BBC 6Music to be axed

Subject: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: matt milton
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 05:34 AM

The BBC is ditching the radio station 6Music. It's also losing BBC Asian Network and various other things - cutting its budgets for big imported US TV shows like Mad Men and Heroes.

Gutted about 6Music.

Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone programme played a lot of folk - broadcast a lot of old concerts and sessions from the likes of Fairports, Jansch, Davy Graham, Robbie Basho, John Fahey and others, and also played a lot of good new music like Mary Hampton, Nancy Wallace, Alasdair Roberts, among others. It's the only music radio programme I was annoyed to miss. Introduced me to a lot of new good music.

6Music also hosted Tom Robinson's Introducing show, a show based entirely on listener's recommendations of unsigned acts, the majority of them sourced from Myspace, Facebook etc. It was a mixed bag of a show, but the most democratic and wide-ranging of a radio programme you're likely to ever hear.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Hamish
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 05:37 AM

It's all my fault. It's exactly the sort of programming I ought to have listened to, but somehow I never did.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Lizzie Cornish 1
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 05:41 AM

They want to get rid of Chris Evans, and no doubt the vast salary that goes with him, and put Tom Robinson all over everywhere...He's a wonderful presenter, intelligent, passionate and really open to giving those without a voice...a very loud voice.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: melodeonboy
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 05:54 AM

Bring back Andy Kershaw! (Ten times the quality of Evans and probably about a tenth of the salary!)

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: melodeonboy
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 05:54 AM

Or am I comparing chalk and cheese?

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Howard Jones
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 07:04 AM

The problem with digital radio is that hardly anyone has the kit to listen to it - I have to use the TV or listen online, so I hardly ever bother. Most of my radio listening is done in the car, or I'll sometimes catch up with a interesting programme on iplayer.

I would avoid a show called "Freak Zone" like the plague.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 07:28 AM

The problem with digital radio is that hardly anyone has the kit to listen to it - I have to use the TV or listen online, so I hardly ever bother

Howard is spot on here. I can't receive Digital Radio where I live, and whilst I can get it online, I'd listen a lot more if I could hear it from my bed, my car, my kitchen or my bath.

I'm sorry to hear of 6 Music's demise, even if I don't get to listen.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: matt milton
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 07:30 AM

That show's title is a misnomer in many ways. In practice, it's probably the closest you could have got to what John Peel's show was like.

It covers across-the-board music; only it reflects Stuart Maconie's personal preferences for folk and prog-rock.

I agree that there's a problem of access for digital radio, and in my opinion that makes the decision to axe 6music doubly unfair: it's hard to gauge how well a station like that is really doing. Comparisons to Radio 1 or whatever just aren't like-with-like.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Leadfingers
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 07:37 AM

Matt - Sadly , a LOT of people dont want their ears battered by a load of Noise on the Off Chance of hearing an occasional gem !
Radio 2 USED to be a regular Listen for me , until Maconie and his mate were all you could hear for two hours a day five days a week !
Their Inane prattle stopped me listening , though I AM informed they DO play a fair amount of Folkie stuff .

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 07:40 AM

My problem with digital radio is that it doesn't sound as good as FM. OK the hiss and crackle is not there but the sound just isn't right.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: RamblinStu
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 08:32 AM

* It's all my fault. It's exactly the sort of programming I ought to have listened to, but somehow I never did.*

No I didn't listen either Hamish

I also agree that digital radio is not the easiest format to listen to, unless you want to carry your TV around with you. As for the internet, it has a host of great music programmes from far and wide so why do you need digital? In fact the only benefit I can see coming from digital broadcasting is to encourage people to spend more money on gadgets and build up the profits of multinational companies.

Getting back to the demise of Radio 6, I'm sure that any programmes worth their salt will find an alternative station to broadcast on, or maybe someone will just take over Radio 6 and bung adverts on it.

Stuart Pendrill

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 08:41 AM

Radio 2 USED to be a regular Listen for me , until Maconie and his mate were all you could hear for two hours a day five days a week !

Stuart Maconie, and I assume that you mean Mark Radcliffe when you refer to 'his mate' broadcast for two hours, four days a week. It's hardly taking over the schedule....

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Paco O'Barmy
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 09:28 AM

I'll miss 6 music although some of it's programmes could be hard going eg Jarvis Cocker!! Never mind, tune into Planet Rock and listen to Alice Cooper and Rick Wakeman.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Stu
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 09:30 AM

The Freak Zone is a seriously good music show. I don't listen as much as recently since I tend to listen to Late Junction but I've discovered some excellent music from The Freak Zone.

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 05:59 PM

The Freak Zone is probably the best music show on radio right now. It's about the only show I try not to miss. Six Music has some other good stuff too - Guy Garvey's show is usually worth a listen, as is Marc Riley's, and now Gideon Coe has the late night spot, he plays some interesting stuff. The other night I was listening and he had a wonderful late sixties session from Martin Carthy, not in itself so unusual, but what was a pleasure was to hear the likes of Tarry Trousers played alongside indie, post-rock, alt-country and so on rather than quarantined in some folk ghetto.

I'd not heard about this before reading this thread. Is it definite or is it something that is potentially stoppable?

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 06:16 PM

PS: I would avoid a show called "Freak Zone" like the plague

Have you any idea how prissy and pompous that sounds, Howard? Not your usual style at all. Luckily, people like Dame Shirley, who was extensively interviewed on the show a while back, would clearly disagree...

Subject: RE: BBC 6Music to be axed
From: Spleen Cringe
Date: 26 Feb 10 - 06:20 PM

Save Six Music Facebook Group