6 Music's demise makes me sad

I missed out on the pirate radio revolution of the 60s and the whole radio licence expansion fight led by Xfm and Virgin Radio back in the 90s.

However, I will always remember my first taste of 6 Music, the BBC's digital only bridge between radios 1 and 2. There was just something intangibly cool about the station. It wasn't the way they wore their indie cred on their sleeve, leaving the rubbish one hit wonders of modern pap for radio 1 and the safe somewhat twee pop for radio 2.

I always found 6 Music to be that cool older brother who always had the best records and the cool friends - someone to aspire to. Unlike Radio 1 who was this far away from an ASBO and radio 2 who'd nodded off before dinner with slippers on and pipe in hand.

6 Music would never get the listeners it's siblings got, for the main reason that DAB is still an exclusive club. Sure it's available on the net and through various television systems, but there's a LOT of entertainment competition when you're at your PC or plonked in front of your telly.

The Beeb have always been able to forge in new directions that more commercial ventures wouldn't be able to dare, and in some avenues (iPlayer) they've hit paydirt.

I still believe there's life left in 6 Music, and I tune in from time to time on my PC, as I never did get dabbed up.

If it does die, I will be saddened, as if I had my way Radio 1 would have been for the guillotine around the time of John Peel's (the last surviving reason to tune in) passing.

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File sharers spend big

Pet Shop Boys via last.fm

Does it come as a surprise to ANYONE the recent news that the most prolific music file sharers are also the most prolific spenders?

In a recent BBC news report on file sharing which discusses a recent survey conducted by MORI, it states that the average file sharer also spends an average of £77 a year on paid for music.


Is that it? In my music buying heyday, I used to trot off to Berwick Street and spend around £80 EVERY Saturday. I had some awesome stuff to show for it too - promos, bootlegs, rare deleted releases.

However, this really rings true for me. Most people who have a passing interest in anything maintain just a moderate level of interest. If you're not a diehard U2 fan, are you really going to take the time to find and visit file sharing sites, when iTunes is right there?

The problem with legit outlets like iTunes is they still don't have all the variations of a release that a fan might want. Take the Voxigen remix of "I wouldn't normally do this kind of thing" by Pet Shop Boys. I scoured the shops for months searching for this. The CD this was on was only released in Holland, and to acquire it would cost me around £40 (if I could ever find it). Of this £40, neither the label nor the band would see a penny of this. This remix has yet to show up on any legit download site.

This new news about file sharer spending further muddies the water of the cut and dry scenario bodies like the RIAA are advertising, mainly file sharing is theft, thus must be punished. I believe that enough people who actually know what they're talking about (and I don't include the RIAA) will agree that the best way to discover new music is via services like file sharing, free downloads and - more and more - streaming services like Spotify.




With services like Spotify and We7 now replacing the need for ownership with access, the question of piracy and file sharing could soon be a thing of the past if only they could get their catalogues in order. With issues like international licensing still an issue, this won't be resolved any time soon.

Big day in eye-patch land

There's a couple of things in the news today music-wise and they're at polar ends of the spectrum.

Firstly, indie label !K7 have decided not only to release CDs without copy protection, but to tout the fact on the CDs and on their website. Rightly so they claim, "Copy protection kills customer relationships."

Their website furthers this by stating, "That's why, from now on, !K7 releases will carry a new logo: 'NO copy protection - respect the music."

To be fair, indie labels have had an easier time of the whole industry downturn, mainly because they haven't been releasing karaoke-winners as their priority releases. It's also due to the niche nature of the indie label, and the fact that they appeal to actual music fans (who NEED to own the vinyl or CD) more than the Woolworth-buying public that lives on "Now That's What I Call Music" compilations because they can't remember song titles.

The other news is that the BPI is meeting today to announce how they're going to screw music fans out of more money legally. Basically it involves suing anyone who's downloaded, uploaded, whistled, etc. their favourite tunes.

Deflating the BPI's bubble ever so slightly, the NME article contains quotes from lead Franz Ferdinand Alex Kapranos who claims that song swapping and P2P were instrumental in getting Franz Ferdinand the level of popularity they enjoy now. Oops.

"File-sharing is something that has really helped us as a band in getting established. When Franz Ferdinand played a gig in New York for the first time, a lot of people there already knew our songs and were singing along.

"For us it has been global word of mouth that has helped our progress, not hindered it. I don't think it is damaging musicians at all. Downloading music is as revolutionary an invention as the gramophone and I'm all for it."

Oh well, the BPI knows best. Just like the RIAA. Just make sure you're sons and daughters are locked up and kept away from the PC, because chances are they haven't taken 3-4 years of law courses yet, so won't realise that downloading the theme to "The Magic Roundabout" will result in mum and dad losing the house.

-- Link: BBC

6Music rocks. TV ad doesn't.

Came across a fairly entertaining article about the new 6 Music ad featuring Phill Jupitus. Now we can all agree that 6 Music is a great station, but I have to agree, the Jupitus spot is one of the more baffling interstitials the Beeb has run.