Generate Title Heading on :”It’s much more than just a radio play” ⋆ Somag News without quotes

For many young and unsigned musicians in the UK, BBC Introbing has long been a beacon of opportunity. Originally introduced in 2007, since 2009 users have been able to upload their music to the platform’s website, which is sent directly to BBC Radio producers and presenters. For artists working independently or on a budget, BBC Introbing is still a free and accessible way to express themselves and played a key role in the early careers of Little Simz, Blossoms and George Ezra. It is important to note that this gives any newbie a chance to get into national radio based solely on music. It is also often a great source of discovery for NME as it allows underground artists to connect directly with a wider audience.

The basis of BBC Introbing is a network of weekly local radio shows. Since January 2013, every local BBC radio station in England and the Channel Islands has broadcast a BBC Music Introbing program on Saturday nights to showcase the wealth of new music discovered outside the UK’s major cities. Each of the 32 shows, which are spun off from seven additional different network shows in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, reflect a local scene. The BBC Music Introduction website currently receives over 5,000 songs from new artists per week; In 2022 alone, 19,666 new artist accounts were created on the platform and 95,667 unique songs were uploaded.

However, last week (January 13), BBC local radio presenters have taken to Twitter to announce that significant changes to BBC Introbing programs are possible. Proposals seen by presenters suggest that, if approved, 21 of the network’s individual local radio shows in England and the Channel Islands could either merge or cease to exist altogether, with the remainder of artist support transferred online .

“At the moment we can only guess what will happen to our local BBC Introducing shows,” explained BBC Radio London presenter Jess Isatt, who supported Loyle Carner and Celeste on her weekly show. “We are concerned that artists, listeners and everyone who benefits from introducing BBC Introbing as a new music platform will not know what has happened until it is too late. The regionalization of the shows is only one step towards their complete elimination and therefore the deactivation of a vital platform for listening to the music of new artists.”

Music fans were alarmed by this news, anticipating potentially catastrophic consequences for the British music industry. In response, BBC 6 Music presenter Tom Robinson launched a campaign encouraging listeners to post messages on his blog in support of local BBC presenters to draw public attention to the situation. “It would be terrible if these shows were cancelled. BBC Introbing does [new music] accessible to listeners who wouldn’t otherwise hear these artists,” says Jennifer Clarke, listener of BBC Introbing Solent, in a comment that aptly sums up the sense of community these shows inspire.

Simply put, the future of BBC Introbing’s local shows is in limbo. In a statement provided to NME, a BBC spokesperson said: “Our new local radio schedules will be announced in due course, but they will not compromise the essence of the BBC’s performance. We are committed to maintaining dedicated support for discovering and promoting the work of new talent at each of our 39 local radio stations. Local radio will continue to honor local artists and be an entry point for talent.

“We have to recognize the changing habits of listeners and our goal is to reach even more people. Each local radio station has a place on BBC Sounds, which has a fixed ‘Presentation’ slot where more content is allocated than the radio’s schedule can accommodate. We also regularly feature songs and artists on the breakfast show and that will continue.”

It is currently unclear how local BBC Introbing shows can be combined. However, even if they evolve into wider regional shows, the number of talent that will successfully hit the airwaves in the future is likely to decrease. The current infrastructure preserves the autonomy of local radio and facilitates some of the first steps up musicians have had to make, providing contacts, music education and concerts in places where opportunities are few.

The support of the local hosts of BBC The exciting show doesn’t stop at radio dramas. From here artists are forwarded to BBC DJs to perform on national radio and can also be nominated to perform on major festival stages such as Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds. Hosts and their production teams directly provide artists with continuous broadcasts, interviews, concerts and sessions, allowing music to flourish in communities otherwise cut off from the industry.

