Ofcom urged to tighten-up ‘new music’ definition for Radio 1 and Radio 2

Radiocentre has asked Ofcom to think again before introducing a revised definition of ‘new music’ for BBC music radio.

The definition, which will enable Radio 1 and Radio 2 to treat many tracks up to 12 months old as ‘new’, was proposed by the regulator in a recent consultation to reflect changes in way music is released and marketed in a digital age.

Specifically it has suggested that a new music is defined as 12 months from first release or 6 weeks after it enters the Top 20, whichever is sooner.

Radiocentre is concerned that such a broad definition could provide an incentive for the BBC to include an even greater proportion of the most commercially successful tracks in its output, rather than focussing on support for new UK artists as required by the BBC Charter and Agreement.

There are fears that the changes could even lead to a reduction in support for new artists, as Radio 1 is already delivering 56% new music under this definition (against a target of 50%) and Radio 2 is already delivering 32% new music (against a target of 20%).

The full Radiocentre submission to Ofcom is available here.