1Xtra ticket sale falls apart

You would have hoped that the BBC would have enough tech savvy to avoid a 'ticket sale fail', but...

Two hours ago they put their Liverpool 1Xtra tickets on sale:

🚨🚨🚨#1xtraLive tickets are now ON SALE to see @Stormzy1 @duttypaul &more

Don't miss out ➡️ https://t.co/hRGbBipRws pic.twitter.com/aLw6Wdc8Qy

— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) September 5, 2016

And the system fell over almost instantly:

We are currently having a few technical issues with the #1xtraLive ticket website. We are working to solve the problem as quickly as we can!

— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) September 5, 2016

So they pulled the sale:

⚠️ Due to this we are suspending sales until the issue has been fully resolved. We'll let you know when the tickets are available again 2/2

— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) September 5, 2016

Trouble is... they'd already been on sale sort-of long enough to cause problems:

@1Xtra if money has been taken out of my bank does that mean I already have my tickets ?

— clare (@ClareW25) September 5, 2016

And that really needed a clear answer. But all it got was this:

@ClareW25 We can't tell you how sorry we are for these issues 😥 We'll have answers tomorrow when #1xtraLive tickets will be back on sale

— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) September 5, 2016

- which doesn't really answer the 'you have taken my money, have I got tickets' question.

And, unsurprisingly, people are pissed off with not just the flop, but the lack of any real clarity about what's going on:

@1Xtra how you going to put them back on sale when people don't even have the tickets and have basically been robbed 😂

— Gem (@Gemhickey) September 5, 2016

The BBC is struggling to keep an audience with younger people. This isn't the way to build that trust.

BBC Trust agrees to kill the distinctiveness of Radio 1

Radio 1. What makes it difference from commercial radio, and - come to that - from streaming stuff over Spotify?

It'd be the live music and the sessions. There's something you can point at and say, there's something that proves the value in having a station like that, funded by licence fee.

The BBC Trust agree.

Except, they don't agree enough to protect that part of the service:

BBC Radio 1 is to make dramatic cuts to its live music output, with the number of sessions by pop and rock bands dropping from 250 to 160 per year.

The station will also reduce the number of live events it covers from 25 to 10.

The BBC Trust has agreed to the changes, despite audience research showing "that live music is seen as a key strength of Radio 1".

"Yes, you're very good at what you do. Play some more records instead, eh, that's cheaper."

The BBC Trust is chaired, you'll recall, by Rona Fairhead, who seems to be bringing the same sure touch she shows at her other job at HSBC to the work she's doing at the BBC.

What else is in the Trust findings? Well...

Radio 1 and 1Xtra's roles supporting musicians and djs with career advice is now mainly going to be picked up BBC Introducing - a change which reflects what's been happening anyway;

Radio 1 and 1Xtra will share more documentaries; 1Xtra's requirement for 20% speech programming has been dropped as a result (although the worry is that 'repeating Radio 1 documentaries' isn't the same sort of thing as creating the crafted speech programmes it has been doing.);

1Xtra can now do dj mixes instead of club nights;

Radio 2 will no longer have to do 'readings' as part of its remit, on the grounds that who knew Radio 2 had to do readings?, but it still "should" do readings. That's clear, yeah?

The need for "regular" comedy programmes on Radio 2 has been watered down to just "comedy programmes";

6Music comes off largely untouched, although the previous target of "15% of concerts and session from archives" is turned into a more easy to track "Broadcast at least 6,500 concert tracks or sessions from the BBC’s music archive each year, with at least 1,150 in daytime". You might wonder why, if the Trust wants to see 6Music using the BBC Archive so widely, it's just signed off on proposals to limit the size at which that archive grows in the same sodding document;

Radio 3 has to do more jazz;

and less drama;

and Asian Network has to provide at least 24 hours of news and current affairs every week. Not clear if this includes sticking Five Live on overnight.

The worst thing in these new rules is that Radio 1 is going to mostly cutback the sessions and live music out of the mainstream; it's a double blow to distinctiveness.

Radio 1 launches cull that Owen Paterson might think a bit much

There's been the sort of cull of Radio 1 presenters which, in the past, would have triggered a thousand 'whither pop radio' think pieces but seems to have slipped by without much comment at all.

