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Radio 1's Live Lounge website and the Semantic Web

2013-02-12T14:53:23+00:00

Last week, we re-launched Radio 1's Live Lounge website. It contains an archive of 426 Live Lounge sessions dating back to 2007, showing who played when, where and what they played. Each entry has photographs, and some of the more recent ones have audio and video.

The new site looks great on mobile, and from now on all Live Lounge videos will play on your mobile too.

The Live Lounge is the biggest launch so far on our new events platform, which we lovingly call Eavis (in honour of the man who runs the best festival in the world, Glastonbury's Michael Eavis).

The platform has so far hosted, amongst other things, Hackney Weekend, Radio 1's Teen Awards, and 1Xtra Live. We've been developing the new platform throughout 2012, and it represents a big change to the way we manage our events coverage online. Putting the Live Lounge data into the system is a big milestone, and I thought I'd take the opportunity to explain why.

In the beginning there were webpages. People like me wrote them in HTML code – not exactly 1s and 0s, but not far off. They were utterly static – no better than pages of a book really, except that you could easily click from one page to another. It might surprise you to know that, as recently as last year, large chunks of the �� radio websites were still made in exactly the same way. Pretty cumbersome to maintain, and very few opportunities to create useful and interesting journeys between pages. We're trying to phase them out in favour of a more semantic approach.

"The Semantic Web" is a concept where information isn't stored as text in pages, but as data in databases, where every single bit of data has meaning – hence "semantic". Instead of building hundreds of manual web pages, we build one web page as a template, and the content spaces are filled with data from the database when you access the page. The resulting web page might seem very similar to you the user, but the power of having all that data is huge.

Ben Howard in the Live Lounge

At a very basic level, we can start to present the relationship between the various bits of content. For example, on the page for Ben Howard's December 2012 Live Lounge, you can see a box suggesting Similar Acts who have performed at recent �� events, as well as other Live Lounge appearances by Ben Howard over the last few years (there are two more). We have also connected the Live Lounge database with the �� Music database, which is powered by the open source MusicBrainz system that gives every single artist in the history of music a unique ID number. That's how come you can see a set of useful Ben Howard’s web links on the side of the page.

In my mind, this is just the beginning. Many of the ��'s major products – such as iPlayer and the /programmes pages – are semantic systems, built in a similar way. It's pretty exciting to think of the possibilities of connecting the Events database to other parts of �� online, and create interesting, meaningful journeys around �� content, on all sorts of devices. Watch this space!

The People's Songs: The story of post-war Britain in 50 records

2012-12-06T17:31:19+00:00

Teen Heartthrobs: From Valentino to Harry Styles

The People's Songs starts in the New Year on 2 January. It's a 50-part series will tell the story of modern Britain through 50 records that have helped define British culture. The image is from the episode on Pop Heartthrobs.

The series is organised by themes and the producers would like listeners to contribute their memories, stories and comments to be used in the series and on the website. You can see the themes (and the first 40 records) for the programmes on the People's Songs website. The last ten will be revealed in the New Year.

In this clip presenter Stuart Maconie previews episode 24 on the rise of package holidays and the music of the time:

How the arrival of affordable foreign holidays introduced the British public to new tastes

And in this clip from the first episode June, 81 from Liverpool, reminisces about the popular request show Forces Favourites, which gave a special meaning to songs chosen by the listeners during World War Two:

June recalls a wartime request show. Joan & Frank talk about women working for the troops.

Paul Murphy is senior producer, Audio and Music Interactive

Contribute to the People's Songs
Record a contribution on Audioboo
�� Media Centre: Radio 2 tells the story of modern Britain in new landmark series The People's Songs
The first episode is on �� Radio 2 on 2 January 2013 at 10pm.
Follow the People's Songs on Twitter

Watch Billy Bragg's John Peel lecture live online

2012-11-09T14:14:31+00:00

Billy Bragg pic by Anthony Griffin

This Monday from 7pm you can watch Billy Bragg live on the 6 Music website giving the second John Peel lecture. He'll be exploring the idea of how radio pirates became the mainstream and what that means.

The John Peel lecture is part of the annual Radio Festival and is now in its second year.

What is the John Peel lecture?
Watch last year's lecture with Pete Townshend

Blur at the Beeb: Radio 2 and 6 Music

2012-07-30T12:30:39+00:00

Blur

As Blur prepare to play Hyde Park at the end of the Olympics on August 12th, we’ve been delighted to offer them the opportunity to warm up at �� Maida Vale. On Tuesday night they will play live for both �� Radio 2 and �� 6 Music in front of two audiences who have been lucky enough to win tickets for this intimate gathering.

Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave will be talking to Steve Lamacq live on 6 Music and will then play 6 songs for 6 after 6pm. Two of them will be exclusive for online viewers at 7, as you can watch all of the 6 Music coverage live online, direct from Maida Vale. Amazingly it’s the first live session Blur will perform for 6 Music, although Steve Lamacq’s relationship with the band dates back to the early 1990s when they were still called Seymour.

Then at 8pm. Blur will be live in concert for �� Radio 2, performing for a full hour. You can see them in action online at �� Radio 2, on the official Blur website and over on the Guardian site as well. We’re keen that our content lives in a variety of digital spaces so it serves as many licence fee payers as possible. The whole set will also be live on the red button on satellite and cable. We can’t squeeze on to Freeview due to the wealth of amazing Olympics coverage but we will be repeating the gig on that platform in September.

Listeners and viewers will be able to take part in a live blog and we will try and get the band into it too. It’s going a memorable night for all Blur fans, you can take part on the hashtag #BlurattheBeeb.

1Xtra Live: The 1Xtra family goes on tour

2011-11-30T12:55:00+00:00

Manchester headliner Wretch 32

1Xtra Live is a stand-out event in the 1Xtra Calendar. A free event for more than 12,000 young music fans, in four cities. It's an opportunity for the station to get out on the road and showcase what 1Xtra is all about. It's also a chance for us to get out and meet our existing audience and enable them to interact with the station they love, this is a great way of bringing the network to the audience.

In the past 1Xtra Live has been single distinctive shows and since 2008 we've taken it to Coventry, Sheffield & London. This year the decision was taken to expand this into a tour, allowing 1Xtra to really highlight the breadth of 1Xtra, showcasing Xtra RnB, Xtra Hip Hop, Xtra Drum and Bass and Xtra Dub Step and bringing unique content both to audience at the live shows and for those listening or watching at home.

The tour kicked off in Manchester and headliner Wretch 32 blew our amazing 1Xtra crowd away. We're moved to Birmingham with dubstep duo, Nero, then to Bristol with Chase and Status and culminating with a finale in London's Brixton Academy with Kelly Rowland and Jessie J.

In addition to the main show, each day Tim Westwood is broadcasting his 4pm-7pm 1xtra show live from a student union in each city. We're also showing our commitment to discovering new UK talent with our "Time to Shine" section at each event. In each city a local act gets 4 minutes on stage on front of the crowd and those listening or watching from home in a potentially career-changing moment.

Obviously doing four shows in four different cities back to back with one team brings its own challenges in terms of production, as each venue has its own capabilities and restrictions. A key consideration in the planning of the tour has been the look and feel of each live show as we wanted some form of continuity to tie the four events together. This has been achieved by working closely with the visualisation team and the marketing team through key lighting, video elements and set pieces.

A huge challenge has been to try to deliver the slick and glossy look that we have developed in previous years at bigger venues, and transfer this into smaller venues so that the event feels like more than just a live music gig. We really want to make it stand out. We've been working really closely with the artists and their creative teams to enhance their performances with pyro effects, dancers and some really exciting collaborations with special guests.

What's been great with this project is the cumulative group approach across the 1Xtra family, in the extensive planning and pulling together of this tour. 1Xtra now reaches just under a million people, and each year we do this event, the awareness of the station just keeps on growing - I really hope we continue that tradition this year. And who knows....maybe through us getting out and meeting more young music fans and introducing them to the station, we'll soon be reaching over a million listeners...

1Xtra Live 2011 will be simulcast on both �� Radio 1Xtra and �� Radio 1 as well streamed live online and broadcast live on Red Button.

Rob Spring is executive producer, Live Events �� Radio 1 & 1Xtra

Details of 1Xtra Live on �� Red Button: What's on when
Details of 1Xtra Live on the �� website

The Band Behind Bars on �� Radio 2

2011-11-24T12:20:00+00:00

Rosie Wainwright from the RPO joins the prison musicians onstage for their final performance

Walking into a prison for the first time is a nerve-wracking and intimidating experience. As each heavy door slams behind you, the sense of claustrophobia increases - even in open spaces there's netting overhead, and the barbed wire is clear to see.

