Urban Music

Posted By admin on March 2, 2010

BBC 6 Music and Asian Network are facing closure, Mark Thompson,
director general of the corporation, has said.
Speaking to staff, Mr Thompson also announced that half of the websites
on BBC online will close by 2013.
Among the closures will be teen services Switch and Blast, with Mr
Thompson admitting Channel 4 should lead the way with these audiences.
The strategy review has now been submitted to the BBC Trust and a
public consultation period will take place.
Mr Thompson pledged that in the future 90p of every licence fee £1 will
be spent on programming and that the corporation would spend 25% less
on BBC online.
As a result of the changes Mr Thompson said he expected the plans would
see an extra £600m ($893m) diverted into programme-making.
Radio 2 needed to “sharpen its distinctiveness in its range of music
and speech” and while the quality of local radio should be increased,
he proposed sharing more programmes across outlets during off-peak
periods.
During the briefing Mr Thompson said the earliest 6 Music and Asian
Network would close would be by the end of 2011.
It was reported on Friday that the two digital stations would be
closed, after the report was leaked to The Times.
The newspaper claimed the measures were due to be made public next
month.
Following the leaks, the BBC was heavily criticised by music industry
figures, with the heads of the British Phonographic Institute and the
Association of Independent Music saying they were “surprised and
alarmed” by the reports.
Comedian and DJ Phill Jupitus described the potential axing of 6 Music
as “an act of cultural vandalism”.
Music producer and musician Mark Ronson told BBC Radio 5 live that he
was “definitely joining the petition” to keep 6 Music on air.
He added: ” It would be a bad thing if it closed down. It’s great old
music, it’s great new bands. People on that station love music.”
BBC Worldwide will continue its mission to relieve pressure on the
licence fee payer through complementary commercial activities.
It will also move to a more international focus, deriving at least two
-thirds of its revenue from outside the UK by 2015.
There are also plans to move away from “physical media” which includes
magazines in the UK.
During Tuesday’s briefing, Mr Thompson said the report was about
“putting quality first”.

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