News story about the departure of editor of music Colin Martin from UK radio station 'BBC Radio Two' prompting the commercial radio sector to criticise the station's music policy, written by Grant Goddard in December 2006 for The Radio Magazine.

1. NEWS: DEPARTURE OF 'BBC
RADIO TWO' HEAD OF MUSIC
PROMPTS COMMERCIAL RADIO
SECTOR TO CRITICISE
STATION'S MUSIC POLICY
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
December 2006

2. News: Departure Of 'BBC Radio Two' Head Of Music Prompts Commercial Radio Sector To Criticise Station's Music
Policy page 2
©2006 Grant Goddard
Colin Martin, 'BBC Radio Two' editor of music for the last six years, has
announced that he will be retiring from the Corporation next March to spend
more time with his family. Martin is widely credited with updating the station’s
music policy to attract a younger listenership and with introducing many new
artists to a national audience on the UK’s most listened to radio station. He
had joined the BBC’s TV props department in 1969, following a stint as the
drummer in bands The Ingoes and The Artwoods.
Radio consultant Paul Robinson commented: "Prior to Colin Martin, Radio Two
had an esoteric and shambolic music policy. He has made it coherent, given it
real shape and focus and really younged it down."
Martin’s imminent departure seems to have re-opened commercial radio’s war
of words against the BBC, despite earlier promises of a 'ceasefire' by
RadioCentre chief executive Andrew Harrison [see #758]. The commercial
radio trade body released RAJAR data showing that listening to Radio Two by
15 to 34 year olds has increased by 40% during Martin’s tenure.
Lisa Kerr, RadioCentre director of external affairs, commented: "I would like to
see him replaced by someone who is entirely focused on delivering the BBC's
public-service purposes. Radio Two performs very poorly against its public-
purpose objectives. It has a format freedom that is totally incompatible with
what commercial radio companies are allowed to do. If you give tens of
millions of pounds of public money to a national FM radio station, it inevitably
plays a role in promoting new talent. But the truth is there are loads of places
where you can hear Boyzone or the Scissor Sisters. We were very
disappointed that the government did not take a much more critical view of
Radio Two during the charter review process."
Steve Orchard, operations director at GCap Media plc, agreed: “Once you
commit to a strategy that is specifically designed to drive market share and
pursue a younger audience, you are targeting commercial radio's heartland,
whether you admit it or not. Colin Martin has been a very effective director of
music, but why is the BBC pursuing market share at all? Its job is to fill niches
the commercial sector cannot or will not fill."
Robinson felt that the BBC was not entirely to blame: "Some of commercial
radio's loss to Radio Two is the commercial sector's own fault. They have not
been at their creative best in recent years. But the problem is real because
research proves that once someone becomes a Radio Two listener, they do
not want to leave. Commercial stations find it almost impossible to pull them
back out of the pot."
Professor Steven Barnett of Westminster University commented: "The BBC is
being pushed on to the back foot. Radio Two is getting in the way of the profits
of a lot of companies. All eyes will be on the service licence the BBC Trust
draws up for it. I suspect it may have to withdraw a bit from popular music in
favour of news, documentary and talk."

3. News: Departure Of 'BBC Radio Two' Head Of Music Prompts Commercial Radio Sector To Criticise Station's Music
Policy page 3
©2006 Grant Goddard
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Martin To Quit R2 Music Job', #766, 13 December 2006]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk