A new BBC 6 Music spin-off radio station, designed to appeal to Oasis-loving “Burnham dads”, could spell ruin for commercial rivals, industry figures have warned.
Launched on Wednesday, Indie Forever, a 24-hour stream available on BBC Sounds, dedicated to rock and pop classics from the 80s to 2010s, will feature artists ripped from the Prime Minister’s Spotify playlist including The Stone Roses, Oasis, Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, The Verve and Blossoms.
With 6 Music expanding to include more dance and electro sounds, the new station, launched by veteran DJ Steve Lamacq, is targeted at rock fans who want a diet of the indie anthems that soundtracked their youth.
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health
NHS rollout for ‘life-changing’ pill which helps MS patients walk more easily
A twice-daily pill which helps people with multiple sclerosis (MS) to walk more easily is to be rolled out on the NHS.
Thousands of patients in England will be eligible for fampridine, which has been hailed as “life-changing”.
Everything you need to know
It is the first drug designed to improve walking ability in people with MS, an incurable autoimmune disease which affects the brain and spinal cord.
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Symptoms can include tiredness, dizziness, tingling in different parts of the body, muscle cramps, vision problems and memory problems.
Why is this drug so important?
Until now, MS patients with walking difficulties have been offered physiotherapy, walking aids or devices to support their feet.
Fampridine, also known as Fampyra, works by acting as a signal booster, helping to restore electrical signals running along damaged nerves and allowing muscles to function better.
LIFESTYLE
2 min read
The expert view
Walking difficulties can have a huge impact on the freedom and independence of people with MS, so this signal-boosting pill could be life-changing for thousands of patients.
Professor Frankie Swords, NHS national medical director
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A closer look at the detail
Officials estimate that around 5,000 people with MS will be eligible for the drug in the first year.
It is recommended for MS patients with certain Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores.
(Photo: Peter Carruthers/Getty).
The EDSS is a tool used by medics to monitor disability caused by MS. Those with a score of between four – able to walk without an aid or rest for around 500 metres – and seven, which include patients who use wheelchairs, will be offered fampridine.
Weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy ‘linked to hair loss’
Weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro, Ozempic and Wegovy are linked to an increased risk of hair loss, researchers say.
Two blue insulin pens wrapped with a yellow measuring tape on a pink background, symbolizing diabetes management, weight loss, medical treatment, and healthcare concepts. drugs injection ozempic – stock photo. (Photo: Getty)
What you need to know
People on GLP-1 agonist drugs have been reporting hair loss to regulators, but a new study on around 50,000 people appears to firm up the link.
Experts used electronic patient data from the University of Pennsylvania Health System to compare rates of alopecia hair loss in adults using GLP-1s to manage diabetes with those on other drugs.
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Analysis
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A closer look at the detail
The team noted that regulators in the US have been informed of the link between the drugs and hair loss, particularly for semaglutide (Wegovy and Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro).
So far in 2026, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has received 399 reports of hair loss relating to tirzepatide.
It has also received 148 reports of hair loss linked to semaglutide.
LIFESTYLE
3 min read
How was the study carried out?
For the new study, the team looked at people with type 2 diabetes on GLP-1 receptor agonists or other types of diabetes drugs known as SGLT-2 inhibitors, or DPP-4 inhibitors.
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It can be normal to shed up to 100-150 hairs a day (Photo: Predrag Popovski via Getty Images)
In total, 12,004 patients using GLP-1s were compared with 15,221 using SGLT-2 inhibitors and a further 11,964 GLP-1 users were compared with 11,233 DPP-4 inhibitor users.
37% higher risk of alopecia
After adjusting for factors that could influence the results, such as age and weight, researchers found using GLP-1 drugs were associated with a 37 per cent higher risk of alopecia than use of SGLT-2 inhibitors.
GLP-1s were also linked to a 68% higher risk of hair loss than use of DPP-4 inhibitors.
LIFESTYLE
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LIFESTYLE
3 min read
money
Inflation drops more than expected
Inflation slowed by more than expected in the latest reading on Wednesday – but experts don’t think that interest rates will follow this year.
The consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation hit 2.6 per cent in the year to June, down from 2.8 per cent a month earlier. Most economists had expected a fall to around 2.7 per cent.
What will happen next?
But experts expect the figure to pick up from next month – once July’s energy price rises are factored in to the equation.
And as a result they say cuts to the Bank of England base rate in 2026 are likely off the table.
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SAVING AND BANKING
3 min read
What happened to inflation?
In June’s figures, CPI dropped to 2.6 per cent – the lowest rate since March last year. A spike is expected in July though, because the price cap on energy prices rose by 13 per cent at the start of the month.
Energy prices have soared due to the US-Israel war with Iran (Photo: Getty)
They want to understand how big of a portion they can take from their pot
“The UK will see inflation push higher from here – potentially pushing closer to 3.3 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year as base effects, food price rises and energy price rises catch up with households,” said Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank Research.
