"Although the BBC should continue to offer high-quality programmes and services which appeal to teenagers, and should continue to commission some content in all media specifically aimed at younger teenage audiences, it should accept that its role in addressing the gap in public service television for this audience group will be secondary to that of Channel 4 and other broadcasters."

What on earth does this even mean? Why should Channel 4 and other broadcasters have more responsibility for teen media? The Beeb would do well to sack the shockdocs and terrible sitcoms on BBC Three and put on creative, innovateive programming that young people would actually watch. Or, you know, sack Danny Cohen and put someone competent in charge of BBC Three instead.

As for 6Music - as a 30 year old woman, I feel too old for Radio 1 and too young for Radio 2. When the likes of Bowman and Whiley were relegated from R1 it was clear people my age were no longer welcome as listeners - I can't listen to Moyles or Cotton without my ears bleeding. Radio 2 is abysmal and doesn't meet my needs in any way. I would listen to 6Music all the time if I could get it in my car :( and I love listening to it online or on the telly.

I am OK with the imports thing as long as quality programming like Mad Men and Damages isn't sacrificed. Get rid of Heroes, it's past its best. Pay senior management and 'talent' less. Use a bit of BBC One and Two's budget if neccessary - I wouldn't mind more repats on those channels if the payoff was keeping 6Music, Asian Network etc.

But also: I would gladly pay MORE for my license fee and avoid cuts altogether.

Quote from BBC web site: ?BBC 6 Music is a digital radio station that brings together the cutting-edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years, and unlimited access to the BBC's wonderful music archive."

If Mark Thompson is serious about his cultural goals then BBC radio 6 basic format should be switched to Radio 1.

Currently the playlist for radio 1 (and 2) supports music which is conceived as popular due to overexposure on mainstream commercial radio and the BBC itself.

In reality our licence fee is being used to prop up ailing record labels whose business model is clearly outdated. The BBC plays a critical role for UK popular music and should become more progressive in embracing the changes taking place in the global music business. The BBC needs to develop a serious strategy to promote good music whether it is pushed by record labels, independent promoters or even bands/musicians themselves?

adam brierley
inner voices

Eff right off if you tink i'm paying a license fee, you t!ts. 6 music pretty much all that's on in my house! The eejits at the top wouldn't know quality and diversity if it hit them in the face. I dispair.

"In a wide-ranging shakeup of the BBC's digital radio offerings, it said the spoken-word station BBC Radio 7 ? its most successful digital-only station ? should broadcast more new content and develop closer ties with Radio 4, "culminating in the rebranding of the station as 'Radio 4 Extra'?".

ie - BBC7 to repeat more Radio 4 shows.

"It will also develop further ties between Radio 1 and its digital sister station, 1Xtra"

Do they mean the former will teach the latter how to speak English?

The place to complain is here:

trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk

It's up to us now...

6music already suffers by being on a restrictive medium. you would also think that such a fledgling station would be given more of a chance, given the fact that it serves a minority interest, which is partially the point of the BBC. bring on the backlash.

Very sad.

I'm a 6 Music listener who has never listened (and will never listen) to commercial radio.

No way can I see Radios 1 and 2 picking up the tone and feel of 6 Music, or allowing its presenters to be as relaxed and free as they sound at 6 Music.

Radio One probably spend 6 Music's annual budget organising their own free music festival - in a market overflowing with festivals - surely it would be more prudent to cut uneccessary wasteage such as this than cut a cheap yet fantastic service such as 6 Music, which exactly meets the public service remit of the BBC.

Shame on you Mark Thompson - with your salary and the way you are regarded both inside and outisde the corporation it should be you getting axed.

I used to respect and adore the BBC - but I'm struggling on this dark day of politically motivated corporate bullying.

Shame.

In an ideal world the BBC should get rid of Radio 1 as it symbolises everything that is wrong with music radio today. Full of grossly overpaid, egotistical, unfunny, bland idiots who think talking over songs is a good thing and airplay lists consisting of only the most over-hyped music around. Ok so I have never listened to 6 Music but it can't be as bad as R1 or 2.

