Radio 3 spinoff station

[Frances_iom]

...But an Easy Listening/chill extension isn't really what's needed.

but it is what might very well appear - (a) it seems appreciated by the under 30s (b) it's cheap and easily repeatable (c) the R3 audience is getting older and classical music will soon appear just as niche as pigeon fancying

[LMcD]

It does appear that R3 is less and less considered a 'music station' by the BBC. I can't help feeling that a station which includes 'classical music' from The Early Music Show to Unclassified and all stops in between, before and after, plus jazz and world music, plus drama, documentaries and arts features, does need an overflow 'extension' station. But an Easy Listening/chill extension isn't really what's needed.

[Hitch]

Dare I suggest that the proposed station, far from being the reserve of "calming" classical music, should become the home of jazz and world music? Drama, documentaries and arts features could be shared appropriately between R3, R4 and Rtbc. Everyone would get a bit more elbow room.

[french frank]

but it is what might very well appear - (a) it seems appreciated by the under 30s

So why don't they put it in one of the myriad R1 spin-offs, of which there are already three*, without the newly proposed one?

* Radio 1Xtra, Radio 1 Dance, Radio 1 Relax

[Serial_Apologist]

I'm suspicious about the repeated emphasis on calm and peace. Have they been told to do this in preparation for something the government are planning?

I wouldn't be in the least surprised!!!

[Kernow Malc]

Sounds like an all day Night Tracks. If its presented in the same coffe advert way I wont be there. Dont see any real vision for radio- BBC still have no jazz station- far too much bland pop.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

You could be right. My thinking was that these new spinoffs would be the BBC's way of dipping its (and its listeners') toes in the DAB+ water, with the main stations following later.

I'm definitely in favour of this piece of the jigsaw. DAB+ was introduced in Germany etc. some years ago.

[richardfinegold]

Don’t know why people are getting so worked up about this . If it leads to the removal of certain late night chill out / relax / de-stress mixtapes on R3 so much the better, The reason they are doing it ? The enormous success of such mixtapes on Spotify et al. And that’s quite interesting : because those streamers’ editorial doesn’t fall under OFCOM’s remit it will be difficult to see how they (OFCOM) could object.

Presumably people are worked up because if this a major commercial success, it will make it easier to axe the current R3

[french frank]

Presumably people are worked up because if this a major commercial success, it will make it easier to axe the current R3

I'll repeat: I don't think people are "worked up", which by the dictionary definitions means angry, upset, over excited.The news has been announced and a discussion follows. No, I don't think the new station is a threat to R3 in that respect. Whether it allows R3 to focus a bit more sharply on "lean forward" programmes remains to be seen. I'm not convinced that it will bring about change for the better; if it takes funding from R3, that will mean more repeats and cheap(er) CD programmes, with or without guests/guest presenters. As with the first wave of digital-only stations, the BBC's stated rationale is to 'increase choice'.

[DracoM]

Spin-off R3 plan maybe now explains the saving of money by scrubbing the BBC Singers? Neat budgeting..or.................?

[Aotearoa]

Please take the pep that I am listening to now; Music and Meditation. Simpering, hushed speakers calming down the self-diagnosed legions of listeners under stress on a Saturday night.
This has no place on a culture station. There are plenty self-help outlets to indulge the many who confuse stress with having more than one thing to do. As you may sense, those honey words have induced quite the opposite in me. As it is a lovely afternoon I ought to tend the garden

[LMcD]

Please take the pep that I am listening to now; Music and Meditation. Simpering, hushed speakers calming down the self-diagnosed legions of listeners under stress on a Saturday night.
This has no place on a culture station. There are plenty self-help outlets to indulge the many who confuse stress with having more than one thing to do. As you may sense, those honey words have induced quite the opposite in me. As it is a lovely afternoon I ought to tend the garden

Perhaps the 'Music and Meditation' slot is there to help soothe the fevered brows and frazzled brains of Radio 3 listeners who are already stressed out after trying to escape all those trailers and may also shortly find it difficult to navigate their way through the upcoming schedule 'improvements'.

[french frank]

Perhaps the 'Music and Meditation' slot is there to help soothe the fevered brows and frazzled brains of Radio 3 listeners who are already stressed out after trying to escape all those trailers and may also shortly find it difficult to navigate their way through the upcoming schedule 'improvements'.

That would hardly be a good alternative to a proper cultural station. In other words: R3 listeners did not need destressing until R3 started with all this mind-numbing ultra-CFM relaxation. If they do need treatment it would be better to undergo therapy for it.

[Retune]

"Radio 3 The BBC said the station would champion music by living composers including a new generation of artist-composers who receive a limited amount of airplay on other UK stations.

Maya Åström, Minik Knudsen, Mingmei Hsueh and Csizmazia Etel?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/19/swedish-composer-johan-rohr-becomes-spotifys-most-famous-musician-youve-never-heard-of

'Even by international standards ... the success of [Johan] Röhr’s multitude of identities puts him among Spotify’s top 100 most-streamed artists ... Much of his success is believed to be associated with his presence on more than 100 of Spotify’s official instrumental playlists, which the company itself curates. With names like “peaceful piano” or “stress relief”, such piano-heavy playlists are particularly popular among users seeking music to play in the background while they work, eat meals or relax.'

[LMcD]

That would hardly be a good alternative to a proper cultural station. In other words: R3 listeners did not need destressing until R3 started with all this mind-numbing ultra-CFM relaxation. If they do need treatment it would be better to undergo therapy for it.

So far this morning, I've listened to about 30 minutes of Sounds Of The Sixties with Tony Blackburn on Radio 2, about 20 minutes of Ms Alker on Radio 3, and CDs of Simply Red's and Bix Beiderbecke's Greatest Hits. My days of sustained listening to Radio 3 are long gone, I'm afraid, and most unlikely to return. The upside of this is that a greater proportion of my CDs will be played and enjoyed instead of being literally left on the shelf.