Radio 1 - Full Of Shit?

Taking it back to the old-skool...






So as I was saying below in a kinda unconnected post....

R1 recently announced they're bringing Tim Westwood and Trevor Nelson over to 1Xtra. Given both DJ's have seen their shows either cut down or moved about in the last year or so, I wonder how confident they are about their future at R1. From the outside looking in, it would appear that R1 is looking to get rid of any black music specialist shows altogether, bar the odd one like Samurai and Green's monthly one-off, or the occasional docu. Given how little urban music they play anyway - particularly black british music - would this really be a great surprise?

The original idea of 1X was, as I remember, to nurture new talent. Don't be surprised, they said, to see a IX DJ make their way over to R1. It's how things go there - DJs make a name on local radio and get bought over a la JK and Joel/ Mark and Lard etc. UK tracks that did well on 1X will glide on over to R1. Yeah, right.

Wonder why so many UK artists flop while Ne-Yo, Mims etc do inexplicably well? Cos r1 playlist them. Sad but true, but without R1 backing you, you're basically F'ed. Ask anyone who works on Dizzee/ Kano/ Ms Dynamite/ Wiley/ Lethal B projects, and that's basically one of their greatest concerns. Will Radio 1 playlist this? Playlist, not play - actually allow it on rotation on daytime shows, not just a couple of spins on Westwood's show once a week. These same managers, label managers and A&Rs aren't overly concerned about 1x - it's like 50 Cent caring about RWD over XXL. Let's be real. 100,000 readers versus over a million? Duh. It's about maths...

Don't get me wrong, I think 1Xtra is a great station, I really do; the DJ's, programmes, format, documentaries, playlists etc are all on-point and well-informed. Were 1X on FM, then I'd listen to it all day. But I don't, so I don't. Oh, of course they'll say Tim and Trev's move it's about 'revitalising' 1X, 'helping it to bring in in bigger audiences' but no one has DAB digital radio, and no one is gonna get it. Going online is not an option for most people who work in an office, so the only chance you might get is a quick catch-up over the weekend. If Semtex's shows were available to download onto my iPod, I'd do that, but 1X haven't got that technology yet.

What R1 really should do if they want to put their money where their mouth is, is get 1x on the FM dial or make shows available to download and then perhaps we'll start to see UK artists finally getting theirs. Because lets face it, they'll A or B list 50, Justin, Timbaland, Kanye etc all day, every day, but Wiley? N-Dubz? Tinchy? Artists the younger generation (and the one R1 surely need to be intent on capturing) Er, not so much...And these kids rarely have internet access at home (that's according to various studies conducted by RWD and other youth-based organisations I know), so telling them to listen to 1X online is unlikely.

It seems R1's faith in urban music is all but gone. But their short-sightedness is unbelievable. Granted, hip hop is experiencing a down-swing in sales and mainstream interest right now, but what goes around comes around. In a few months, a year, or whatever, there will be a new 50 Cent/ Nelly/ Jay-Z/ Eminem etc, etc, that will revitalise rap and R&B sales, while indie, just a few years ago struggling sales-wise, will go on the downturn. It's what happens not only in music, but in modern culture in general. For the BBC to jump ship is pathetic given they're supposed to be so cutting-edge.

The stupid thing about this, is that my money is on a hip hop artist to usher in a new way of people experiencing music. I mean, look at T Pain, Rick Ross and Sean Kingston's ringtone sales - in the multi-millions, and when the artist gets $1 a pop, who givs a shit if the album only sells 300,000? I don't know, but I'm pretty confident indie or rock acts aren't doing anywhere near these sorts of stats.

Having spoken to will i am recently, that dude has incredible, I mean, incredible ideas about getting music into people's hands. The old way is done with, and the new way, whatever it may be, will come eventually. Whether it's artists cutting deals with Starbucks/ 3 Mobile, The Mail On Sunday or Live Nation and taking money off tours and merch, the music industry will continue, albeit in a radically different form. And I truly believe that hip hop artists will be behind or actively involved in this new era.

And then, within a couple of years, guess who will be scrambling to play catch-up?
Radio 1 needs to fix up, look sharp - and soon.