There's some big names going, too:

BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra are to axe DJs including Edith Bowman, Rob Da Bank and Nihal in a schedule shake-up driven by the need to cut costs.

Controller Ben Cooper admitted that the cull of presenters – which includes Mike Davies, Jen Long, Ally McCrae, CJ Beatz, Crissy Criss and Robbo Ranx – have been driven by cuts across the corporation introduced after the last licence fee settlement.

This boils down mostly to Huw Stephens being asked to pick up a lot of the slack, with him getting a programme that sounds a bit like Colin Murray's post-Zane Lowe slot.

Da Bank going is something of a hit; and in terms of losing interesting people do worthwhile things, Davies' punk show has been a quiet gem in the Radio 1 schedule.

Difficult times at the BBC, of course, but it's a pity that the savings are coming at the cost of the diversity which makes Radio 1 worth keeping.

When is a Mandela joke not a Mandela joke? Stop asking and just say you're sorry

Simon Amstell was on Radio One yesterday morning, and made a joke at the network's expense:

Amstell said: "What is going on? We're next to 1Xtra, it's so white in here. Mandela would not approve of the situation at the BBC."

When Nick Grimshaw asked why, the guest replied: "Look at all these people in here." Grimshaw answered: "There's a lot of people."

The comedian then said: "Yeah, but look at the segregation that's happened."

He then laughed when the producer of the Breakfast Show, Matt Fincham, said: "I don't think that's the right thing to be saying right now."

Amstell added: "Well, someone had to say it. Mandela would say it if he was here."

Apparently, this silly joke about how the BBC created a station for black music was offensive, somehow, so Amstell has been made to apologise:

"It may have been unclear this morning, as things often are but what came out of this mouth today was silly. Apologies to everyone involved."

Westwood off

After twenty years doing a thing that was very much his thing, Tim Westwood is off, leaving both Radio One and 1Xtra.

Noticeably, while Radio one's Ben Cooper and Charlie Sloth, who is taking over the shows, are warm and effusive in their statements, there's no standard 'it was great to be offered the chance to be part of this for twenty years' twinkling from Westwood.

It's being reported that Radio 2 is currently not answering its doorbell, and sending all messages to answerphone.

Westwood goes west

Tim Westwood has been asked to move from drivetime on 1Xtra to a Sunday night slot.

I say "asked". He's been told.

He's not entirely happy about it, reckons The Guardian, decoding his tweets:

The 54-year-old informed his 262,000 Twitter followers on Twitter that the station had "sacked" him.

"I've been sacked from 1Xtra Mon-Fri 4-7pm from sept #Westwoodyourfired," he tweeted on Thursday. "It's official I've lost my afternoon voice due to schedule changes I will not be presentin 1Xtra Mon-Fri 4-7pm from Sept".

Is going on Twitter and making a fuss really that different from DLT's "changes I disagree with" flounce?

Radio One drops news

There's a whole bunch of worry in the detail on the BBC news cuts. The most worrying is what sounds like the death knell for Newsbeat:

Radio 1 and 1Xtra will no longer have their own dedicated news services, except at breakfast

Whenever commercial radio types complain about Radio 1 having listeners they wrongly assume would be tuned into their weak offerings, Newsbeat has always been a handy point of difference between an all-out ratings chasing service and what the BBC does.

Not any more, it seems.

John Myers suggests Newsbeat everywhere, all the time

To be honest, the John Myers review of music radio seems to have struggled to come up with any way of improving value for money across the main BBC pop stations. Instead, it seems to have become fixated on the news service:

It also criticised Radio 2 for employing newsreaders who read a brief hourly news update but then did "little else until the next hour's bulletin".

The review questioned whether Radio 1's Newsbeat programme, which broadcasts a 15-minute bulletin twice a day – as well as hourly news updates – needed to employ 52 full-time staff, and said compliance procedures tightened up in the wake of the "Sachsgate" scandal had run out of control. The Newsbeat team also makes news for Radio 1Xtra.

The report, by former commercial radio executive John Myers, was commissioned by the BBC's director of audio and music, Tim Davie, to investigate opportunities for cost savings across Radio 1 and Radio 2, as well as their digital sister stations, 1Xtra and BBC 6 Music.