In September 2011, I experienced that moment first hand, as I followed a group of inmates at the Mount Prison Hemel Hempstead who were taking part in a rehabilitative music programme with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

My image of prison before that moment had been created from film and TV programmes. Part Prisoner Cell Block H, part Porridge, part Miami Mega-Jail, I was expecting a dark Victorian warren with scarred inmates and embittered staff. What I encountered changed my perspective (and my life) completely.

Built in the 1980s The Mount's red-brick walkways and green open spaces made it feel more like a conference centre than a prison. Perfectly groomed flowerbeds fringe the path through the central quadrangle, and we were surprised to see ducks nesting in bushes. The prison buildings themselves felt (and smelled) like my old school - lino on the floor and that thick wipe-clean paint on the walls.

The project was to be based in one of The Mount's old workshops, where at one point prisoners had been employed to smash CDs, but which now was a large echoey open space with the feeling of a school gym.

Walking into that room for the first time I didn't know what to expect or who I would encounter. We'd been assured that all the participants had been screened in advance, but we hadn't been told who these men were or what they'd done.

I shouldn't have worried though. Within seconds, a friendly face had shaken my hand and offered a cup of tea. I was introduced around and at first had a job distinguishing between the project leaders and the inmates themselves. In some ways, the thing that surprised me most was how normal everyone was - nothing like the TV-fuelled image of an inmate I'd had before.

Over the 5 week period it was inspiring to watch the inmates overcome their own personal hurdles - one guy who had never picked up an instrument before and only spoke to us in mumbles, by the end of the project had learnt a bit of bass guitar, drums and knew a couple of tunes on the marimba. It was amazing to watch his confidence grow.

From a programme-making perspective, the challenge for myself and my assistant producer Ashley was to capture those breath-taking moments of personal development with sensitivity, but whilst making sure we could actually hear their words above the echoing din of the room.

Some of the stories were really difficult to hear - and every inmate we spoke to had a difficult story to tell. When I sat listening back to the audio we'd recorded, I frequently found myself in tears. Their honesty was incredibly moving. But the one thing they all had in common was that music had changed their lives.

Heather Davies is one of the Radio Academy's 30 Under 30 and also works on Sounds of the 20th Century for �� Radio 2. Heather is @heatherrhian on Twitter.

The Band Behind Bars is on Radio 2 on Monday 28 November at 10pm. You'll be able to hear it online shortly afterwards.
Music in Prisons: The Irene Taylor Trust website
Rideout (Creative Arts for Rehabilitation) website
The RPO blog: A Bigger Sound - Week 1 and Week 2
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra website

The Specialist Classical Chart Podcast is back - this time for good!

2011-08-02T15:45:00+00:00

One of my recent joys working on our interactive services for �� Radio has been receiving our monthly figures for downloads and podcasts from our site. Last month listeners successfully put 14.8 million downloads on their PCs or mobile devices.

That's up from 9.8 million in July last year. One of the reasons for the increase is the boost in the number of speech programmes we can now offer. The recent release of 500 editions of Desert Island Discs and the archive of the Reith Lectures has proved very popular. Podcasting is a great way to build up your own collection of programmes to enjoy whenever and wherever you want!

And although we have done great things with speech content, it's not been so straightforward with music in podcasts. So I'm really pleased to say that, as of today, we're bringing back a podcast which should appeal especially to classical music fans.

Although to date we've released many podcasts containing the speech content of classical music programmes, such as Composer of the Week, we've not been able to include longer extracts of classical music. That's because we don't have the rights or the permission to do this, and the �� has been wary of doing anything that might adversely affect the commercial classical music industry.

But now, something has changed. Working with the BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) earlier this year we tested a podcast of the segment of Radio 3 Breakfast that covers the Specialist Classical Music Chart every Tuesday morning. This includes a number of excerpts of music from the chart, each of which can be up to 9 minutes long.

The audience seemed to like the offer.

What's more, any fears that it might discourage people from buying classical music or listening to live radio proved unfounded. In fact nearly 25% of those who listened to the podcast said they were inspired to listen to more live radio, whilst 70% said they were listening to the same amount (eDigital Research for the ��). 80% of listeners said the podcast had introduced them to music they had not heard before. Good news for the music industry came with the finding that 25% of listeners to the chart podcast had purchased classical music as a result. The BPI's classical committee is pleased with the outcome, saying the podcast supports the work to "...obtain a wider audience for the specialist classical chart and for serious classical music in general". So, all in all the trial was a success.

