At the BBC with Radio 1

It’s an uncomfortable truth that almost no new British bands made it big in 2009. The BBC and in particular Radio 1 have received a lot of stick for not giving airplay to new acts. Radio 1 has a playlist of 50 records each week which is dominated by the big three labels, which doesn’t give small outfits such as Northern Music and the Heroes of She a fair chance.

We are fighting back and we are lobbying hard to get a fairer share of the airtime. Radio 1, to give them their due, have been listening, which is why I’m down at the BBC Television Centre in Wood Lane, at the invitation George Ergatoudis (see posting on November 13th) the Head of Music at Radio 1 who is giving a presentation to explain just what Radio 1 is doing to help the independent sector. George speaks from the heart, he loves music, he quite clearly isn’t intimidated by the power of the “big three” and here gives us independents lots of insights into how we can get onto the inside track. My thanks to the Association of Independent Music, who organised the evening. I made a “Flip” video of the entire presentation and as this short extract shows there’s no doubt that George and his team are doing their best to redress the balance.