“When you’re putting yourself out there, having your work endorsed by a local BBC show, Introbing, can be a really important milestone,” says Moa Moa drummer Matt Taylor. In 2019, the Hertford-based group received their first radio play on the BBC show Introducing Beds, Herts & Bucks, but Taylor points to Manchester-based quartet Porij as “a prime example of how [BBC Introducing] works as an ecosystem. He described the sense of pride he felt watching the band make their Glastonbury debut last year, after hearing their music on the BBC’s Introbing Manchester show two years earlier. “It was so inspiring,” he notes.

Lewis Whiting, guitarist of English teacher in Leeds, agrees that the ongoing support they get from BBC Introbing is “invaluable”, adding: “That’s the main thing that local bands are aiming for: you can see that in the past, introducing shows from the local BBC has brought results and made the groups career more tangible. It gave us a future.”

The relationship between the local hosts of the BBC’s Introbing show and the artists is not only symbiotic, but strong. Issat told NME that she was one of the first — and only — people to hear the demos of Mercury Prize-winning singer and poet Arlo Parkes, who sent her earliest music to BBC Introbing London when she was still at school . Isatt introduced Parkes to her manager and then offered the Hammersmith schoolgirl her first festival spot on the stage at the BBC’s Glastonbury performance. DJ Emily Pilbeam from Leeds agrees: “We’re delighted with the success of [the artists]. It’s not about us [the presenters]we’re just fans doing everything we can to take our artists to the next level.”

English teachers enthusiastically describe their relationship with Pilbim, which has presented the BBC Introbing slot in West Yorkshire for three years. “Local DJs representing the BBC are in constant contact with the artists playing. [Emily] Pilbeam has been with us since day one and was always coming to our gigs and offering us DJ sets,” says vocalist and guitarist Lily Fontaine, who describes how Pilbeam’s tireless support of English Teacher helped the art-punk quartet make their debut. Headline show in London at Lexington in December 2021.

Fontaine continues: “If [the BBC] brings together different local acts, which I think we’re planning to do, then someone like Emily wouldn’t be able to pay as much attention to new bands if they’re from a big region like Yorkshire; each individual group will receive less attention and in turn will receive fewer opportunities. The current system is democratic. Without this we would lose the sense of community associated with working with BBC Introbing.’

Local BBC Introbing shows may also have been a victim of their own success. Like many other youth radio programs in the UK and around the world, they built an audience eager for easy access to new music before the advent of Spotify. Now streaming services can directly introduce listeners to new artists using curated playlists and mixes. Mission accomplished, right? Well, not really: instead, passionate and knowledgeable radio presenters, those who have built history, are losing listeners to other services. RAJAR’s findings for the third quarter of 2022 show that BBC Radio London, for example, has seen a 31% drop in listenership over the past year – a figure that is sure to affect the radio station’s locally-presented show.

This maximizes the use of locals BBC Introductory shows have never been more effective and important. “I learned that standing up for what you think is good pays off,” says Isat. “I’m proud of what we do for artists who don’t necessarily get the glory of mainstream success, but are incredibly talented and unique nonetheless.”

Pilbeam also believes that the most important aspect of her role is to continue to share the success stories of local artists with her listeners and in turn rely on the collective know-how so that the next generation of musicians feel inspired to break the stereotypes . Notably, she was part of the first team to listen to Yard Act via the BBC Introduction website in early 2020, two years before they released their debut album The Overload, which reached number two in the UK Albums Chart .

“Limiting BBC exposure to regional shows rather than local ones [shows] it will make it much harder for working-class musicians to break through,” says Pilbeam, referring to the need for wider systemic changes in the industry; in November 2022, research published by the British Sociological Foundation found that only 8% of UK creatives came from low-income segments of the population. “People say the music industry is no longer London-focused, but anyone who lives in the North knows that’s not true,” she continues. “BBC Introbing local shows offer people across the country opportunities to succeed. A BBC performance is much more than just a radio performance.

As presenters and listeners, they continue to work to protect local identity BBC Introducing the shows, it’s clear that they collectively refuse to let the influence of an evolving, engagement-obsessed industry influence their own listening and discovery habits. “Week after week my team puts on a good show and we are committed to protecting our local scenes,” concludes Pilbeam. “Nothing will ever change that.”

