BBC - Commitment to folk music??

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: smallpiper
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 07:45 PM

Oops the alcohol has hit my typo fingers.

An additional thought occurred I wonder if it is so unpopular why one of the most popular ways of raising funds for schools etc is the Barn Dance? Just a thought

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: smallpiper
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 07:43 PM

The fact that most people don't want to hear this kind of music is not the point. The BBC's charter is about educating and entertaining. So why not educate the masses?

And if you think that the masses don't want to hear this kind of music tell me why are Irish theme pubs so popular in england with all of that piped diddly diddly music going on?

The rouble is that by and large the english are ashamed of their cultural heritage - they ridicle the morris dance basically because they don't understand it ...that is where he BBC should come in.

I also wonder just how unpopular it actually is and if more people heard it would it be more popular? - an example would be the Corrs just look how popular they were a couple of years ago, not to mention Bewitched and any of the out of Ireland pop bands that have a hint of the tradition about their music.

Don't think that because a mnority attend festivals etc that it is an unpoopular genre. I think we'd all be suprised if it had more air time.

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 07:26 PM

Listen, every country's traditional music is brilliant, and "deserving" but that doesn't mean it gets coverage in mainstream media.

How realistic is it, really, to think that mainstream media owes such a small niche listenership as folk/trad a large chunk of air time? Face it people, most people DON'T WANT TO HEAR THIS MUSIC! So it is up to those of us who love it, to find it elsewhere.

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: banjomad (inactive)
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 06:55 PM

BBCs attitude to folk and traditional music is total crap. Our traditional music and song is brilliant, it should not be tucked away
on a channel that most of us don't recieve, it should be celebrated
as our national heritage, on mainstream TV and radio.
Why in England do we celebrate St. Patricks Day and not St. Georges Day, it is all down to the media telling us what to watch and liusten to.
When will they catch on in England, our traditional music is GREAT,
let us celebrate and enjoy it.
Angry, Dave

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: smallpiper
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 06:39 PM

Then the entire world coverage is shite!

as for BBC4 well yes they are putting some programmes on but they are only available if you have the technology (at £100 a go plus the licence fee) and even then you are not guanteed to be able to recieve it as it is not available accross the whole country. I couldn't give a stuff about the commercial channels I don't pay for them (directly).

I thought this would be provocative ho di hum

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 06:03 PM

It is a helluva lot better, and more, than anything on US networks, satellite, cable, combined.

As far as I can tell, Britain has the best coverage of folk music among mass media, in the entire world.

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 03:50 PM

BBC Four does a good job. BBC 2 has bits from Cambridge Folk Festival, and that occasionally includes stuff that deserves to be termed folk. And BBC Radio 4 and sometimes 3. And probably on some regional and local BBC channels and stations. All in all the BBC is not doing too bad a job, when you look at the altrnatives

For, apart from that there's virtually nothing, in England anyway. The commertcial channels, terrestrial, cable or satellite, couldn't be less interested. (And I only say virtually because nobody could watch or listen to all of them, obviously, and it's conceivable something might have slipped through. But I doubt it. Leaving aside some local radio, and not much of that so far as I can see.)

Still, folk isn't about being a couch potato, it's about getting out and doing it live and hearing it live. Until The Day the Music Dies, which is what Kim Howells is working towards right now.

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: GUEST,Inspector Morse
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 02:39 PM

BBC 4 seems to have created a niche for itself- particularly on a Friday night. Since the beginning of the year, I've seen (repeats) of Cambridge, Martin Carthy, Christie Moore and a documentary on Nick Drake. Tonight I will mostly be taping a documentary on Richard Thompson. There are also two programmes devoted to Celtic Connections scheduled. Mainstream Radio 2 has a folk champion in Stuart Maconie -he usually includes at least one folk giant in his Critical List programme on Saturdays. And of course Johnny Walker provided our friend Ralphie with a significan chunk of programme. I make a point of emailing the Beeb every time they do something right with Folk - please do likewise to demonstrate to them that we are a market slice worth catering for.

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: Ed.
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 02:27 PM

Persoally, I think that the BBC does a pretty good job.

OK, I've paid to get BBC4 on the tele, but there are also programs that others have mentioned above. Local radio can be good depending on where you live, and much is available online via webcasts.

Given that us folkies are a pretty small minority, I reckon we do quite well for £100 a year

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: treewind
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 02:03 PM

What about Radio 3?

There's a fair amount of folk music on Late Junction though it tends to be rather world wide, and at other times of the day you sometimes get borderline stuff like 14th century troubadour music which is more folk than classical to my ears.

Anahata

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: The Shambles
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 01:23 PM

What about BBC Four?

Subject: RE: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: Deni-C
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 01:05 PM

Yep. It's near non-existent. The only time I hear folk music on the BBC is when it happens to be used as the sound track to a film or documentary, and that doesn't happen every day.

Cheers
Deni

Subject: BBC - Comitment to folk music??
From: smallpiper
Date: 07 Feb 03 - 12:38 PM

In light of the upcoming BBC folk awards (see other thread) I was wondering what others thought of the BBC's commitment to Folk Music - I personnally think it is completely crap! They give us one programme a week on radio two, show bits of the Cambridge Folk Festival, Local Radio does a bit a tiny bit and anything else is confined to the new digital chanels. Which,incidentally, a huge protion of the population can't access either because of technology requirements or there is no signal in their area.

What do you think!

BBC = Load of Cobblers!