture some live performances, and suggested to them to maybe instead of the impromptu session from the people they were interviewing, they could actually hear their live performance from the festival marquee. This idea was positively received as BBC dont really have the facility to do this without calling in extra BBC resources. Unfortunately I think the whole broadcasting rites thing came into play again and we had to call it off.

Shrewsbury FF are definately a forward thinking festival though and they have decided to broadcast video from the main marquee on the internet and as far as I can see, have negotiated broadcasting rites
with the artists themselves.

I personally think that this is the way other folk festivals should go, but maybe instead of broadcasting on the internet, take the initiative to sort everything out themselves and present their local BBC radio station with a fully sorted package so they can air without any worries of broadcasting rites.

I way be a little out there on this one, but I do think its along the right lines.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Folkiedave
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 08:05 AM

I have a radio show and whilst we haven't the facilities to broadcast live I have covered Shepley, Gate to Southwell, Warwick, Sidmouth etc from the studio.

This week I covered Whitby with an interview with Barry Evans and a whole two hours of tracks from artists who are appearing.

Most weeks I post a playlist on here at "Thank Godness It's Folk".

thread.cfm?threadid=110008#2700452

Includes a rare track by "Shagpile".

Dave

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 08:46 AM

Hi Dave,
Do you think there is any mileage in broadcasting live performances from folk festivals? Or am I barking up the wrong tree? Do you think that it matters to your listeners?

Would be interested to hear your views on this, being in the business as such!

Thanks

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Susan of DT
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 09:26 AM

Some American festivals are broadcast. I know Mystic is broadcast live, but don't know whether they archive it and make it available on the web for later listening. Champlain has a radio station sponsor, I think, but I don't know whether they broadcast it. Other catters know more about this than I do.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Graham Bradshaw
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:08 AM

This can be a bit of a minefield.
When I used to do my folk radio show between 1983-1993 on Mercia FM in Coventry, the radio station used to sponsor Warwick Folk Festival. As I was also doing the sound for the festival, I used to record all the main stage performances (I still have all those tapes - must go through them some time!), and much of this material was used in a couple of 'festival specials' each year. We even did a live broadcast one year of Show of Hands.

Normally, permission would need to be sought from each artist, and an appropriate fee paid, but we got round this by the festival including a clause in the artists' contracts along the lines of "your performance may be recorded for broadcast on the local radio station and the agreed fee includes the rights to broadcast". Obviously, the station paid the normal PRS royalties.

We never had any problem - it's OK if you are upfront about it.

We also did Cropredy one year, where we sponsored the festival in return for being able to use the recordings (still got those as well!!).

We've even released some of this stuff (in collaboration with the artists, of course). Most notable being Gordon Giltrap's "On a Summer's Night", which became his biggest selling album at the time.

Mercia was/is a commercial station - you wouldn't get them doing something like that these days!

The BBC tend to need to do everything by the book, whereas we were able to come up with an informal arrangement that worked to everybody's benefit.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Rich A
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:33 AM

Simon Mayo's show on BBC 5 live came live from Cropredy last Friday. Very entertaining show, you could hear the main stage in the background and they did interviews with some artists. I think it's still on iplayer/replay.

Rich

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Mr Red
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:41 AM

As an alternative to records I am all for it. However trying to make a Festival exciting takes a lot of skill and there are pitfalls. Singarounds can be boring on telly and those that haven't put the effort into being there would soon loose interest. Stage performances can work.

But by and large Festivals are about being there and radio and TV are about passive consumption. To make it work you have to admit these facts. And they would be mostly different audiences.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Mr Red
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:44 AM

Dance music would not work so well - it is for dancing. Listening is very secondary and yes there is a difference.

We dance to what evidently is listening music occasionally and it does not do it for the feet.

I think the main thing for radio is the right level of variety and cadence.

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Folkiedave
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:45 AM

I think the answer to Richard is complicated. The audience for folk music isn't huge - though I would argue it is a chicken and egg situation - more on radio = more audience.

Once the commercial stations no longer had to provide "community" content then it was just about the first thing to be dropped.

BBC local radio has no such excuse - and its track record on folk music is appalling. Programmes closed or amalgamated at Sheffield, Hull, Newcastle etc etc. Radio Sheffield ran a website page citing Sheffield as a centre of folk music in the UK (and so it is!!) but they still couldn't be bothered putting a programme on. I wrote to them about this. They dropped the webpage.

Recently a folk artist went to a lot of trouble for a two minute interview in Sheffield and then he was followed by Martha and the Vandellas, they couldn't even be bothered to play his music.

If the event is large then it could be covered (BBC Coventry+Warwick was covering this year's Warwick, and BBC Leeds covered Shepley. But generally they use people who haven't really got a clue what they are talikng about when it comes to folk music.

Comes down off horse.

It depends on the event. Cambridge gets huge coverage because it is a big event and the BBC puts money (I think) into it. If Sheffield (and Radio Sheffield did sponsor a festival at one time) had a huge festival then there would be mileage in it. But generally speaking they would point to a small putative audience and not bother.

HTH

Dave

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 10:47 AM

Now thats what I call common sense Graham! If only it worked like that now! Then again, I would say that more than 80% of folkartists would be more than happy to just have the opportunity to get there music some more airplay cos there is precious little of it in the first place.

Rich A, I also listened to the radio 5live broadcast last night on the iplayer and was really disappointed when I realised that there was not going to be any music from the stage, only the usual interviews and small session stuff. Youd think that a big station like Radio 5 could fork out for a decent OB facility to do it properly!

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: Bernard
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 12:09 PM

Yes, BBC radio's track record is appalling, which is why Ali O'Brien's 'Sounds of Folk' is now on Oldham Community Radio!

We lasted three years on BBC GMR, then 'they' renamed the station back to BBC Radio Manchester (which was what it was before they renamed it GMR!), and ditched everything Manchester off it, including our programme.

Tune in tonight (Monday) at 7.00pm on Oldham Community Radio 99.7fm, or online, or catch the repeat on Friday a 7.00pm - which we didn't get on the Beeb! 'Listen again' isn't yet available, sadly - apart from the repeat, o'course!

Subject: RE: Folk festivals on the radio
From: GUEST,Richard Harrison
Date: 17 Aug 09 - 03:01 PM

Sorry Dave, didnt mean to ignore your comments. So what I think youre saying from your post is that its only the big festivals (Shrewsbury, Sidmouth, Warwick, Cropredy etc) that would probably get the listeners.