Music<\/a> Industry last week launched a campaign to demand the BBC put the Radio Scotland overhaul on hold amid claims it will create a \u201csignificant gap\u201d in its coverage of Scottish culture. It has expressed fears that the shake-up could see Scotland\u2019s creative identity could be \u201cdiluted through homogenised programming\u201d.\n<\/p>\n\n However the BBC has since announced that Roddy Hart will be two new weekend shows, on a Saturday and Sunday evening\n<\/p>\n
\n It has insisted that specialist music will remain a \u201ccornerstone\u201d of Radio Scotland\u2019s programming.\n<\/p>\n
\n In a letter responding to MSPs who have contacted BBC Scotland to complain about the shake-up, the broadcaster said it had a \u201cbroad and sustained commitment to music in Scotland, including supporting our home-grown emerging artists\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n The BBC\u2019s response states: \u201cLynne will present Up Late Monday to Thursday and the music playlist will feature a curated blend of well-known classics from the 1970s to the present day, alongside emerging artists.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe selection will highlight a strong Scottish influence, showcasing both Scotland\u2019s most established musicians and its rising talent.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt will be a warm, welcoming late-night mix of big familiar tracks, listener requests, and hidden gems all brought together with Lynne\u2019s easy style and a natural conversation with her listeners in the late hours.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAt weekends, Mixtape Side A with Roddy Hart on Saturdays and Mixtape Side B with Roddy Hart on Sundays will continue BBC Radio Scotland\u2019s commitment to feature the best from Scotland\u2019s music industry, including unsigned bands.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAshley will present Up Late on Friday with a lively, weekend-leaning escape packed with favourite tunes and curveballs, all stirred together with her sharp humour and playful late-night rapport with her listeners.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Writing in The Herald, McAll said: \u201cAs a Scottish musician whose career began on BBC Radio Scotland, I know exactly what is at stake here. My first real support as Constant Follower came from Vic Galloway and Roddy Hart on late-night Radio Scotland.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThose presenters and producers did much more than tick a \u2018Scottish content\u2019 box. They joined the dots between older and newer music.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey stayed with artists over years. They gave you the feeling that someone was actually listening.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cA single mention from one of those shows has done more for my audience than months of paid social media promotion ever have.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe BBC can still point to Vic Galloway and a handful of specialist shows, but the centre of gravity has shifted from open, exploratory late-night listening towards safe, passive familiarity.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThere is a similar sleight of hand in the way the BBC talks about the independent production companies whose shows are being axed. They were sent a tender that defines an entirely new remit: mainstream, easy listening, 45-plus, \u2018broad mainstream appeal\u2019 and \u2018improved flow\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIf you have spent years making open, free-form, late-night music radio, that is not an invitation to carry on. It is an instruction to replace what you do with something fundamentally different. To then tell MSPs, \u2018they did not bid, so we had no choice,\u2019 is a half-truth at best. Or an appalling redirect of blame to the established teams they had effectively fired.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n McAll said late-night specialist music programmes were needed to give the \u201cnext wave of Scottish artists\u201d their fairly airplay, adding: \u201cIt is where listeners who care about music, not just noise, go to sit and listen\u201d.\n<\/p>\n
\n He said: \u201cThe BBC is entitled to evolve. It is allowed to make difficult choices. But what it should not do is speak one language in its internal documents and another in its letters to MSPs and the Press.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIf the real strategy is to move late-night radio towards mainstream, easy listening for 45-plus, the BBC should say that openly and take responsibility for the cultural loss.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThen we can have an honest argument about whether that is compatible with being Scotland\u2019s national public service broadcaster.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cInstead, we are being asked to accept Scotland\u2019s most important late-night music programmes can be scrapped, their presenters and production teams removed, the remit rewritten around \u2018mainstream, easy listening tracks,\u2019 and yet somehow \u2018specialist music remains a cornerstone\u2019.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cFor musicians and listeners who have built their lives around these shows, that claim does not ring true.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt is hard to escape the conclusion that something important is covertly being taken away from Scotland\u2019s cultural heart, and that the BBC does not yet feel able to say so out loud.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n A spokesman for BBC Scotland said: \u201cIt\u2019s not unusual for radio stations to undergo changes, particularly in an increasingly competitive audio market and, whilst we understand some audiences may be disappointed, it is important that Radio Scotland continues to listen to audience feedback and evolve its offer.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0\u201cLast week we announced the details of our new weekend programmes, Roddy Hart’s Mix Tape, which will continue our long-held tradition of championing and discovering new music and artists in Scotland and beyond.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cBBC Radio Scotland remains proud to showcase the full breadth of Scotland\u2019s musical talent, from established performers to the next generation of artists, across its schedule.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cFrom Another Country to Travelling Folk, Take the Floor to Vic Galloway, specialist music has always been a vital part of what we do, alongside our Young Trad, Jazz and Classical Musician and BBC Introducing Artist of the Year awards. We remain deeply committed to celebrating it all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McAll, who has regularly been in contention for the Scottish Album of the Year Award, has accused the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296670,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-296669","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-music","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296669","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296669"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296669\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}