Once, Radio 1 and Radio 2 did share news output - that's the reason why Radio 1 does its news at half-past the hour, and you can see a superficial attraction in rolling Newsbeat out to 2 and 6 as well. Except Newsbeat does a bloody good job of serving a specific audience, and it's an audience which isn't the 6Music or Radio 2 audience. You could, perhaps, share news between 6 and 2 - but would that save very much? Or, arguably, Radio 2 could comfortably take the Radio 4 summaries through much of the day. But Newsbeat trying to make their own programmes and Radio 2? It's a bit like suggesting you could have the same team make Newsnight and the evening bulletins for BBC News Channel - you could, but you'd probably end up with the same number of people doing it in order to make it work.

Myers also suggests all four stations sharing a physical space. Because nothing saves money like yet another relocation of staff. (It's not clear what he'd do about programmes which come from elsewhere in the nations - march Radcliffe down south at the end of a pitchfork?)

BBC manages to make itself look silly, this time over Palestine

Claims of censorship and pro-Israeli bias are being dumped by the shedload outside Broadcasting House after 1Xtra cut a reference to Palestine in a Mic Righteous freestyle. MediaGuardian reports:

Mic Righteous, who was raised in Margate, was recorded saying: "I can still scream 'Free Palestine' for my pride, still pray for peace, still burn the Fed for the brutality they spread over the world. Pakistan's a[sic] ocean of bodies in the brown water still nobody helps."
[...]
The song was recorded for Charlie Sloth's late night hip-hop show on 4 December, but protests have been mounting since the performance was rebroadcast as part of a "best of" from the show on 30 April.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign on Wednesday posted a statement on its website urging listeners to write to the BBC and the Radio Times to complain, and to post their views on Sloth's 1Xtra home page.

Describing the edit as an "extraordinary act of censorship", the campaign asked why the BBC did not ban the song "Free Nelson Mandela" when it was released in 1984. At the time, Mandela was still considered a terrorist by many western governments.

Writing letters to Radio Times and muttering that they happily played Free Nelson Mandela when it was out? Is there anyone under 70 at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign? What will they do if this fails to get a reaction - a mass call-up to the Points Of View answerphone?

The BBC, of course, responded with a statement:

Sorry, everyone - yes, this is a bit silly; clearly what's happened her is that in the risk-averse environment at the BBC, someone has decided to err on the side of caution with the end result that a well-meaning attempt to not appear to be endorsing a political position has wound up making us look like we're taking sides. Sorry, we'll try to be a bit more analytical in future.

Sadly, that wasn't their statement. This was:

A BBC spokesperson said a late night music show was not considered an appropriate forum for political controversy.

The corporation explained its decision in a statement: "All BBC programmes have a responsibility to be impartial when dealing with controversial subjects and an edit was made to Mic Righteous' freestyle to ensure that impartiality was maintained."

A late night music show not an appropriate forum for political controversy? Isn't that the best place for airing music that deals with difficult subjects in difficult ways?

6Music and 1Xtra hacked, apparently

According to Websense, the 6Music and 1Xtra websites have somehow become injected with malicious code:

The injected iframe occurs at the foot of the BBC 6 Music Web page, and loads code from a Web site in the .co.cc TLD. The iFrame injected into the Radio 1Xtra Web page leads to the same malicious site.

If an unprotected user browsed to the site they would be faced with drive-by downloads, meaning that simply browsing to the page is enough to get infected with a malicious executable.

The payload is delivered to the end user only once, with the initial visit being logged by the malware authors.

The code that is delivered to end users utilizes exploits delivered by the Phoenix exploit kit. A malicious binary is ultimately delivered to the end user. The VirusTotal detection of this file is currently around 20%.

I think the takeaway message from this is: it could happen to anyone. Do take care online.

6Music: Economist bitch-slapped by reader using facts

Clearly, the Economist doesn't bring its usual considered approach when it talks about pop music. The magazine covered the 6Music closure this week:

In 2002 the BBC introduced 1Xtra, a digital urban-music station that bore a suspicious similarity to Xfm, a commercial outfit. It followed up by launching 6 Music, an alternative-rock station, and the Asian Network. The stations received plenty of promotion on the corporation’s television channels.

