A proposal for the UK independent music companies’ trade body has been approved by the AIM (Association of Independent Music) members today – They intend to lobby the BBC to play a wider selection of music from independents on Radio 1 and AC network Radio 2.
The vote was given the go ahead in the “Your Big Ideas” section of this year’s AGM at the O2 in London. Not only did it represent the 10th anniversary of AIM but it paved the way for independents to put a foot firmly in the Radio giant’s door.
Alison Wenham (AIM’s chairman and Chief Executive) said the playlist issue would be raised at a scheduled meeting next month with Andy Parfitt, controller of Radio 1.
Wez Wesley, co-owner of UK indie Full Time Hobby, spearheaded the proposal to lobby the BBC on this pressing issue. “We sell alot of records”, however, have only been successful in getting one record on the BBC playlist in the last five years, said Wesley.
The proposal was also backed by Mission Control Production and Publishing MD, Harry Cowell. “It’s unbelievable that on the A-list on Radio 1 there was not one independent record last week,” he told the audience.
“We aim to play music our listeners will enjoy, irrespective of what label the artists are on, but independent labels are well represented in both our playlists – Radio 1 currently features 10 independent artists on a playlist of 48, while Radio 2 has seven out of 30 – and across our schedules, particularly in Radio 2 shows like Bob Harris, Janice Long and Radcliffe & Maconie, and in Radio 1′s specialist output where only a quarter of the music played is from major labels,” said a BBC spokesman in a statement.
“We talk to representatives from all areas of the industry on an ongoing basis and value their input, and we will continue to support and nurture new British artists.”
In terms of what this means for the local artists trying to break into the main stream is yet to emerge; however, with such bold moves being displayed by such an influential group it can only be positive.
Thomas Fearn – Founder and Director, OOiZiT Plc