Now the �� Trust has agreed to a change in the Radio 3 service licence to allow the Specialist Classical Music Chart to become a permanent offer from the ��. The podcast is back from today, and you can download it here. As a distinctly average guitarist, I'm delighted that a classical guitar release is top of the chart at the moment, so I hope an extract of the number one is included.

Andrew Caspari is �� Head of Speech Radio and Classical Music, Interactive

The picture (from 1970) shows "Otto Klemperer who celebrated the bi-centenary of Beethoven's birth by conducting his nine symphonies in sequence with the New Philharmonic Orchestra".

A record month for Audio and Music's websites

2011-05-09T16:40:00+00:00

Following the headlines in March's iPlayer stats pack that we published last month, I wanted to share some more details and insights about �� Network Radio's interactive performance, as it was a record month for us. They say events drive reach, and plenty happened on the Radio websites in March that helps prove the adage. Reach to all �� Radio sites hit 3.7 million average weekly unique browsers*. And if you factor in A&M's music and events websites, such as Music and Radio 1's Big Weekend, we recorded an overall reach for all �� Audio and Music sites of 4.3 million UK average weekly unique browsers. That's an all-time high for us.

Online interest in Chris Moyles' marathon 52-hour broadcast for Comic Relief was a big part of this, pushing traffic to the Radio 1 site to a record 2.4m average weekly UK unique browsers. Live footage from the studio, carried on the Red Button, attracted 2.84 million viewers. And then there was Fearne Cotton. Her offer to appear in a swimsuit if the total raised by Moyles topped Â£2 million caused a surge of traffic that helped crash the Radio 1 site for a brief time. So, events do drive reach, and we've learnt some useful lessons there about capacity planning. On top of this, there have been about half a million clicks to view the section of the programme again via the website, and at Radio 1's official channel on YouTube.

We've had a superb month for live online listening. And although live listening via the internet still accounts for a relatively small amount of all digital consumption, we know people find it convenient to stream radio at their desks: compared to consumption via analogue platforms, online radio listening doesn't fall away so dramatically after radio's 'usual' breakfast time peak. In March, we recorded 29 million requests for live streams, 18% up on this time last year. Record performances across �� network radio contributed to this, including 5 live sports extra, which nabbed 1.3m live stream requests for its World Cup Cricket coverage. Did I say... events drive reach?

We broke more records with our podcasts, delivering 12.3m successful downloads to UK subscribers in March. The Archers topped the list of our daily podcasts, with Scott Mills in second place. Interestingly, although Radio 4's landmark series A History of the World in 100 Objects ended last autumn, its podcasts remain popular enough to make it the 5th most popular daily podcast title in March. This is evidence of the demand there is for making podcasts available for longerÂ and of the public value we can create by opening up the archive. First indications from the Desert Island Discs archive are also very encouraging. I've just had a first sight of April's podcast results - they're looking equally promising, including several hundred thousand successful downloads of our Royal Wedding 2011 podcast. This included a lot of interest from users in English-speaking countries around the world such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. It's another good example of how events drive reach.

A final, encouraging thing to note is the steady growth in reach to A&M's websites optimised for mobile devices. We've done a lot of work over the past 2 years to improve the usability of those sites, including automatically tweaking the pages to suit the device in question, and adding the ability to stream live radio for many devices. Devices are becoming easier to use too, and the performance since the start of this year suggests that the effort is now paying off: significant numbers of users now accessing A&M's content via mobile. March was a great month for this. There was growth across the board, with new sites for Radio 4's Desert Island Discs and Radio 1's Big Weekend contributing to the increase. And there was especially strong growth for Radio 1 and 1Xtra, where all mobile devices are now covered with key services and where fans used their phones to join in the fun with Moyles & Co for Red Nose Day.Â Which all goes to show... well, you know what goes here.

* Unique Browsers: this is the term we use to describe a single computer accessing our websites. It's not the same as measuring 'people', and it's not a perfect proxy - but is the closest we have for now. One 'unique browser' is counted for every distinct 'cookie' which has visited a website within a given timeframe. In the ��, this timeframe is one week. A cookie is a small piece of information that a server sends to your computer to identify that computer on its return. Whenever you clear your cookies, as some people regularly do, your computer is issued with a new cookie when you return to a website.

Alan Phillips is senior business manager, �� Audio & Music Interactive

Radio 1's Big Weekend online

2011-05-03T17:15:00+00:00

The Royal Wedding is tied up, done and dusted... and the music was my highlight. It was emotional, it had some new music (to my ears at least) bringing together hundreds of millions of people all listening and enjoying the same moment together. Whether you attended in person outside the Abbey, Buckingham Palace or lining the route, or whether like most of us, you joined in via the TV, radio or internet it was about people coming together to celebrate a single live event.

