I have written many blogs in the last three years about how the senior management of the BBC are completely incompetent and how they have deliberately set about to ruin what I use dto consider the jewel in their crown, BBC Local Radio and in particular BBR Radio London, which I consider to be "my station".
The figures back me up.the total number of weekly listeners has decreased, falling from around 8.6 million in the year to March 2022 to 7.4 million this year. A google enquiry about RAJAR figures reveal the following
- BBC Radio London has experienced a decrease in the number of people tuning in, with a 13% drop in reach (the number of unique listeners).
- The total time people spend listening to the station has also decreased, with a 40% fall in listening hours.
- The BBC has implemented cost-saving measures including job cuts and newsroom sharing, which may be contributing to the decline in listenership across local stations.
- The latest figures are part of a pattern of decline for BBC Radio London, suggesting a need for the station to adapt to changing audience preferences and the competitive landscape. ""
These figures are appalling. Of course, I am sure the people who made the changes to programming will claim it's been an enormous success and it is just what they wanted, but anyone with a brain larger than a Higgs-Bosun particle will know the truth. I speak to hundreds, if not thousands of musicians every year at my studios. These people are the core of Londons music and creative scene. They all say exactly the same thing. BBC Radio London has ceased to have any artistic relavance at all to them. There was a time when the station was at the very forefront of London's music scene. DJ Gary Crowley was at the heart of the Britpop movement, championing and putting bands such as Blur and Suede on the radio and giving them a champion. Robert Elms used to be on six days a week and would have artists in most days, many doing live sessions in his studio. He was the first DJ to play Amy Winehouse. The managers, in their wisdom slashed Elms hours in half and there simply isn't time in the schedule for new artists. They also imposed a dreadful playlist on the station.
There are still talented presenters on the show, but the show formats completely neglect Arts and Music. Robert Elms does his absolute best working under the restrictions he faces, but his show worked a million times better when he had more air time. Gary Crowley is banished to an hour on Saturday Lunchtime. He plays great music, but there is simply no time in the schedule for championing new artists. The management claim that they have addressed this by having a special show dedicated to new London artists "Jess Izzat presents her BBC Music Introducing show on BBC Radio London, which airs on Saturdays from 8-9pm. The show features new music from London artists. "
This simply shows how out of touch the BBC management are with young music fans in London. The type of people who are into new music will be out at gigs at this time. If they gave Jess a two hour show, Monday to Thursday, showcasing artists, getting guests in to talk about forthcoming gigs, I might conclude they were serious, but the whole format and concept of her show is totally ridiculous. This is no reflection on Jess, who does very well in a limited time. I am not some fool simply shouting about a subject that I know nothing about. I run one of London's leading rehearsal spaces. Yesterday, we had artist such as Echobelly, Steve Monti (former drummer of Ian Dury and The Blockheads, and legendary Jazz bassist Alison Rayner amongst the 32 studio bookings we had yesterday. Of those, 24 bookings involved artists rehearsing for shows/tours etc. We are just one studio in London, there is is so much going on.
For most new artists, it is online, niche stations that are playing their music and showcasing them. DJ's such as Ian Griffiths on Rock Radio UK play all manner of up and coming artists, doing telephone interviews and giving them a good plug, but the BBC which is a taxpayer funded organisation, allegedly supposed to promote culture in the UK just doesn't seem interested, at a management level, in promoting London's arts. We are all stakeholders in BBC Radio London. We pay taxes that fund it. If they got it right, the station could be dynamic and drive London's art and cultural scene. Sadly, there is no space at all in the show briefs for that, apart from the morning and early afternoon shows at the weekend.
What is interesting is that there was a 13% fall in listeners after the changes, but a 40% fall in hours listened to. It is clear to me that people are still tuning into interesting shows such as Robert Elms and Gary Crowley, but giving much of the rest of the content a wide berth. I am all for giving new presenters a chance, but it is pretty clear that the management are for some bizarre reason dead set on content that is dull as dishwater. I find it truly bizarre that presenters such as Eddie Nestor, who is quirky, funny and feisty is not encouraged to do more arts content. Eddie has DJ'd at Madness events and would be amazing if he was given regular arts features and guests in the studio, as Robert Elms used to have, doing live sessions, talking about music. If Eddie had regular slots with new and established London artists, I think it would be great listening. But sadly, when his management read this, they won't agree, they will just reach for the BBC book of excuses as to why the changes have actually been a marvellous success.
The reason why the BBC funding and Licence fee is constantly under attack is because people like me, who love the corporation with a passion and love BBC Radio Londo are given no ammunition to hiot back at the right wing polemicists who's agenda it suits to attack the BBC and claim it is the devil incarnate. When BBC London was putting the likes of Amy Winehouse on the map, it was easy. It isn't anymore.
And I will finish this by just mentioning a little project we've been doing at Mill Hill Music Complex studios recently. We have been building a Spotify playlist of all the artisgt who have used the studios over the years. Check this out and let us know what you think. I very much doubt you'll hear any of these brilliant artists on BBC Radio London today (unless Eddie Nestor plays one just to prove me wrong).