For many young and unsigned musicians in the UK, BBC Introbing has long been a beacon of opportunity. Originally introduced in 2007, since 2009 users have been able to upload their music to the platform’s website, which is sent directly to BBC Radio producers and presenters. For artists working independently or on a budget, BBC Introbing is still a free and accessible way to express themselves and played a key role in the early careers of Little Simz, Blossoms and George Ezra. It is important to note that this gives any newbie a chance to get into national radio based solely on music. It is also often a great source of discovery for NME as it allows underground artists to connect directly with a wider audience.

The basis of BBC Introbing is a network of weekly local radio shows. Since January 2013, every local BBC radio station in England and the Channel Islands has broadcast a BBC Music Introbing program on Saturday nights to showcase the wealth of new music discovered outside the UK’s major cities. Each of the 32 shows, which are spun off from seven additional different network shows in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, reflect a local scene. The BBC Music Introduction website currently receives over 5,000 songs from new artists per week; In 2022 alone, 19,666 new artist accounts were created on the platform and 95,667 unique songs were uploaded.

However, last week (January 13), BBC local radio presenters have taken to Twitter to announce that significant changes to BBC Introbing programs are possible. Proposals seen by presenters suggest that, if approved, 21 of the network’s individual local radio shows in England and the Channel Islands could either merge or cease to exist altogether, with the remainder of artist support transferred online .

“At the moment we can only guess what will happen to our local BBC Introducing shows,” explained BBC Radio London presenter Jess Isatt, who supported Loyle Carner and Celeste on her weekly show. “We are concerned that artists, listeners and everyone who benefits from introducing BBC Introbing as a new music platform will not know what has happened until it is too late. The regionalization of the shows is only one step towards their complete elimination and therefore the deactivation of a vital platform for listening to the music of new artists.”

Music fans were alarmed by this news, anticipating potentially catastrophic consequences for the British music industry. In response, BBC 6 Music presenter Tom Robinson launched a campaign encouraging listeners to post messages on his blog in support of local BBC presenters to draw public attention to the situation. “It would be terrible if these shows were cancelled. BBC Introbing does [new music] accessible to listeners who wouldn’t otherwise hear these artists,” says Jennifer Clarke, listener of BBC Introbing Solent, in a comment that aptly sums up the sense of community these shows inspire.

Simply put, the future of BBC Introbing’s local shows is in limbo. In a statement provided to NME, a BBC spokesperson said: “Our new local radio schedules will be announced in due course, but they will not compromise the essence of the BBC’s performance. We are committed to maintaining dedicated support for discovering and promoting the work of new talent at each of our 39 local radio stations. Local radio will continue to honor local artists and be an entry point for talent.

“We have to recognize the changing habits of listeners and our goal is to reach even more people. Each local radio station has a place on BBC Sounds, which has a fixed ‘Presentation’ slot where more content is allocated than the radio’s schedule can accommodate. We also regularly feature songs and artists on the breakfast show and that will continue.”

It is currently unclear how local BBC Introbing shows can be combined. However, even if they evolve into wider regional shows, the number of talent that will successfully hit the airwaves in the future is likely to decrease. The current infrastructure preserves the autonomy of local radio and facilitates some of the first steps up musicians have had to make, providing contacts, music education and concerts in places where opportunities are few.

The support of the local hosts of BBC The exciting show doesn’t stop at radio dramas. From here artists are forwarded to BBC DJs to perform on national radio and can also be nominated to perform on major festival stages such as Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds. Hosts and their production teams directly provide artists with continuous broadcasts, interviews, concerts and sessions, allowing music to flourish in communities otherwise cut off from the industry.

“When you’re putting yourself out there, having your work endorsed by a local BBC show, Introbing, can be a really important milestone,” says Moa Moa drummer Matt Taylor. In 2019, the Hertford-based group received their first radio play on the BBC show Introducing Beds, Herts & Bucks, but Taylor points to Manchester-based quartet Porij as “a prime example of how [BBC Introducing] works as an ecosystem. He described the sense of pride he felt watching the band make their Glastonbury debut last year, after hearing their music on the BBC’s Introbing Manchester show two years earlier. “It was so inspiring,” he notes.

