Readers of the UK's biggest music business news service CMU have voted to debate the future of music radio at Liverpool Sound City in May. Organisers of the leading industry convention had left a slot in their conference schedule free, to be programmed by CMU's 18,000 music business readers. Topics were suggested by subscribers throughout January, with the best five put to the vote during February.
The news that the BBC's 6music faced the axe was leaked just as that voting reached its climax, seemingly ensuring that the one radio-based topic on the shortlist won the most votes overall among CMU's music business readership.
The music industry's reaction to the BBC's proposals to shut 6 demonstrates just how important labels and artists still believe traditional radio stations can be as platforms to champion new and alternative talent. The CMU panel at Liverpool Sound City will look at why this is, and whether web-based services can or will take over as the primary platforms for music discovery in the coming years, and if so what those services can learn from new music radio when it is done well.
Confirming the topic for the CMU panel at Sound City, CMU Publisher Chris Cooke said this morning: "Perhaps the news of 6music's pending demise rallied the vote for this topic to be the focus of CMU's panel at Sound City this year, though the music and radio industries have always been intrinsically linked, and the role of the latter as a platform for championing the new talent being fostered by the former has been a hot topic for some years. I think some in the music industry ultimately feel radio's key role in music discovery will be replaced by the internet, though the reaction to BBC 6's closure among the music community shows that, for now at least, radio remains important. I look forward to debating with key players in the radio, digital music and record industries on where they see the future of music discovery heading".
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Sound City Director Dave Pichilingi added: "The response to the CMU Sound City panel picker has been phenomenal. In light of everything that is going on at the BBC, the choice of subject is quite apt. The Liverpool Sound City conference is all about challenging and confronting the big issues - we only truly move forward if we do this. This panel will certainly be one that gets the temperatures in the room rising!"
Liverpool Sound City takes place from 19-22 May. For more information and tickets go to Liverpool Sound City.
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