In part the music was powerful because we all knew it the came from the personal choices that the happy couple had made and it meant something deeply to them. An intriguing insight because, if you are married, you know the music choices as with many other wedding decisions, had probably been hard fought.

Only 40,000 people can attend Radio 1's Big Weekend, making their own choices on the day, which stage to wander to and which artists to see. The rest of the audience can obviously listen on the radio, watch all the stages live online or navigate through the 60+ videos available later on. Our research tells us that they are normally seeking out what they know they already like.

Personal choices in music are what make Radio 1 breathe. The expert view (i.e. our DJs' passion about a tune), combined with a populist, audience viewpoint (charts, sales, audience research and comment) - make Radio 1 in 2011, I hope, just as valuable as ever. It represents the friend (our DJ) and the family (the listeners) coming together. Interestingly, it is reported that these are still the most popular ways in which music choices are decided. Family. Friends. Radio.

Big Weekend gives our DJs a place to curate music in the digital space as well as on air. We are starting with six of our DJs at Radio 1's Big Weekend and their selection of photos, video and favourite artists that mean something to them. Our users' choices will also be reflected for the first time on the site via rankings of the 'Most Viewed' and 'Most Shared' artists.

Encouraging presenters and audiences to curate and discuss their personal choices is a really important part of what �� Music does online. It harnesses the ��'s role as a trusted guide and helps us build deeper relationships with our audiences on the �� and in their digital social spaces. Radio 1's Big Weekend site and projects like Music Showcase feature elements intended to make discovery of those personal music choices even easier for our audiences. Radio 1's strength in social spaces means the conversation we can have about personal choices in music is ever more meaningful - keep your eye on #��R1 and #r1bw on Twitter and on �� Radio 1 on Facebook, on the weekend of 14th May.

We are also experimenting with location based services on site, building our own check-in service using Facebook. One of the motivating factors is to understand the safety and privacy issues around young people using check-in services but still allowing them the freedom to brag in a meaningful way to their friends that they are stood in front of Lady GaGa. It also allows us to begin to understand how mobile will help us in the future, what an individual's proximity to others means, whether they are famous or simply a friend at any live event.

Ben Chapman is Head of Popular Music for Audio and Music Interactive

To find out more about the Big Weekend visit the Radio 1 website
The Twitter hashtag is #R1BW
Follow Radio 1 on Twitter @��R1
Picture shows: Snow Patrol at Radio 1's Big Weekend 2009

Purveyor of the anti-pop

2011-04-08T16:37:28+00:00

Editor's note: a brand new 6 Music show that's designed from the ground up to be interactive - it's even named after a hashtag. The nerve centre for NowPlaying @6Music is the show's blog - SB

I think it's taken a while for 6 Music to find its niche but now it has really found a sound. You wouldn't find bands like Warpaint or Beach House - who have both been really big acts for us in the past year - on the A-list of any other station. We're all about alternative spirit. It can be many things; it can be an artist's sound and/or their influences. A great recent example has been the Jamie XX and Gil Scott-Heron track 'I'll Take Care of You'. It's been on the 6 Music A-list and is a fantastic example of what the network does best - it's a new act collaborating with a heritage artist both in alternative music to create something new.

I've been producing shows here for four and a half years and I'm just about to launch a brand new show with Tom Robinson on Friday nights (7-9pm) called Now Playing @6Music, which is all about the digital conversation with music. Music has never been more digital. A music fan will listen to radio but also probably look at blogs like Drowned in Sound.

They might well use a third-party music service like Hype Machine or Spotify to either play music or aggregate their tastes in recommending music, and they probably get their music news from an online source rather than a copy of NME. So the idea of this new show is to take part in this online music conversation. We're going to create a space once a week where people can share and recommend tracks related to the week's music news, and find out what's happening in the world of digital music. The show will be a weekly iteration of the activity going on 24/7.

I try to go to a couple of gigs a week to see what's out there and make my own judgement on bands who music PRs have 'plugged' to me. For example, there's a group I went to see last week called Holy Ghost who a PR had pitched to do a 6 Mix - the other show I produce. They are quite hipster and signed to DFA - which is James Murphy from LCD Soundsystem's label. On paper they look pretty good - they're on a very cool label and their music has an electro vibe about it - but, as a producer, I needed to see if they've got more legs than just a single.

