BBC Radio 1 boss Aled Haydn Jones has spoken to Music Week about the crucial role that both Annie Mac and Jack Saunders play in supporting new music.
Last week we broke the news about the evening schedule changes on the network, the first big move by Haydn Jones since he was promoted to the head of station role.
Radio 1’s Future Sounds With Annie Mac will now be in a new 6-8pm slot on Monday to Thursday. Mac’s Hottest Record In The World feature, which currently airs at 7.30pm, will launch the show at 6pm.
“She has the most cut through with so many of our younger audiences about new music,” said Haydn Jones. “When she puts her name to an artist, it really carries weight. So she is absolutely the perfect person to be hosting this Future Sounds show.”
The Radio 1 head of station stressed that Mac’s show will not be altered as part of the scheduling changes.
“When I spoke to Annie about it, I said to her this this is not about changing your show to be different for a different audience,” he said. “We want your shows to be exactly as it is, but we'll just bring it forward so that more people can hear it.”
Annie Mac has the most cut through with so many of our younger audiences about new music
Aled Haydn Jones
On Friday nights, Radio 1’s Dance Party with Annie Mac will also move forward an hour into a 6–8pm slot. It will be followed by Danny Howard (8–10pm) and Pete Tong (10pm – midnight).
The schedule changes mean Jack Saunders will be diversifying beyond his Radio 1 Indie Show, which remains on Thursday nights. On Monday to Wednesday from 10pm, the Future Artists show will cover a wider range of new music.
“Jack’s done such great since he joined the station [in 2018], he lives and breathes music,” said Haydn Jones. “He’s made such a name for himself with new bands.
“I think he’s perfect for us to broaden his remit to any genre and build his relationship with labels, so that artists from all walks of life in the UK can have a bit of a leg-up with Radio 1.”
He added: “The remit of that show is about truly working closely with the labels to help launch their new artists. We want to support labels on the growth of their artists, their development and campaigns.”
BBC Radio 1 struggled in the RAJAR ratings last year, though rallied in Q1 to reach 8.915 million weekly listeners. The station has built its online profile, with an average of two million views a day for its content on YouTube/Vevo and a combined social media following of 7.4m.
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