Also, Radio5Live should be sorted out too. So they are moving to Salford but at the moment the only thing worth listening to is Tony Livesey at 10.30. Everything else is beginning to grate, even the sport! (unthinkable!!).

wrong wrong wrong.

Thompson is an idiot.

Utterly Outraged. The only music station that appeals to true music lovers. Very tempted to cancel my licence fee. I have 6music on more than all the other bbc channels and radio programmes put together. No doubt this money save will be spent on some deep and meaningful documentary about woman taking off their bra's presented by the div that is dawn porter on BBC3 or supplementing the salary of some airhead on Radio 1 who knows nothing about music but loves every sh*t act that appeals to 12 year olds.

Yes, shame on you Mark Thompson.

What next, scrapping BBC4?

I am exactly the 6 Music Target Market and I love it.

Radio 1 doesn't meet my needs any more as I'm too old and live Music that is too "alternative" (i.e. not X factor product).

Radio 2 doesn't really sit with me either I want to listen for new music not oldie hits or James Blunt style AOR.

Most Importantly - Where will Adam and Joe be put. They are a warm blanket to me and my wife when they are on. We readily identify with so many of their situations and tastes that a world without their saturday show seems so much more dull and grey.

Never mind I'm sure the money will be put to another Series of Total Wipeout, or Snog, Marry, Avoid.

P.S. STEPHEN!

what rot...the report says "Radio 2 should become significantly and demonstrably more distinctive" than commercial competitors...mmm, i wonder how you could do that??...now, let's see, why not play less tedious middle of the road pap?!?...perhaps music more like on say....RADIO 6???!!!!!!!!!! I despair!

... if the BBC truly believed it's own mandate, it would cull the sh*te radios 1 and 2 (there is no discernable difference between those and the commercial stations, except their lack of adverts) and keep R6. and Thompson would cut his salary in half. but that's as likely as the Tories becoming the party of the single mum...

@rad6380 a good point. As 1 gets younger and 2 gets older, listeners like you (and me) get lost in the middle.

This is awful.

Close 6Music and pump more time and money into Radio 1 so Zane Lowe can yell at us whilst playing even more drum and bass? Get rid of the only radio station who solely play credible music so that 1xtra can tell us just a little bit more about Lil Wayne?

I'm out.

What interests me is how little we?re hearing from dissenting voices who don?t want Asian Network closed down.

Could it be that the name of 6Music has been thrown in so as to promote widespread objection from a range of music-related celebrities, because the real agenda of shutting down Asian Network might otherwise look a bit suspect?

I think we should be told.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

*breath*

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Simply put, im gutted.
Only had a net radio for coming upto 1 year, but almost everyday since I bought it, Ive listened to 6music. True, there is a wealth of stations, and when im in the mood for something specific, ill find someother station. But to be honest, with the quality of the shows and the presenters recently I find myself just sticking with 6music the majority of the time. It really feels like its a station aimed directly at me, and I love it.

Perhaps some of the axed 6Music presenters could host some of the excellent programming that goes out on BBC1 on a Saturday night, Hole in the Wall, Total Wipeout, National Lottery ? Who Dares wins; or why not have them guest on Celebrity Cash in Attic?

Well done to the BBC for moving the country one step closer to idiocy, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

So get rid of the truly innovative stuff and leave the utter crap. In Australia BBC 6Music's equivalent Triple J is somewhat of a national institution, whereas here it's left to rot on a digital channel in favour of the unlistenable Radio 1.

When will the BBC learn that it's role is surely to provide what the market won't, not to plumb the lowest possible depths it can - which it already has begun to with it's 'desperate to appeal' news coverage which seems to be made up of more viewer opinion these days than authoritative journalistic commentary...

absolutely sickening news about 6Music. it has suffered from lack of promotion ,as much as anything(its listings aren't even published in the daily papers !)
And yet BBC3 will,inexplicably,be continuing with its "Monkey Tennis" and "2 Pints" output.