To do this, I saw them play live with Cut Copy, gauged their popularity on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and was ultimately really impressed, so commisioned them to do a mix. It's all about thinking if they're a career band and, if they're not a household name yet and I'm offered them early doors (which we are at 6 Music), it's always worth seeing them perform to get a stronger sense of their talents and where they're heading. I don't want to get really excited about someone, put them on a show or argue to put their record onto playlist and then see them live and they're rubbish. In my position I've always got to think about bands in a broader sense.

Rowan Collinson produces Now Playing @6Music.

Listen to the first programme on �� Radio 6 Music at 1900 tonight.
The picture shows Warpaint, in session for Radio 1 earlier this month.
Interact with the show on the show's blog, via 6 Music's Facebook page or the Twitter account.

A new series for Radio 2 - Sounds of the 20th Century

2011-04-06T16:42:49+00:00

As a producer for Trevor Dann's Company, a radio production company founded by the UK radio veteran of that name, I have the opportunity to work across an array of audio projects; however, I'm most excited about our new series, Sounds of the 20th Century. It's essentially an audio journey through five decades of music and events on �� Radio 2 - every Thursday at 2200 for the next year.

One of the most challenging and unique things about the show is that - apart from Jeremy Vine giving a short intro at the start - there's no presenter. This means that each programme - dedicated to one year from 1951 to 2000 - doesn't feature anything that wasn't heard, seen or read at the time. It's just the music, the news, the radio, the TV and the movies as they were first experienced.

Our first task was to work out what happened each year. I trawled the internet, spent ages in my local library, and made use of the ��'s own mini research library (it's really small!) and other event diaries, to come up with the definitive list of what happened when... getting myself covered in lots of yellow highlighter in the process!

A massive spreadsheet of music and events followed, which I used to guide my search through the �� TV and Radio Archive, the Newspaper Archive at the British Library, and the British Pathe and Movietone newsreel archives. Luckily for me, much of this is now available online, so I was able to search their collections without having to physically go to their preservation sites.

From all this research, we then selected the key stories that were really relevant in that year, balancing news and cultural events with clips from entertainment programmes and films. And at the heart of it all is the wonderful music of the time, sourced from the ��'s own music archive.

All these items were called in (electronically where possible) and then we sat listening very carefully. With no presenter, the clips really had to sell themselves in order to be considered for the final cut. They needed to explain what they were and deliver the great atmosphere we want to create for each programme. Much ended up on the cutting room floor.

Finally a running order was created, taking the listener on a journey that would contain the highs and lows, the clips that looked back and others that strove forwards. We took this into the studio and laid the tracks out, tweaked, considered, and tweaked some more. We're really proud of the final product.

We'll stay true to the music and plan to make a full and detailed running order available after each show (so you can work out what that clip was!).

Heather Davies is a Producer on Sounds of the 20th Century

Listen to part one of the Sounds of the 20th Century - 1951, the year of the Festival of Britain, the first hit single with multi-tracking (Les Paul's How High The Moon) and the first real rock 'n' roll record (Jackie Brentson's Rocket 88) - on �� Radio 2 this Thursday at 2200.

The enduring value of live radio

2011-02-22T16:04:47+00:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/7bd92ac9-6b2e-4e88-812a-60499ec60a9d#p009x32j

It is rare that passionate radio listeners overwhelmingly and immediately support the scheduling changes that we makeÂ to aÂ well-loved �� radio station. However,Â having just announced thatÂ Radio 3 will broadcast live concerts every weekday at 7.30 p.m. for 46 weeks of the year, the reaction has beenÂ almost universallyÂ positive. It isÂ welcomeÂ newsÂ for UK performing groups andÂ listenersÂ who will enjoy an invitationÂ toÂ so many outstanding classical performances. What is perhaps less apparentÂ is that it represents aÂ deliberate move across �� radio to keep building the percentage of live output that weÂ air on our stations. For some, this approach may well seem counter-culturalÂ as it comes at a time whenÂ digital evangelistsÂ continueÂ to predictÂ theÂ mediaÂ will move inexorably to time-shifted, on-demandÂ content. This is true but, paradoxically,Â this very trendÂ is driving the value of liveÂ experience.

