Charli XCX, Little Simz and Fontaines DC are among the acts who have been named BBC Radio 6 Music’s Artists Of The Year 2024, as the station unveils a change to its playlisting policy designed to “ensure that it remains at the heart of artists’ stories”.
6’s music editor Camilla Pia has spoken to Music Week about the plan to “refresh our music strategy”, which will see 6 Music aim to bring new tracks to listeners more quickly.
Under the current set up, 6 Music’s playlist meeting takes place on a Tuesday, with tracks considered against impact or focus dates determined by pluggers. The new strategy will see the use of focus dates discontinued, instead the playlist committee will consider tracks from key 6 Music acts that have been released – via any platform – that week. Songs being championed by 6’s presenters will also be considered.
Radio impact dates set way after release don’t work for a lean forward, engaged audience like 6 Music has
Camilla Pia, BBC Radio 6 Music
The new regime will also invite all 6 Music presenters and show teams to suggest Priority Playlist tracks, with the aim of creating a flexible approach to playlisting. The station also plans to play more new music on Friday daytime shows.
“Our aim is to deliver a contemporary musical offer that’s fit for purpose in the digital age with a playlist that welcomes people in and reflects the wider culture of the UK,” said Camilla Pia, who also welcomed 6’s 10 Artists Of The Year for 2024.
The list is completed by CMAT, English Teacher, Fat Dog, Jamie xx, Kim Gordon, Kneecap and Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds.
“6 Music is the home of the artist, we’re a place where they can tell their stories, create unique moments and dig deep into their output and creative process,” said Pia. “Artists Of The Year is an opportunity to celebrate those acts who have culturally dominated 2024. Once again, the list features artists from across the musical spectrum and shows the exciting range and breadth of music we play. Some are at the beginning of their careers and some have been icons for decades. We’re really proud to be a part of their journeys and I’m looking forward to revisiting some of the moments we’ve created with them for listeners in 2024. Congratulations to all the artists on this year’s list.”
The list is announced today (November 4) on the Breakfast Show, where Nick Grimshaw is sitting in for Lauren Laverne.
6 Music is planning a raft of special programming to commemorate the 10 acts.
A two-part 6 Music’s Artists Of The Year show is now available on BBC Sounds, while 6 Music will air interviews with famous fans of the Artists Of The Year, including Amy Taylor from Amyl And The Sniffers, Bobby Gillespie, Emily Eavis, Felix White, Joan As Police Woman, John Cooper Clarke, John Grant, Michael Fassbender, Rosie Lowe, Yannis Philippakis and more.
New interviews will air with Kneecap (on Huw Stephens’ show on November 6) and Fat Dog (with Craig Charles on November 8).
Read Music Week’s interview with Camilla Pia below to find out what’s in store for 6 Music’s playlist policy…
What are 6 Music's plans to evolve playlisting into 2025?
“From January 2025, our playlist selection will change to a more flexible and dynamic approach. Every 6 Music relevant track that’s released between Monday and Friday will be discussed in our Tuesday Playlist Meeting. This means we will move away from choosing when to play music based on impact and focus dates. In theory a track – depending on its strength, relevancy and support – could make the playlist straight away.
“For fresher artists – championed by presenters who build a narrative on air – we will take a more flexible approach. These should be pitched by show teams when they feel they are ready for a Playlist discussion.
“We’re also asking all specialist and weekend shows to suggest priority tracks for Playlist when they are relevant. When an artist is important and ready for the Playlist, show teams and presenters should let us know.”
Can you tell us what has prompted the change in tack?
“The way music is released has evolved and so must we. Now, we are in an age of New Music Fix Daily, our show dedicated entirely to new releases, and New Music Friday. Our audience are music fans, they want to hear the best stuff when it comes out, not weeks later. Radio impact dates set way after release date don’t work for a lean forward engaged audience like 6 Music has.”
We can be more reactive and flexible around breaking artists and wider cultural moments happening in music
Camilla Pia, BBC Radio 6 Music
What's the message to the radio teams working the acts you support about this?
“We’ve consulted with our presenters, show teams as well as the music industry including managers, independent and major labels, pluggers and artists who’ve helped to shape our thinking. The radio teams we’ve spoken to have been excited about the change and the ability to freshen up their ways of working with us.”
Can you share more details of how you plan to air more new music on Friday’s daytime shows?
“We will increase our new music reflection to reflect the key releases and as well as our presenters’ favourites. We’ll replace one of our Playlist tracks with a new release and we’ll also ask our presenters to choose something brand new that they’re excited about. That’s two brand new, key tracks per daytime show.”
What do you expect the impact of the changes to be?
“We believe it will benefit both artists and the audience because it means artists will get more instant Playlist support on 6 Music, and listeners will be able to enjoy their music more quickly. It also means we can be more reactive and flexible around breaking artists and wider cultural moments happening in music.”
So do these changes make the 6 Music playlist a more powerful thing for the industry?
“We are lucky to have a highly engaged audience of music fans who buy tickets to gigs, obsessively stream their favourite artists, load up on vinyl and wear band T-shirts. Artists are booked onto festival line-ups off the back of our support, and the Playlist is that all important snapshot of where we’re at musically as a station. As music culture and fan behaviour shift and evolve, a more dynamic and reactive playlist will only strengthen our support of artists and their music.”
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