[Closed] 6music RIP

well they did spend over a billion of your money on decorating broadcasting house so you've got to expect cuts

i listened to 6 music once, i'll not shed a tear for it

Not sure about the rest of you, but 99% of my radio listening is while in the car - I can't tune into 6Music, nor any of the other digital stations - and I'm sure I'm not alone in my lack of digital reception.

b r I agree - would love to be able to listen to 6Music in the car - it's the only time I ever listen to the radio

6 music is ideal for those of us who grew up with radio 1 in the mid 80s/early 90s and can't quite face the jump to radio 2 full-time.

They should be making it more available then not closing it down. Get rid of a few radio 1 djs would help reduce the load not to mention be a favour to humanity.

Yep anonymouse : too old for Radio 1 + too young for Radio 2 = 6 music.

Of course the big question is who will give Lauren Laverne a home if she's turfed out of there?

Gutted, R6 is the only reason I've spaffed out on DAB radios!

What of Adam and Joe??

very irritated by this - 6 music = my weekend radio

is Digital radio going to die out?

Gutted, I'm in the camp of Radio one is shite most of the time and play the same tracks far too often and radio 2 is good but 6 music is just better.

is Digital radio going to die out?

Mine dies whenever it freezes outside, so I haven't had DAB all winter. 😥

6 Music? Whassat then? Are there other radio stations on the wireless than Radio 4 then?

I'm surprised 6 music has fewer listeners than 1xtra, still i like both.

🙁 Ditto.
Surly the folk that listen to radio 1 in evenings (zane lowe etc?) would listen to 6music if it was on the normal airwaves. I to bought a DAB for 6music. Hope it is just a proposal and doesn't get carried through.

couldn't care less.

Radio 6 was given the oppurtunity to entertain me with good music new and old, and all it seemed to give me was Marc Riley playing tapes of something weird he found at a car-boot sale.

text the nation? - sod off and play something by gomez/johnny cash/the cure/dylan/eurythmics/mgmt/etc./etc.

one day i'll be able to listen to nsbradio / lastfm in my car, and my life will be complete.

I really do hope that 6Music isn't ended. We have 2 DAB radios in the house and a Pure Highway in the car ....for 6Music.

If it is ended, then I think that Radio 2 needs a [u]very[/u] good shake-up. There needs to be a 30-40somethings station, not a station for 20-90somethings. Radcliffe & Maconie are excellent, but there is a lot of dross. The daytime output is awful, Dermott O'Dreary at weekends is terrible and who who actually listens to "Pick of The Pops", "Desmond Carrington", "The Organist Entertains?", "Friday night is Music night", "Big band night" etc?
-Surely the audience for these anachronisms passed away years ago?

is Digital radio going to die out?

I used to listen to it a lot until they went and ruined it for me by giving George bloody Lamb a slot that covers all morning. Couldn't they have put him on R1 with the other c@$p? Sad to see it go.

[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lamb_%28presenter%29 ]George Lamb[/url] was the beginning of the end. Why did they introduce a "hilarious" sub-radio 1 style presenter to a station for music fans? It was hardly going to increase listener numbers.

Moving him from weekdays was a good move, but he now spoils 6Music at the weekends...

why can' they ditch Radio 1Extra.
We've already got Radio 1 and that's pants we certainly don't
need an extra one.

radio 1's daytime playlist is indeed bobbins. fortunately i have a bunch of pcs at my disposal at work so i can listen to the evening/nightime/early morning stuff during my 'working' day. good stuff still. between that and spotify i'm well catered for.
i shan't mourn 6. tried it. thought it just wasn't for me.
digital radio will continue for sure. think they're actually planning on binning FM at some point ( 2015? ), though it would free up very little bandwidth.

I love the variety of 6 Music just cant stand the DJ's making it all so precious, it is a bit like the NME. Music is great just dont take it so seriously 😉

They'd save a fortune by binning a certain programme with three overpaid ossers who blow up cars, turn cars into missiles, get to go all over the world to do stupid driving "challenges". That should save enough to keep R6 going.

Gutted too, only reason I have DAB radios at home and was looking at getting one fitted in the car.

Not sure why 1Xtra would escape the axe when it pulls lower listening figures, or maybe getting rid of two minority stations at once would be too controversial.

I'm amazed that Radio 7 pulls in the audience it does - nearly a million people for 6 hours a week to listen to audiobooks in half-hour chunks?

The whole state of digital radio is a complete mess - arguably promoted too early, too slow to get good coverage everywhere early on, not enough bandwidth so bitrates too low for the audio geeks, and given the different standards in use across europe, car manufacturers have (understandably) been reluctant to offer it. And then there's the DAB+ format which we'll inevitably have to go to, but which will mean replacing the (expensive) radios that people have.

Not sure why 1Xtra would escape the axe when it pulls lower listening figures, or maybe getting rid of two minority stations at once would be too controversial.

Isn't 1Extra 'urban' whereas 6Music is more 'suburban'?

Just an observation.

They'd save a fortune by binning a certain programme with three overpaid ossers who blow up cars, turn cars into missiles, get to go all over the world to do stupid driving "challenges". That should save enough to keep R6 going.

Top Gear is one of the most profitable bits of the BBC. Along with other big-budget stuff like Planet Earth, BBC Worldwide makes a fortune selling broadcast rights to other countries - they get far more in than it costs to make. And that's before DVD and merchandise sales.

Bah! Hope they move Guy Garvey s Sunday night show to another channel.

I suspect that 6Music is the most listened-to 'non-AM/FM' station on DAB. Without it, DAB seems fairly pointless.

In the home, internet 'radio' is probably now more popular than DAB anyway.

Pah - it's just more pandering to the lowest common denominator. 6Music is exactly the kind of thing the BBC should be doing, something that wouldn't be commercially viable.

6music play good tunes and even though there is far too much DJ waffle it is the best of a bad bunch.

What else is there to listen to ?

Well for one I am a big fan of 6 music and will be gutted by its removal.
Hated George Lamb and Marc Riley but most of the other DJ's work really well. Just another nail in the coffin...
Will now have to get an Internet radio to listen to the likes of JJJ again!

Some say that there is an over-reliance on fog-horn noises.

LOL

Stopped in my tracks when I heard the demise of R6 this morning. Great music, Saturday night will never be the same again, we love Craig Charles's
show. Steve Lamaq is a God. What are we to do?

Don't think I'd mourn the loss of radio full stop really, but having not listened to 6music or the asian network I might be missing out. I listened to R1 through the 80s and 90s and 00s, never had a problem with it, but it's only background chaff.

The soul and funk show with Craig Charles was great to listen to on a saturday afternoon - although I have to admit the ipod dock gets used more in the kitchen of a saturday and sunday than the radio.

IMO the BBC needs to grow a pair and just say 'Look, we're the greatest broadcaster on the whole planet, and if Murdoch thinks that's not fair, who cares?'

Whether you like 6Music or not, you can't deny it did EXACTLY what the Beeb are supposed to do: provide something something that is well-loved that the commercial operators wouldn't touch.

I will miss 6 Music for morning and weekend radio
& cooking dinner whilst listening to Craig Charles is a great refuge from dire reality TV

6Music rekindled my love of music radio. Should it go, it will be sorely missed in our house.

Radio 1 is sh*te, Radio 2 is trying to be all things to all men and falling short. There are some good shows, but not enough.

While 6Music lost it's way slightly with the introduction of "personality" DJ's, it's started to get itself back on track. Although I would not mourn the loss of George Lamb and those two twunts Adam & Joe.

and those two twunts Adam & Joe.

Heathen.

Anyways, 6Music goes while BBC3 is allowed to continue sucking the life out of the schedules?

IMO the BBC needs to grow a pair and just say 'Look, we're the greatest broadcaster on the whole planet, and if Murdoch thinks that's not fair, who cares?'

Exactly.

This is a little taster of what things will be like under the Tories.

6music, good riddance, utter tosh

and agree with the above mostly.....

asian network and 1extra are similarly a waste of money.

R1 does pretty well, its daytime shows are poor but who exactly are they playing to at that time anyway?
R2 does need to stop desperately clinging onto its baby boomers, they should be catered for by 3,4 & 7

anyone wanting to listen to anything more edgy is still using pirate radio/internet broadcasting

commercial radio picks up the remaining niches.

next up, lets slash some of the more pointless bbc digital tv channels

If 6 Music goes, I don't think I'll ever turn my DAB radio on again. It isn't 6 Music that's failed, it's the whole digital radio strategy.

I agree with freddyg

I have a DAB radio in my car and 6music is the only station I listen to. The same can be said at home.

I have lost count of the number of new bands/artists whos music I have bought from listening to them on 6music. Yes Zane Lowe's show on R1 is good and certain stuff on R2 is ok - but the majority of the music caters for either 16year old(R1) or 50 year olds(R2) until the evening time.

Not sure what I listen to now - local radio is pish - glad I got a usb Ipod connection in the car

Adam and Joe and Jon Richardson got me through many a morning's grim DIY.

A great loss!

50 year olds(R2)

Hey, I'm 50 and R2 is way too old for me, apart from Radcliffe and whatshisname and Paul Jones.

gutted

EDIT: Thought I'd expand on that a little...