Ridiculous

Well, I like the BBC less after this.

They do keep shooting themselves in the foot, don't they?

mark thompson what a tool

6 Music "competes head on for a commercially valuable audience". Jeez, what an idiot. We?ve all heard the commercial stations and that?s why we?re listening to 6Music.

Could he be any more incompetent if he tried.

This is awful.

I'm 22 years old and love 6 music. All of my friends (in their early twenties) also love 6 music. In fact, one of my friend's bands has recently started getting airplay on the station - I doubt anywhere else would have given him a break like that. None of us can stand the irritating presenters and insipid popular music of Radio 1, and Radio 2 just doesn't appeal to us. I hate the fact that just because we're young, people like Thompson assume we listen to Radio 1, and that we'd be happy listening to Radio 1 when 6 music goes. No, wrong. I, and all my friends, enjoy discovering the diverse and interesting music that 6 music has to offer. I can't say I'm a particularly huge funk and soul fan, but listening to Craig Charles' Funk and Soul show is one of my favourite things to do while cooking my dinner! Perhaps the 6 music presenters aren't "music experts" (another of the reasons why they've chosen to close 6 music), but surely their enthusiasm makes up for that? You certainly don't get that on Radio 1 (probably because all of the music is too bad to become enthused about)! When 6 music goes I seriously doubt I'll bother listening to the radio any more, and am considering not paying my license fee (as I listen to the radio far more than I watch TV, especially the BBC anyway).

I just hope to god they don't put Adam and Joe on Radio 1. It would take away everything that's good about their show.

6 Music "competes head on for a commercially valuable audience"

This is an unimaginably bizarre justification from the same corporation that provides Radio 1 and Radio 2. I'm struck with the feeling that somebody first decided to close Radio 6, then tried to come up with a justification for doing so.

A couple of weeks ago there was a report that suggested the trend of Radio 2's falling listener age needed to be halted, and that programming on that station needed to go back "up age".

All I can see is this leaves the BBC with a gigantic hole in their radio broadcasting, where there is very little indeed for those aged 21-35. As I've implied, the "commercial" excuse doesn't really cut it either, given most commercial FM stations are either Radio 1 clones or Radio 2 clones; 6music on the other hand is not a commercially viable prospect as it's just too eclectic to sell advertising on.

6 is an amazingly popular station for something saddled with such a niche format. Put it this way; if you swapped R1 and R6, digital <_-> FM, would so many people go out of their way to buy a digital radio or catch up with specific shows on iPlayer? Or would they surf along the FM dial to the first of the many commercial stations offering exactly the same thing?</_->

wtf? why can't they get rid of radio 1, or radio 1 extra or whatever its called, there are hundreds of radio 1 type stations out there, and only one 6 music. Or Mr Thompson could take a pay cut!

i?m genuinely gutted. for years the airwaves were filled with a load of tripe. then came 6music and, with the exception of lamb and kershaw, my ears have been full of delight ever since. i never switch channels and the thought of having to listen to someone like moyles or zane in the mornings makes my inner rage start to twitch. it?s a sad sad day for genuine music lovers ? old and young.

mark thompson is an utter weapon.

With an average listener age of 37, the report said, 6 Music "competes head on for a commercially valuable audience".

Oh FFS. Does he really think that those people who want the type of music played on 6 Music would otherwise be listening to endless Lady GaGa and Take That on Heart?

6 Music, more than most other BBC services provides a valuable, distinctive service which wouldn't be provided in the commercial sector. I thought that was exactly what the BBC was for.

not that i have anything against it but the middle-class targeted Radio 3 with its 6 times bigger budget is not being touched.

who do we thinks its listeners vote for?

There is no commercial equivalent for 6 music, even if the adverts didn't give me nosebleeds...

I never honestly never, (i'm massivley pro Beeb) thought i'd say it, but as i don't watch live tv, just DVDs, I won't be renewing my TV licence this year...

i'm only left with Radio4 now, and i have to lsiten to that online as you can't get FM here and theres always bloody cricket on LW.

