BBC 6 Music aims to entertain lovers of popular music with a service offering music from the 1960s to the present day. Its programmes juxtapose current releases outside the mainstream with earlier recordings, including music from the BBC Sound Archive. It provides context for the music it plays, and supports live music and new artists.
6 Music focuses on major artists and material which do not receive much support from other radio stations. It offers a wide selection of music and the work of UK artists substantially represented in its output. Tracks, sessions and concerts from the BBC archive provide an important element of the programming and the station also adds recordings of festivals, concerts and its own sessions to the archive. The station provides context to the music it plays through authoritative presentation, features and documentaries which aim to develop an increased audience understanding and appreciation. 6 Music's enthusiasm for music attracts listeners who, because of constraints of time and lifestyle, are looking for new ways to follow music development and enjoy live music.
For the year ahead, key priorities for 6 Music include:
Priority |
Rationale |
Develop further The Hub as a focus for live music, particularly from new and unsigned bands, with most being from the UK. |
By adding enhancements, such as visualisation and related content, we will develop The Hub as a physical and virtual space for audiences to more actively engage with live music. |
Develop our music news service by improving newsgathering in this country and abroad and by making it available to audiences across a range of digital platforms. |
6 Music will be the key provider of music news content within the BBC audio portfolio and will use its relationship with the music communities to provide a comprehensive service for listeners. |
Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
6 Music will reflect the evolution of popular music, through extensive use of the BBC archive.
We will support iconic artists, including those who no longer receive significant UK airplay, in a depth not matched elsewhere.
We will schedule special projects that mark important musical anniversaries, in addition to the regular BBC archive output in the Dream Ticket show and Live at Midnight. These will include marking the 30th anniversary of the first Clash album, the 20th anniversary of U2's Joshua Tree, the 50th birthday of Mark E Smith of The Fall and the 40th anniversary of Trojan Records.
We will focus on new music, particularly by UK artists and prioritising less familiar acts, and will maintain 6 Music's support for live music. We will continue to develop the last hour of Steve Lamacq's weekday shows to provide a showcase for new and unsigned music, principally from the UK and, in addition, ensure that our live events regularly have new or unsigned bands local to the area on the bill.
We will develop further the music news bulletins and features through trialling the use of user-generated content from audience members attending major UK music festivals.
Specifically this year we will:- Broadcast at least 400 hours of archive concert performances.
- Ensure that at least 50% of the music we play is more than four years old.
- Ensure that at least 15% of music broadcast is concert tracks and sessions from the BBC's music archive.
- Broadcast at least 275 new sessions.
- Contribute to BBC Radio's commitment to commission at least 10% of eligible hours of output from independent producers.
Promoting education and learning
6 Music extends the range of music available to its audiences and aims to increase understanding through the context it provides for the music it plays with regular documentary slots during the week. Programmes this year will include new essays that provide an informal learning insight into music as a social statement, including Me and the Devil: Robert Johnson and the Legacy of the Mississippi Delta Blues.
We will, as appropriate, support pan-BBC social action initiatives throughout the year ahead.
This year we will:- Feature at least 550 hours of rebroadcast and newly commissioned documentaries and essays.
Sustaining citizenship and civil society
6 Music is primarily a music station, but the schedule does offer regular bulletins of accurate and impartial news.
The context 6 Music supplies for the music it plays explores the relationship between music and society, including regular documentary slots during the week, and the 6 Music Plays It Again feature will provide context to specific anniversary and other projects.
Representing the UK's nations, regions and communities
6 Music's live music and its coverage of music festivals will reflect activity throughout the UK, and we plan to trial the use of user-generated content from audience members attending major UK music festivals. We will undertake a further series of Lamacq in the City concerts; broadcast from a selection of summer festivals including the Summer Sundae Weekender in Leicester and Glastonbury; and broadcast live from universities around the country.
6 Music will bring coverage of international music events to the UK audience, and our music news and documentaries will have an international scope. This year we will develop an increased range of overseas contributors for music news programming as well as reporting on and recording music from overseas events such as South by Southwest. We will continue to broadcast programmes from overseas, such as Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio, to increase the range of musical creativity open to our audience.
Emerging communications
6 Music is a digital radio station. It is available on DAB and via digital television, and is streamed on the internet. Some programmes are available for download after broadcast, extending the life of the programmes by making them accessible to listeners for whom a linear schedule is not convenient.
Reach: 6 Music should contribute towards the maintenance of combined BBC weekly reach for all BBC services at over 90% by aiming to increase its own weekly reach.
Quality: Audience approval of 6 Music and perceptions of it as high quality and innovative. Also, the proportion of originated programmes across all hours (including repeats).
Impact: Licence fee payer awareness of 6 Music and audience perceptions of 6 Music as engaging and challenging.
Value for money: 6 Music's cost per listener hour.