I'll be 100% gutted if 6music is axed. It is the soul reason I invested in several DAB radios and is the only station I can turn on any hour of any day and hear something that piques my interest (apart from when George Lamb's on, obviously).

The loss of that station isn't the big issue. The erosion of any aspect of the BBC isn't a good thing, but it's doubly annoying that this will remove the only national station with a vaguely alternative music theme to it and with a genuine passion for that music.

6music, good riddance, utter tosh

anyone wanting to listen to anything more edgy is still using pirate radio/internet broadcasting
and agree with the above mostly.....

R2 does need to stop desperately clinging onto its baby boomers, they should be catered for by 3,4 & 7

Agreed, although things like the "The organist entertains" and "the big band" programme are hardly baby-boomer. My parents wouldn't dream of listening to them. They would have been more suited to my Grandparents' generation
-how many nonagenarians and centenarians are listening to R2?

With the closure of 6 Music, which has an average listener age of 35, and an undertaking to bring more documentaries and comedy to Radio 2, the BBC will also pledge to allow commercial stations to be the main providers of popular music to listeners aged 30 to 50.

We're doomed 🙁

I'll miss it. Only station I know of that will play Velvet Underground next to Laura Marling. And as far as X-factor stuff goes they seem to hate it as much as the rest of us.

Sweet Jesus. Have you listened to many commercial radio stations? I did recently and was gob-smacked by how utterly awful it is.

Looks like the lowest common denominator has triumphed once again. Hurray!

As someone in my mid 40's I find i'm about 40 years too old for Radio 1 and 30 years too young for Radio 2 whereas 6 music fits my taste exactly.

I'm fortunate enough to have dab in the car and at home so the radio is tuned to 6 for quite some hours in the day. As has already been said the evenings are shite and could do with a shake up but generally with the exception of that idiot at breakfast (both weekends and mon-fri) the balance works pretty well.

Listening to 6 music has meant that I have purchased a lot of albums from bands I would not normally be exposed to and you will probably find there are some significant buyers of music in the 6 music demographic.

The BBC should invest in this type of niche broadcast rather than the lowest common denominator programme that Commercial TV splurts out in droves. A loss it will be, NME radio is not a bad alternative but how many Heart radio stations do we really need.

6music, good riddance, utter tosh

and agree with the above mostly.....

asian network and 1extra are similarly a waste of money.

SOOBalias - why? Just because you don't like them?

'The BBC is a bus not a taxi'.

6 music was the only reason I bought a DAB radio. OK, it's not perfect, but I love the Huey show while cooking sunday lunch, and there is some good music played. I can think of loads of cuts the BBC could make which would improve it, not make it worse...why axe 6 music?

grum - Member

SOOBalias - why? Just because you don't like them?

'The BBC is a bus not a taxi'.

and why should they continue, just because you like them?
the bbc is currently more like a huge fleet of taxis.

i am always impressed with the standards and content provided by the bbc for a very modest fee and a not insignificant amount of product endorsement within their programming.

however their expansion into the digital age was obviously experimental and the time has come to cut back some of the guff.

Look I'm 57 and there's no way I want to swap Lauren Laverne for Ken Bruce.....ffs I am still breathing.

I don't want to listen to adverts or the inane chatter of Radio 1 or the marshmallow middle of the road pap on Radio 2.

Murdoch should be told to go and shove it.....

I am gutted 🙁 6Music and NME are the only dab channels I listen too. Radio 1 is painful during the day, I am only 32 so that rules out any other Beeb channel.

From the BBC article:
[i]
"Music industry tastemakers revere it as a credible outlet for “real music” but a review last month showed that only 20 per cent of adults knew that the station existed. "[/i]

I'd never heard of it until I read this thread. I've just turned it on and it seems to be ok. Thanks to the impeccable taste of the STWers I may now have something else to listen to in the car instead of R4 and Planet Rock. For now. 🙂

Adam and Joe and Jon Richardson got me through many a morning's grim DIY.

A great loss!

Jon Richardson's last show is March the 7th as it goes, going off to do Melbourne comedy festival and decided to call it a day on the radio as well. Unless he saw this coming?

It's not perfect and it's a bit of an indie ghetto in the daytime, but it'll be a damn shame if it does get culled.

1extra is better than you might think. In particular Mistajam's show on weeknight evening is usually better than whatever professional northerner is doing a John Peel impression on 6music at the same time.

If that's 20% of the adult popn. that's a lot of people isn't it......and that for a radio station that doesn't get much marketing but relies on word of mouth.

The Tories are determined to attack the BBC and I would hazard a guess that more of the adult popn have heard of 6Radio than will vote Tory at the next election......!! Certainly more than voted for them at the last election.