Well. Now that the very thing that we love - the BBC, and in particular 6music, which is the only radio station I have ever heard the Cocteau Twins on, has been bitten by the dead-eyed Conservative zombie, there is only one cure left.

Kill it. Before it becomes something else. Before something we love becomes something that will try to turn us all into the same thing.

6Music costs about £6million per year. That's peanuts. Thompson will definitely be seen next Tuesday, as it were, but we already knew that, didn't we?

So what BBC output is going to cater for my needs? I'm 26 and hate hip-hop, so Radio One's too young for me, but Steve Wright makes me want to maim kittens so Radio Two's out too. Both stations seem to play nothing but that fucking Owl City song. Commercial radio makes Radio One seem intelligent and incisive, and is full of adverts for local used car showrooms to boot.

What are the BBC going to do with £6million that justifies closing the station?

This is like throwing treasure off a sinking ship when there are rotten cabbages on board.

Up yours, BBC. I'll be sure to close the castle gate on my way out.

Phil Jupitus was right "An act of cultural vandalism"

6Music costs £7 million per year, the BBC can't find that? This is absolutely pathetic. Radio 1 should be the target for streamlining and re-assignment, not a channel that actually likes music. There is no replacement for it in commercial radio, how does that fit in with public service then?
The only pleasing thing about this is the massive outcry it has created.

Also the reduction in BBC online by a quarter is worrying too. I listen to plenty of BBC podcasts, I turn to it for news every day. So its drowning out commercial news is it? Am I supposed to care or something? Can someone explain to me the merit of giving Rupert Murdoch more of a canvas to spread his shit on? The BBC website should be held up as something to cherish, not this withering apology to a bunch of tossers who are only responsible to shareholders.

Christ this makes me so angry the only thing calming me down is visualising my fist sinking into Chris Moyle's fat face. (note to mod's, it's only a fantasy, not a call to arms, just a beautiful, beautiful fantasy...)

Utterly piss poor decision.

I think the problem seems to be too much overlap between the different BBC stations - maybe this is true when it comes to commercial stations too (certainly Radio 2 is guilty of playing a similarly narrow range of golden oldie-type songs).

Radio 1's commitment to new music is apparently its main selling point - which is fine although I suspect it would benefit from not having to kowtow to the (increasingly panicky) larger record companies in this respect. Then again, what do I know, I'd do away with the playlist if it was up to me.

"Replace Fearne With Laverne" Group Created

please join and invite everyone you know http://bit.ly/9hh6hm

If BBC6Music closes, which looks increasingly likely, then they should replace Fearne Cotton's show with Lauren Laverne's!

I want to make it clear that this isn't a 'Fearne Cotton hating group' not at all, its just somewhere where people who would rather Lauren Laverne be on their radio daily can show their appreciation.

What am i meant to listen to now?? F**king Scott Mills on Bellend FM? The only good thing about Radio 1 is Gilles Petersen but he's on a daft oclock in the morning.

Bet it's a bad day on Lammo's show tonight

Hello Mark Thompson - if 6music goes I'm NOT going to listen to Radio 1 with its idiot DJs or bland MOR Radio 2 - you've lost me, understand?

That sounds like a fantastic plan - axe the truly fantastic and innovative programming in order to 'increase the distinctiveness of Radio 2'. So, even by their own admission it's bland and boring? Heaven forbid that listeners could be listening to something interesting and decent on another station instead of listening to their overpaid Radio 1 and 2 DJs prattle on about what they ate for breakfast before playing a selection of music dictated by the major record labels. Some people may be happy listening to the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga on a loop, but surely then they could leave that to other stations like Heart and Xfm? Especially when they've already decided not to invest time and energy into creating quality programming for young people just because Channel 4 is already ahead of them in that area. After all my years defending the BBC, I hang my head in shame. How dare they continue to churn out rubbish like Hotter than My Daughter and Snog, Marry, Avoid on BBC3 whilst banging on about quality and originality.
The place to complain is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/

This announcement is a disgrace. For all of us that listened to John Peel under the bed-covers, 6music is the station we were waiting for. Whats more, as we grew up and became licence fee payers 6 music is the first thing to get mentioned when we defend the BBC. We love this station - we pay for this station, we want it to continue.