What about interest rates?
The Bank of England base rate, colloquially called interest rates, sits at 3.75 per cent.
The rate tends to come down as inflation looks like it’s heading towards the Bank’s 2 per cent target.
Experts think the spike in inflation expected later this year will stop the Bank cutting rates this month, or indeed throughout 2026.
But they don’t expect any hikes either.
LIFESTYLE
4 min read
Mortgage rates are set to rise (Image: sorbetto/Getty Images/Digital Vision Vectors)
What does this mean for mortgages?
The Bank of England interest rate affects mortgage rates in numerous ways. No cuts or rises means those with variable or tracker mortgages will see their home loan price stay the same throughout this year – if predictions are correct.
Fixed rate mortgages, however, are heavily priced on swap rates, which follow predictions of where the Bank of England base rate will go next.
But commercial networks accused the BBC of setting up a copycat offering to steal listeners from stations already serving fans of guitar-based rock, such as Virgin Radio, Radio X, Kerrang! and Absolute Radio 90s.
Radio 2 spin-off blocked
In a submission to Ofcom, the BBC said it expected Indie Forever to generate around 1.5 million online listening hours a week, which would lead to some “loss of listening and revenue” for “competitor stations”.
Last year, Ofcom blocked BBC plans for a Radio 2 spin-off station, playing music from the 50s, 60s and 70s, because it would have decimated the audience for Boom Radio, the independent digital station set up to capture disillusioned former Radio 2 listeners.
But the watchdog approved Indie Forever because it agreed with the BBC’s analysis that the impact of an online-only 6 Music stream on commercial rivals would be small.
“Sadly, the BBC’s new 6 Music Indie Forever station appears to be just a more mainstream version of 6 Music, catering for the same audience as commercial competitors like Radio X, Absolute Radio and Virgin Radio,” said a spokesperson for Radiocentre, which represents commercial stations.
“Launching new BBC stations that effectively replicate existing services, rather than offering truly distinctive output, is a missed opportunity for listeners and provides poor value for licence fee payers.”
The BBC’s “mission creep” would have an “unhelpful knock-on effect on the audiences and economics of commercial radio”, Radiocentre said.
An industry source at a leading radio network added: “At a time when the BBC is making significant cuts, it is vital that it focuses its resources on providing genuinely original and distinctive services for licence fee payers, rather than duplicating commercial offerings.”
‘Sounds like Radio X’
Indie Forever might struggle to convince music fans to change the channel.
One early listener wrote on the station’s Facebook page. “There’s already a Radio X. It’s not that I don’t like any of what’s being played but I much prefer hearing a little of that mixed with a wider variety of music, and a high emphasis on newer music.”
The first show “managed a whole 30 minutes before finally playing a female artist”, they said.
Another wrote on X: “Yes it’s a bit Radio X but Radio 6 Indie Forever is a pretty good listen!”
The BBC believes the Indie Forever audience will increase as the 24-year-old 6 Music shrugs off its earlier reliance on guitar-based indie to embrace a more diverse playlist.
A BBC insider said: “6 Music needs to future-proof itself by staying at the cutting edge of alternative music.
“Guitar bands are no longer so prominent but there is still a big audience that wants to hear that music curated and presented in a way only the BBC can.”
‘Nonsensical’ for BBC to launch new service
The new stream is expected to generate around 1.5 million weekly online listening hours, compared with 10.9 million for Radio 6 Music, according to BBC documents.
But that could mean cuts and job losses at commercial rivals, warned Phil Riley, co-founder of Boom Radio, which built an audience of 700,000 listeners since its launch five years ago.
Riley said: “Taking that indie rock audience out of commercial radio will have an impact on revenues. It could be existential for people who work at Radio X and Absolute Radio.
“It’s nonsensical for the BBC to launch new services when it’s facing deep cuts. Ofcom rejected the ‘boom killer’ Radio 2 Extra so they’ve come back with something else.”
The Smiths, an Andy Bunrham favourite, will feature prominently on ‘Indie Forever’ (Photo: Ross Marino/Getty)
The BBC claims Indie Forever is a distinctive service targeting younger audiences “who are currently underserved by 6 Music”.
As well as a morning show presented by Lamacq with Felix White of The Maccabees, Indie Forever will replay archive 6 Music shows presented by Jarvis Cocker and Beth Ditto and feature emerging talent in a series celebrating grassroots venues.
Female-led bands on the Indie Forever playlist include Wolf Alice, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Florence + the Machine.
The BBC estimates that Indie Forever will take no more than 2.55 per cent of listeners from commercial rivals including Global, Bauer and News UK, which owns Virgin Radio. Ofcom said the impact on Virgin Radio would be greater because it has a higher level of online listening than other stations.
Samantha Moy, head of BBC Radio 6 Music, said Indie Forever will “tell the stories and play the songs that have soundtracked the UK’s thriving independent music scene through 40 years of song, performance and archive”.