Tuesday, 19 November 2013

A 'Black Station'? Isn't That Rayciss...?

Neil Kenlock whinges:
If you took a walk down any south London street in the early 1990s, the slogan "London's soul power" could be heard booming with pride from passing car stereos, at local youth centres and in businesses too.
This sense of community empowerment and embracing our black British identity was the vision we had as the founders of Choice FM, Britain's first successful radio station granted a licence to cater for the black community.
Which you then sold off for £14m…
Now this dream lies in tatters after the station's current owners, Global Radio, effectively killed it off by turning it into Capital Xtra – leaving Britain with no black station with a commercial licence.
Maybe if you wanted no changes, you shouldn’t have sold it off? Just a thought…
To me, it seems that Capital Xtra risks breaking the terms of its contract. Ofcom's decision to assess the new format, following complaints, is not enough. It is clear that action should have been taken immediately to restore the original promise for both the north and south London stations, instead of standing by while the black community loses an important, cohesive, radio station.
You mean, Ofcom should act without knowing any of the facts, just on the say-so of a former founder of a station now sold to another?
Although the way audiences consume and share music is evolving, having an FM radio station that serves the black community is paramount, as it produces positive role models in a landscape where our people are under-represented. It's why we needed a choice in the first place.
I’m not entirely sure that making a killing and then demanding that Ofcom hands you that cake to eat too is being ‘a positive role model’, is it?
The black community, with a population of 1.2 million in the UK, were expecting Global Radio to honour its licence conditions and play the range of music they enjoyed. For the station to turn its back on them is taking us back to the 1980s.
Well, goodness me! For a moment there, I thought you were going to say ‘back to the plantation’!
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10 comments:

  1. Bucko19 November 2013 at 13:14

    WTF is a 'sense of community empowerment'?
    Must be a black thing.

    ""taking us back to the 1980s""

    Maybe they should have gone back to the 70s? A bit of Earth, Wind and Fire or Gloria Gaynor? Now that's good black music.

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  2. Clarissa19 November 2013 at 13:43

    What's stopping him from setting up another station?

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  3. Demetrius19 November 2013 at 15:20

    Scratching what is left of my head here. Surely a great deal of modern pop and related is now derived from these very sources. In short it has gone mainstream. So what is being requested is really retro stuff for the oldies. If that should be a priority could we ancients please have a special station for the 1930's and 1940's stuff, much of which was pretty diverse.

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  4. Anonymous19 November 2013 at 17:23

    If I'd had the money, I would have bought the station and played music from Riverdance 24 hours a day. Nothing like bringing a bit of cohesive culture to the community.
    Penseivat

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  5. John M19 November 2013 at 20:10

    "Back to the 1980's" used like it's an insult.

    From recollection wasn't that the decade when David Rodigan single handedly and tirelessly put black music on the popular music agenda, often in the face of opposition (and threats) from areas of the black community?

    And you sods never gave him a job did you?

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  6. Ian Hills19 November 2013 at 20:14

    Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

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  7. blueknight19 November 2013 at 22:32

    May be they want to hear Rufus Thomas perform the 'Funky Chicken' again

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  8. Furor Teutonicus20 November 2013 at 00:55

    A niche radio station in the backwaters of London is worth 14 Million?

    Now fucking much is the BBC worth then?

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  9. JuliaM20 November 2013 at 07:00

    "A bit of Earth, Wind and Fire or Gloria Gaynor?"

    Now you're talking!

    "What's stopping him from setting up another station?"

    What, spend some of that £14mil?!?

    "Surely a great deal of modern pop and related is now derived from these very sources."

    As quite a few point out in the comments to that CiF article, which is surprisingly less supportive than I suspect he expected... ;)

    "Nothing like bringing a bit of cohesive culture to the community."

    There'd be another riot!

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  10. JuliaM20 November 2013 at 07:01

    "From recollection wasn't that the decade when David Rodigan single handedly and tirelessly put black music on the popular music agenda..."

    Spot on!

    "A niche radio station in the backwaters of London is worth 14 Million?

    Now fucking much is the BBC worth then?"

    Given its current output, about £6.50..

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