Of course, on-demandÂ does offer benefits, such asÂ making availableÂ valuable archives like the In Our Time back catalogue,Â or a chance to catch-up on recent programmes,Â but surely it is time to declare thatÂ the appeal of liveÂ radio is not only here to stay but is going to grow. Even beyond radio, live seems to be where the action is. Whether we are watching an X-Factor final,Â the One ShowÂ or attending a concert, live seems to be a common factor in so many recent triumphs in areas thatÂ have been consigned by many to a future of inevitable decline. Radio is particularly advantaged by this trend as so much of what makes it successful isÂ theÂ drama andÂ immediacy of live broadcast.

In what some see as a gravity-defying performance, radio listening remains buoyant and in the latest listening figures, it was 5 live that hit new record numbers. The thrill ofÂ England keeping theÂ Ashes combined with a busy news agenda providedÂ a steady flow of compelling live stories. Also, over Christmas we deliberatelyÂ focusedÂ on ensuring many of our broadcasts remained live rather than playing pre-recordedÂ programming while the nation indulged itself.

Behind these successes, there mayÂ lie aÂ deeper and more enduring need for wider communal experiences. The explosive growth of computers, tablets andÂ smartphonesÂ has leadÂ to a huge amount of solo activityÂ with either no interaction, orÂ communication beingÂ restricted to a small group of friends. LiveÂ broadcast experiences, although not offering the visceral experience of a live event, still offer a chance to be connected to something much bigger than a social network.

You may be listening alone but you know that thousands of people are connected together in one story. This is nothing new. I remember hearing my neighbours screaming with joy when Dennis Taylor sank that black in 1985, or looking into another car as IÂ saw someone as emotionally moved as I was by the story of the collapse of theÂ BerlinÂ Wall on the radioÂ news. For programme makers and presenters,Â liveÂ tends to bring out the very best.

It is interesting that while �� executives like myself are often thought to beÂ intent on limiting risk and prefer the control of pre-recordedÂ output, the truthÂ tends to beÂ the opposite. This is not to say that the art of pre-built radio in genres such as current affairs and dramaÂ is not to be nurtured as a precious skill, but even in theseÂ areas, live output can play an exciting and growing part.Â So while you will see the radio industry ensuring that it is part of the on-demand revolution, we remain champions of the wonders of live. On May 3rd, we begin our Radio 3 broadcasts. As the musicians begin to play,Â I hope that you will be there, at home,Â next toÂ them.

Tim Davie is Director of Audio & Music at the ��

The picture shows I AM KLOOT performing live on Steve Lamacq's 6 Music show at the Lowry Centre in Salford in October 2010.
Edward Blakeman, an Editor at Radio 3, wrote about the station's new committment to live performance on the Radio 3 blog.
�� media correspondent Torin Douglas interviewed 5 live Controller Adrian Van Klaveren about his station's improved RAJAR figures on the 5 live blog.
Tim responded to the public reaction to the �� Trust's recent report about Radio 3, Radio 4 and Radio 7 in The Radio Times yesterday.

Daily live concerts on �� Radio 3

2011-02-18T11:10:16+00:00

�� Radio 3 has just announced that its rich schedule of concerts, operas and recitals will be further enhanced from May 3, 2011 when listeners will be able to hear LIVE broadcasts direct from venues across the UK every weekday evening in Performance on 3. Here, Radio 3 Editor Edward Blakeman offers a look behind the scenes.

I just love the prospect of live evening concerts on Radio 3! My colleagues and I have thought about it and planned it for months - since the end of last season's Proms in fact, and that was what gave us the idea. There is such a buzz during the Proms - 8 weeks of concerts all broadcast live on Radio 3 - so wouldn't it be great if you could carry that sense of really 'being there' on into the rest of the year? if you could offer Radio 3 listeners a live concert each weekday night - something that had never been done before.

Continue reading this blog post and leave a comment on the �� Radio 3 blog...

The picture shows Finnish quartet Meta4 rehearshing for a live Radio 3 performance at the Wigmore Hall in 2009.

How to get your unsigned band on the Radio 1 daytime playlist

2011-01-07T17:43:34+00:00

�� Introducing is an initiative set up by the �� to support unsigned, undiscovered and under-the-radar artists, and from Monday January 10th the Radio 1 playlist will feature a new track from a �� Introducing artist every week.

Guaranteed exposure on daytime Radio 1 is a significant opportunity for aspiring musicians, with millions of listeners set to hear their music. But it's not just the plays that will make a difference: the Radio 1 playlist is influential on a global basis, with music industry executives and radio programmers around the world keeping close tabs on the tracks we add each week.

So - how are we deciding who gets added? Well it all begins with artists uploading their tracks to us via the �� Introducing website.

