R3 and Music
How R3's music remit has changed
When complaints are made about the increasing amount of non-classical music on R3, a frequent response is that R3 is not purely a classical music station: 'You have only to look at the remit to see that.' That, of course, is only half the story: the remit is not fixed, and management decides when it wants to change it. The changes have to be approved by the Governors who (until now) have normally rubber-stamped any new proposals.
Handover: The year 1998-1999 spanned the departure of R3 controller Nicholas Kenyon in November and the arrival of Roger Wright. The review of Kenyon's Radio 3 in the Annual Report for that year was prepared by the head of BBC management, Director-General John Birt. Apart from the single mention of the success of Jazz on 3 it seems to be taken for granted that the musical output referred to is classical. Special references to programmes dealing with 'some of the world's leading thinkers and writers' and 'an extraordinary year for BBC Radio 3 drama' is an indication of the importance attached to serious speech/spoken arts output.
Change of direction: In 2000, just over one year after Roger Wright became Controller, Greg Dyke took on the post of Director-General. In his Review of Services for 1999-2000, he describes Radio 3's remit: 'In addition to the classical repertory, BBC Radio 3 features jazz, traditional, experimental and new music from around the world'. Special mention is made of Late Junction, introduced in September 1999, which had 'gained a cult following for what is perhaps the most eclectic range of music on air'.
By the 2003 report, Radio 3 was offering 'considerably more than traditional western classical music. Partnership with the London Jazz Festival, the Awards for World Music and broadcasts from UK festivals from Brighton to Orkney, contributed to a rich schedule of diverse musical styles. However, classical music remains at the heart of the schedule.'
After the publication in May 2004 of the annual prospectus, the BBC Statements of Programme Policy 2004/2005, Friends of Radio 3 queried the fact that classical music seemed to be even further downplayed. Radio 3 now provided 'a broad spectrum of classical music, jazz, world music, drama and arts discussions'.
The move from 'the UK's leading patron and broadcaster of classical music' to 'in addition to the classical repertory.' to 'considerably more than western classical music.' to 'a broad spectrum of classical music, jazz, world music.' seems to show that not only can remits be changed, they can be changed very swiftly, at the whim of management.
In this year's Annual Report (for 2003/2004), published in July, there is a Governors' Review of Services in place of the Director-General's review. It is sober and factual. The first paragraph is a résumé of the current remit. The final paragraph reads: 'We note that classical music remains at the heart of the schedule and the current remit requires that core to be complemented with other serious music genres including jazz and world music. We are aware some listeners are unhappy with the share of output given to non-classical music on Radio 3 and will remain mindful of this in continuing to assess the network's performance.'
Relevant quotations and links to the source documents referred to are on the Notes page
Handover: The year 1998-1999 spanned the departure of R3 controller Nicholas Kenyon in November and the arrival of Roger Wright. The review of Kenyon's Radio 3 in the Annual Report for that year was prepared by the head of BBC management, Director-General John Birt. Apart from the single mention of the success of Jazz on 3 it seems to be taken for granted that the musical output referred to is classical. Special references to programmes dealing with 'some of the world's leading thinkers and writers' and 'an extraordinary year for BBC Radio 3 drama' is an indication of the importance attached to serious speech/spoken arts output.
Change of direction: In 2000, just over one year after Roger Wright became Controller, Greg Dyke took on the post of Director-General. In his Review of Services for 1999-2000, he describes Radio 3's remit: 'In addition to the classical repertory, BBC Radio 3 features jazz, traditional, experimental and new music from around the world'. Special mention is made of Late Junction, introduced in September 1999, which had 'gained a cult following for what is perhaps the most eclectic range of music on air'.
By the 2003 report, Radio 3 was offering 'considerably more than traditional western classical music. Partnership with the London Jazz Festival, the Awards for World Music and broadcasts from UK festivals from Brighton to Orkney, contributed to a rich schedule of diverse musical styles. However, classical music remains at the heart of the schedule.'
After the publication in May 2004 of the annual prospectus, the BBC Statements of Programme Policy 2004/2005, Friends of Radio 3 queried the fact that classical music seemed to be even further downplayed. Radio 3 now provided 'a broad spectrum of classical music, jazz, world music, drama and arts discussions'.
The move from 'the UK's leading patron and broadcaster of classical music' to 'in addition to the classical repertory.' to 'considerably more than western classical music.' to 'a broad spectrum of classical music, jazz, world music.' seems to show that not only can remits be changed, they can be changed very swiftly, at the whim of management.
In this year's Annual Report (for 2003/2004), published in July, there is a Governors' Review of Services in place of the Director-General's review. It is sober and factual. The first paragraph is a résumé of the current remit. The final paragraph reads: 'We note that classical music remains at the heart of the schedule and the current remit requires that core to be complemented with other serious music genres including jazz and world music. We are aware some listeners are unhappy with the share of output given to non-classical music on Radio 3 and will remain mindful of this in continuing to assess the network's performance.'
Relevant quotations and links to the source documents referred to are on the Notes page