Lewis Whiting, guitarist of English teacher in Leeds, agrees that the ongoing support they get from BBC Introbing is “invaluable”, adding: “That’s the main thing that local bands are aiming for: you can see that in the past, introducing shows from the local BBC has brought results and made the groups career more tangible. It gave us a future.”

The relationship between the local hosts of the BBC’s Introbing show and the artists is not only symbiotic, but strong. Issat told NME that she was one of the first — and only — people to hear the demos of Mercury Prize-winning singer and poet Arlo Parkes, who sent her earliest music to BBC Introbing London when she was still at school . Isatt introduced Parkes to her manager and then offered the Hammersmith schoolgirl her first festival spot on the stage at the BBC’s Glastonbury performance. DJ Emily Pilbeam from Leeds agrees: “We’re delighted with the success of [the artists]. It’s not about us [the presenters]we’re just fans doing everything we can to take our artists to the next level.”

English teachers enthusiastically describe their relationship with Pilbim, which has presented the BBC Introbing slot in West Yorkshire for three years. “Local DJs representing the BBC are in constant contact with the artists playing. [Emily] Pilbeam has been with us since day one and was always coming to our gigs and offering us DJ sets,” says vocalist and guitarist Lily Fontaine, who describes how Pilbeam’s tireless support of English Teacher helped the art-punk quartet make their debut. Headline show in London at Lexington in December 2021.

Fontaine continues: “If [the BBC] brings together different local acts, which I think we’re planning to do, then someone like Emily wouldn’t be able to pay as much attention to new bands if they’re from a big region like Yorkshire; each individual group will receive less attention and in turn will receive fewer opportunities. The current system is democratic. Without this we would lose the sense of community associated with working with BBC Introbing.’

Local BBC Introbing shows may also have been a victim of their own success. Like many other youth radio programs in the UK and around the world, they built an audience eager for easy access to new music before the advent of Spotify. Now streaming services can directly introduce listeners to new artists using curated playlists and mixes. Mission accomplished, right? Well, not really: instead, passionate and knowledgeable radio presenters, those who have built history, are losing listeners to other services. RAJAR’s findings for the third quarter of 2022 show that BBC Radio London, for example, has seen a 31% drop in listenership over the past year – a figure that is sure to affect the radio station’s locally-presented show.

This maximizes the use of locals BBC Introductory shows have never been more effective and important. “I learned that standing up for what you think is good pays off,” says Isat. “I’m proud of what we do for artists who don’t necessarily get the glory of mainstream success, but are incredibly talented and unique nonetheless.”

Pilbeam also believes that the most important aspect of her role is to continue to share the success stories of local artists with her listeners and in turn rely on the collective know-how so that the next generation of musicians feel inspired to break the stereotypes . Notably, she was part of the first team to listen to Yard Act via the BBC Introduction website in early 2020, two years before they released their debut album The Overload, which reached number two in the UK Albums Chart .

“Limiting BBC exposure to regional shows rather than local ones [shows] it will make it much harder for working-class musicians to break through,” says Pilbeam, referring to the need for wider systemic changes in the industry; in November 2022, research published by the British Sociological Foundation found that only 8% of UK creatives came from low-income segments of the population. “People say the music industry is no longer London-focused, but anyone who lives in the North knows that’s not true,” she continues. “BBC Introbing local shows offer people across the country opportunities to succeed. A BBC performance is much more than just a radio performance.

As presenters and listeners, they continue to work to protect local identity BBC Introducing the shows, it’s clear that they collectively refuse to let the influence of an evolving, engagement-obsessed industry influence their own listening and discovery habits. “Week after week my team puts on a good show and we are committed to protecting our local scenes,” concludes Pilbeam. “Nothing will ever change that.”