Oh really, asked qwertymartin:

Why let mere facts trouble you?

Absolute Radio plays "roughly the same kind of music" as 6 Music? In the last 30 days 6 Music shared 11% of its playlist with Absolute: http://comparemyradio.com/compare/Absolute_Radio/BBC_6_Music

"Suspicious similarity" between 1Xtra and XFM? In the last 30 days 1Xtra shared 0% of its playlist with XFM: http://comparemyradio.com/compare/BBC_1_Xtra/XFM_London

The only things that are rough and suspicious here are this article's interpretation of reality.

You can just about understand why a superficial listen might think Absolute and 6Music is "roughly the same" - guitars, isn't it? - but how on earth could you think that 1Xtra and XFM are similar? Unless you think "there's some music and then some talking" qualifies? Or is it because they both have X in their name?

[with thanks to @alanconnor]

The world waits for Westwood

This evening - and it'll be marked on your year planners and wall calendars, so it comes as no surprise - Tim Westwood takes over drivetime on 1Xtra.

John Plunkett has peeked into the plans:

If you have seen the trailer for the Westwood show, then you will know he is not in the habit of taking himself too seriously. At least, I hope he isn't. "I think people take me far too seriously. Hip-hop in 2009 is about having fun with it, man." But I fear his plans for a couple of comedy characters, Russell Bendy and Dr Lover Lover, might be slightly misjudged.

With his sommelier's nose for porridge and a crew of crazy characters, surely this man is crying out for a breakfast slot? He could do it on the way home.

Westwood arrives with traffic news from 4pm this afternoon. Drivetime did for Des Lynham - can Tim survive?

Your music sounds black but your guitarist is white - can you fill me in?

The story about Craig David being told to dump his white friend and guitarist because it'd confuse his position in the US market looks set to join the Herbie Hancock video story as one of the standard tales of the nasty racist undertow of the music industry. Hats off to Mr D for making a stink about the 'suggestion' rather than just accepting the advice and ploughing on.

What we find odd, though, is this piece by Wilber Wilberforce (a name we're adding to a list headed by Magnus Magnusson and Edward Woodward), the bloke in charge programmes of 1xtra. At first, he seems to want to defend the instruction to David:

" In America though, the rules are different and if Craig wants to succeed over there he will have to play by them. [...] In England it might be seen as an issue of race, but as far as the Americans were concerned it's business. In fact, they probably thought they were being helpful when they suggested that Craig get rid of Fraser. They'll have said to him: "Do you realise that people will ask what kind of act you are? Are you pop? Are you urban? You need to make a decision."

Right, so it's not "race", then, it's business. So, erm, that's alright then, is it? So, presumably if a sandwich bar in Alabama decided to was going to market itself exclusively to a white audience, and as such instituted a policy whereby it wouldn't hire black staff, as that would confuse its clientèle, Mr. Wilberforce would be relaxed with that?

Or if he went for a job with a US news station and was told "sorry, we're aiming for a clearly defined market and your face doesn't fit", he'd accept that that was business rather than racism?

He then shoots himself in his foot about two or three times by trying to suggest there's the same sort of thing happening in the UK, only it's on music snobbery lines rather than race lines. Firstly, from a man who's just stated

"In the US, though, the whole system is far more refined. Be it country and western, rock, pop, or rap every act has its proper place and has to stay there"

to then complain that in the UK

"an "underground" artist always has to hit a fine balance to make sure they don't go "pop" and lose their audience, just as pop stars run the risk of losing their original audience if they try to get street cred"

makes no sense - but then, the claims that Americans can't have black and white artists in the same act makes no sense in article that then goes on to observe that in the US

"In America, though, rap artists record with big names all the time (the latest Tom Jones album has been produced by Wyclef)."

So, Wyclef can record with Tom Jones - who, fair enough, is more orange than white, but still Welsh - and still be urban, but Craig David can't have a white guitarist and be urban? Sorry, Wilber, this sounds like trying to explain away racism to me. It probably isn't the worst example of racism in the industry, and, sure, its a twist for a white guy to be the victim, but let's not try and find a way of understanding it. Let's just admit it stinks, shall we?