Dunno if these soon-to-lost gems have been mentioned yet, but:
maconie's freak zone - sometimes impossible to listen to, but also brilliant at times.
bruce dickinson - if yer a fan, then no more needs to be said.
jarvis jocker's new slot has been really brilliant, imho.

pure madness.

If you don't want (too much) pop but don't like MOR naffness then XFM is about all there is now.

Otherwise, buy an internet radio and listen to any one of a thousand great 'alternative' stations from the US 🙂

think they're actually planning on binning FM at some point ( 2015? ), though it would free up very little bandwidth.

the plan set in the Digital Britain paper was to move all the stations presently on FM, to DAB. then sell new FM licences to new local stations, which currently boardcast on MW.

OfCom have stated a year or 2 ago that the DB time line of a 2015 switch over wasnt commercially viable, nor could they force the move as is happening in TV, since there is something like 15million analogue radios being used, and less than 2 million DAB recievers sold.
They feel if FM stations where pushed onto DAB before there is a larger take up of DAB, then people would just stop listening - especially since there arent many in car options, and new cars dont come with DAB either. the goverment is looking at making it mandatory for them to install a DAB radio in new cars.

When you look at the DAB only stations, they just arent surviving - GMG has shut or merged many of its DAB stations with other stations. IE Rock Radio, was DAB only in the North East, it was merged with the Manchester station, which broadcasts on FM.

GCap sold off Planet Rock and the Jazz station they had...

IMO, they need to bin Radio 1, 2, 3, 5
and replace them with radio 6 and be done with it.

what utter tripe.

and mad men too! thats one of the few good things theyve invested in!
and they choose such tripe over it!
gaaaahhh!
no wonder i dont have a tv license.

If this does happen they really do need to sort out Radio 2. Weekends and early evenings is terrible. I've only just found 6Music, don't have any DAB radios, can only get it through the telly. Like others have said i think the whole digital radio thing is a complete fail. The radios are far too expensive. As for switching off the FM signal in 2015, I think there's going to be a massive backlash over that. It's not easy or cheap to replace many car radios, not like you can stick a £ 20 box on. Most new cars today only come with a DAB radio as an expensive extra. it's the one thing I wished I'd specced when we bought our car last year.

Gah! Just as Collins & Herring were finally hitting the big time(!)*

*if you listen to their 'proper' podcast you'll know what I mean 😆

It's not easy or cheap to replace many car radios, not like you can stick a £ 20 box on

You can, for 60quid. [url= http://www.amazon.co.uk/PURE-Highway-Car-Radio-Transmitter/dp/B0012GLXMU ]Pure highway[/url].

If they switch off 6Music I'll be selling mine.... unless they switch off FM too.

especially since there arent many in car options, and new cars dont come with DAB either. the goverment is looking at making it mandatory for them to install a DAB radio in new cars.

My Ford Mondeo came with DAB

Most new cars today only come with a DAB radio as an expensive extra

Again it was standard on the spec Mondeo I got - just upgraded to have a USB port in the glove box.

Had a hire car without DAB and USB and drove round with no radio on at all - No other stations worth listening to and most of my music on on my Ipod

Surely the beeb should kill off their local radio stations instead of 6 music. Does anyone actually listen to BBC Radio Norfolk?

disappointed..

if they need to save cash they should ditch their pointless TV channels BBC 3 and 4 which are only on after 7pm

Surely the beeb should kill off their local radio stations instead of 6 music. Does anyone actually listen to BBC Radio Norfolk?

[url= http://http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/26/bbc-6-music-opposition-closure ]hope?[/url]

Geronimo - Member
You can, for 60quid. Pure highway.

If they switch off 6Music I'll be selling mine.... unless they switch off FM too.

Are they any good Geronimo? Is the antenna sensitive enough?

No way!!! this cant be.
Love radio6 while at work,and at weekend! proper gutted.. 😐

****!!

Wonder if there will be someone that will see the gap and take over from them?

Nightmare 😥 pretty much only station we listen to in our house, apart from r4 guess that makes me very middle class at 32 😳

The Pure Highway is good, although you can lose reception whilst driving through some hilly rural areas.

You can either plug into the Aux socket or use it as a transmitter to your FM radio.

If you have it set so that it cuts-out during poor reception it cuts-out a little too much. If you have it set so that it doesn't cut-out it then you get 'squelching' noises from it if signal strength is poor.

Ta Gerinomo

<wanders over to amazon clutching credit card....>

Cheapest DAB radio at John Lewis is £30.

Sell off waydio wun as most of the morons listening to it wouldn't spot the adverts anyway, et voila!