6Music in numbers

It's not exactly WFMU, the world's greatest radio station, but a new study shows how valuable BBC 6Music is to curious listeners and the music industry. By some distance, it offers the most diverse selection of pop music on UK radio. Economist Will Page at the PRS (or as we must call it, PRS For Music) has found that 6Music …

[Wing Stand]

Choice FM

I'm guessing Mr Irony named Choice FM.

[paulf]

What I want to know

Where is BBC Radio 4 in all of this?? Supposedly distinctive radio and it doesn't even register on the first chart of unique songs played. Even Choice FM (oh the irony) pips the Home Service to the chart. I'm writing to the Trust now. I want a refund of my licence fee.

Signed disgusted of Tunbridge wells

[Joke alert in case someone thinks this is a serious post!!]

[Oh and Radio 1 playing below the industry average of unique songs is no surprise, but on unique songwriters paid - way to go BBC Radio Derby]

[Anonymous Coward]

Not Playing Music

Unless the Archers do a musical episode or two.

[Chad H.]

Does anyone else find it funny?

That the least diverse station listed is called "Choice FM"?

[paulf]

1 Xtra

I note that 1 EX-twaa (protected as unique output by these cuts) is only 15th on the unique tracks exploited chart, a good 3 places and ~25% behind its parent station Radio 1 (~1100 Vs ~800)

Yet 6music (kill kill kill) is first on the unique tracks exploited chart and a good ~20% ahead of the next entry (its parent station BBC Radio 2) with ~3100 Vs ~2600.

BBC Radio 2's ranking is excellent for a 'mainstream' station but I wonder how this is skewed by its evening, and night time specialist shows which play lots of diverse tracks, compared to the playlist oriented week day daytime output.

[Chris Hatfield]

A great station that doesn't suck up to record label execs

Initially, I couldn't understand all the fuss about this station closing.

But now, having listened to Andrew Collins & Richard Herring every week for the past six or so weeks, i'm an addict. I never appreciated how good they are.

There's a diverse range of comedy, music and more. All advert-free. Sure, it woun't appeal to 11-year-old girls who want to listen to Justin Beiber (whoever that is). They can just listen to Crapital, sorry Capital FM.

[Red Bren]

Choice FM?

Have the lowest number of unique tracks. Enough said.

[Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse]

That may be so...

But how many people actually listen to it?

[Anonymous Coward]

re: 'But how many people actually listen to it'

Quite a few people.

I'd ask the same question - how many people watch BBC4 (TV), how many people watch BBC Parliament, How many people actually listen to Radio 3.

For goodness sake - BBC6 should be what the BBC is all about - providing many broadcasting channels to groups within society. I never, ever watch BBC1 - or hardly any other TV for that matter - but I love Radio 4 and I love Radio 6. Why should my license fee sponsor BBC1, Radio1 etc when mainstream drivel has driven our most of the intelligent programming from the mainstream channels. I am happy to pay for the likes of Radio4, 5, 6 - I am not happy with the broadcasting content on BBC which may as well be driven by advertising - do you honestly think less people would watch Andrew Lloyd Webber having a mid life crisis on BBC1 because there are no adverts - but for the 50 odd million people who hate it - there is no justification for the license fee there....

But channels like BBC6 need to license fee to develop the talent that is just starting out - to give them a platform for their art. BBC3 does a similar thing on Telly.

-To ask how many people actually listen to it is nothing but pure stupidity...

[Anonymous Coward]

Dropped off the bottom of the graph

I notice Heart Radio didn't score enough to make it to bottom place. More music more variety is their catchphrase (I think this means that sometimes they don't play the same song twice in the same hour).

[Shaun Rolph]

Ha, where the fuck is Mount Hope, anyway?

Doug Schulkind's 'Give the Drummer Some' on Friday afternoons actually does 'music discovery' in a non-cunty way and justifies the existence of radio in the age of musical ubiquity. 6music has Stuart Maconie's Freak Zone.

[DavCrav]

Choice FM

or, judging by it's position in the table, No Choice FM?

[IR]

250

(lack of) Choice FM and Capital have less than 250 different songs in a month. That is less than a day of music, so they must play the same songs every single day with almost no variation at all other than the order.

[Sulphur Man]

yes

Exactly. It doesn't need this level of scientific research to realise that either, just listen to either of them for an hour or so. Dont have any sharp objects nearby though, for fear of self-harming.

[John Smith 19]

@IR

"so they must play the same songs every single day with almost no variation at all other than the order."

So you've seen their play list then?

[mfraz]

Heart

So much for Heart's slogan of 'Better music mix'. I'm surprised they were rated as highly as they were in the chart.

[Oz]

Re: Hearth

I can't say I'm a huge fan of Heart, but to give them their due, they aim to play active/current chart music. Therefore they will have a smaller track base, and play them more often.

[mfraz]

Every night?

I've had to listen to this Heart rubbish all week at work, I'm sure they played the same songs tonight as they played last night.

This isn't the sort of radio station I want to listen to, I want one where the presenter can have some input into what he/she plays - R2 or R6.

[Russ Tarbox]

WFMU

They're still providing a stream in "Real" format. I didn't know anyone was still using that!

[richard 69]

try 6 music

it's a superb station, and shows the arrogance of the bbc by wanting to kill it. the variey of music is great. try it for a week. and i did like george lamb even though his music knowledge is poor, he's a great entertainer on the radio but shite on the telly.

[Stephen 1]

Lamb has resigned.

So 6 is even better now.

Could still be more diverse though, very little world/electronica/dubstep/blues etc.