Popular music is a vital element of our collective culture - it should be celebrated and nurtured. Radio 1 and Radio 2 do not provide the service that I want and that I want to pay my licence fee to get - neither does commercial radio. John Peel's long time producer John Walters once said that public service broadcasting is not giving people what they want, its about giving people what they don't know that they want. That doesn't mean patronising and pushing what you consider to be culture on folk - Walters was never a punk fan but he saw its worth as a lively, vital and vibrant twist in the story of popular music -hence all the punk bands on the Peel show - public service broadcasting is about having someone (Peel), or some station (6music) there to listen to all that there is and then bring the best of it to a wider and appreciative audience.

Everyone get on to bbc.co.uk/bbctrust and vent and show your appreciation for this truly great station. We need a co-ordinated campaign. What's Ken Garner's take on this? He was the one that pointed out that it was former BBC top honcho John Birt who ensured that the BBC session archives were transferred from magnetic tape to a digital archive - a cultural legacy that remains unique in the history of not just British but world culture and that has added so much to making 6Music the magnificant station that it is. If pop music can have a multi-million pound attraction at the O2 in the British Music Experience - we deserve and demand a pubicly financed radio station that reminds us what was great about the past and keeps on introducing us to the best of the new stuff.

I can't believe this decision. It stinks. Something is rotten.
Save 6music - the presenter line-up has never been bettered- the service it provides is not avialable anywhere else. For an insider view see the Andrew Collins blog 'Where Did it all go Right?' . Educate, Agitate, Organise. Spread the word, if this station was on FM it would easily have milions of listeners - the digital strategy stinks.

I adore listening to the radio and 6 Music makes up about 99% of my ear-time. After Lamacq, Mark & Lard and all other DJs with an ounce of self-respect were shunted from R1, 6Music became my haven for decent music.

What an absolute travesty. Thompson is totally missing a trick here; here's hoping social networking can work its magic, like RATM's #1, and the masses can make him change his mind. Unlikely though, Thompson has totally lost touch with his fee-paying public.

Blody hell, Mark Thompson, you fetid journalist-biting tit!

I can't add any more to what everyone above has written, because every single post covers everything I would want to say about the cretinous decision to axe Radio 6.

But I will add this - for years I've resisted getting a facebook account, but I'm seriously considering opening one just so I can sign their online petition protesting Thompson's flabbergastingly bizarre decision to jettison R6!

I hope that all you eloquent people will send these thoughts and feelings to the BBC. I've drafted my email... it's a good'un.

Let's see if we can get the phrase "a record number of complaints" back into the press.

Unbelievable. The only good thing to come from the BBC in the past 5 years is being destroyed. Adam&Joe, Lamby, Laverne, Cocker, Riley, Charles without a ship to sail in... this is all wrong. They don't fit in with Radio 1 and it's juvenile stream of dimwittedness, they don't gel with Radio 2's smug cosy appeal, this truly, truly is a travesty. Like others posting comments here I am a massive fan of the BBC, it's public service remit, the international news provision held in huge esteem around the world, but this? May just be the end of a beautiful relationship...

Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad day :(

Who in their right mind would choose Chris Moyles over Phil Jupitus? Ferne Cotton over Lauren Laverne? Dave Pierce over Marc Riley? To say nothing of brilliant shows from Guy Garvey, Bob Dylan (the Bob Dylan for Christsakes!) and Jarvis Cocker. 6 Music is brilliant. This is nuts. I'm gutted.

The BBC will rebrand its archive comedy and drama station BBC Radio 7 as "Radio 4 Extra", under proposals published today.

A typically pointless piece of BBC badge engineering. And how much will that cost? Changing the label doesn't change the contents. They don't help themselves, do they?

One commercial radio station sounds very much like the next one, not least those owned by the Guardian, alas, which is precisely why 6Music exists.