Any UK artist or band can upload their music, which is then listened to by presenters and producers of their local �� Introducing radio show. Local teams make recommendations to a panel inside Radio 1 that consists of DJs like Huw Stephens, producers of In New Music We Trust shows and members of the Radio 1 playlist team. It's an efficient filtering system with the very best tracks from a wide range of genres ultimately earning a place on the playlist.

It has never been cheaper or easier to make and record music and there are literally thousands of artists around the UK who are striving to be heard. It's a very competitive business, and the biggest difficulty is actually being discovered.

�� Introducing is proving to be an effective way of surfacing the best new talent and having heard the first batch of artists we are going to support on the playlist, I'm personally very excited. I hope that some of them will follow in the footsteps of previous �� Introducing stars such as Chipmunk, Marina And The Diamonds and Florence And The Machine. While there's no guarantee of success for anyone in the music business, this opportunity will definitely provide a brilliant first step on the ladder, and listeners hungry for new music will discover some great new artists.

George Ergatoudis is Head of Music for �� Radio 1

January 10-16 is �� Introducing week on Radio 1 - find out what's in store on the Introducing web site.
The picture shows Oxford band Fixers. They'll be the first act added to the Radio 1 playlist - you'll hear their track Majesties Ranch on Radio 1 from Monday 10th January.
Watch Fixers performing on the �� Introducing stage at T in the Park 2010.
If you're making music, upload your tracks at �� Introducing.
Philippa Aylott is producer of the ��'s Sound of 2011. She's written about the process on the �� Music blog.

Music Showcase - a new way to find and enjoy �� music content

2010-12-17T17:20:31+00:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/showcase

A few weeks ago we released our first version of the �� Music Showcase and this week we have made some important tweaks to the site following user testing. We've had some comments following posts from my colleagues Andy Puleston and Matt Coulson, so I thought I'd write to tell you a bit more.

So what is Music Showcase and why is it important? What we've released so far is an aggregation of all the �� music content that is not a full-length programme. Our radio station sites and iPlayer cover that angle fairly well, but what we haven't cracked until now is getting those nuggets of great content out of their full-length programmes to expose them in new ways. That content could be a live music session, or an interview with an artist, or a feature about a single artist, a DJ mix or a live concert. The �� creates this kind of content in droves but it's almost impossible to find what you are really interested in unless you know exactly what was broadcast and at what time. Most web users don't have the patience for the time-consuming searching that this involves.

Now we can start to pull all those special moments out of their full-length programmes and offer them via genre, 'curated collections' or artist search - or via filters like 'most popular', 'latest in', and 'about to expire'. In other words, these unique pieces of content are now accessible and can be put together in collections which make sense to users. So, for example, we have a collection of great music clips taken from live music sessions right across the ��, another of classic interviews, and the Best of the Festivals 2010.

Music Showcase is just the start. The next stage is 'curated collections': we want to tap into the world-class talent that the �� employs to generate human-powered recommendations. Our music radio networks filter, curate and recommend music every single hour of every day. Filtering the vast amount of music available is at the heart of what our stations do: from a radio station playlist (like Radio 1's and Radio 2's), through to specialist music experts such as Gilles Peterson, Jez Nelson or Bob Harris. So far, we haven't capitalised on this online. The opportunity opening up to us now is to allow these musical experts to have a real voice on bbc.co.uk.

This development requires a fairly significant cultural change at the ��, a move to understanding the value of elements of whole programmes, not just the programmes themselves. To go from understanding this to actually clipping music content from programmes will require changes to the way we work and some new tools. These things will take time, but the feedback so far suggests there's a real appetite for it.

This is good news for broadcast radio. We're doing something which takes the fantastic content we make every day in our broadcast output and offers it in an appropriate manner for our digital audiences. This is truly a mashup of traditional broadcast media with digital media. I believe that it's projects like this that will help traditional media brands move successfully into the fully digital world.

The Music Showcase is just one of the strands of work feeding into our thinking around radio and music online, as discussed on the �� Internet blog by Erik Huggers, Director of �� Future Media & Technology. One thing is for certain: music aggregation and music recommendations from �� talent will continue to be an important part of what we offer in the future.

Have a play with the Showcase and leave a comment here to let me know what you think. Remember it's still in alpha mode so expect to see lots of small updates over the coming weeks and months.

Chris Kimber is Managing Editor, �� Audio & Music Interactive

The picture shows the Rolling Stones in concert. They're included in the Music Showcase collection Rock 'n' Roll DNA.

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