BBC 6 Music was proposed in October 2000 as a "digital-only" radio station with the working title "Network Y". ("Network X" became
BBC Radio 1Xtra and "Network Z" became BBC 7, now named
BBC Radio 4 Extra). The station opened at 7 a.m., Monday 11 March 2002, with a show presented by
Phill Jupitus. At the start-up, presenters included
Liz Kershaw,
Andrew Collins,
Tom Robinson,
Gideon Coe,
Janice Long,
Chris Hawkins,
Gary Burton,
Craig Charles,
Stuart Maconie,
Brinsley Forde,
Suggs,
Clare McDonnell,
Bruce Dickinson,
Tracey MacLeod,
Sean Hughes, and
Bob Harris. The first record played was
Ash's
Burn Baby Burn. 6 Music attracted criticism for changing daytime schedules during late 2007 and early 2008, notably including replacing Gideon Coe on the mid morning slot with
George Lamb. In response,
Lesley Douglas, Controller of
BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music at the time, said that the changes were intended to attract more female listeners. She claimed that "men tend to be more interested in the intellectual side of the music, the tracks, where albums have been made, that sort of thing". This in turn brought on more criticism of perceived sexism on Douglas' part. In March 2006, BBC 6 Music moved from
Broadcasting House to new studios in the adjacent
Wogan House (then called Western House) to allow the regeneration of Broadcasting House. In 2011, BBC Radio 6 Music started the process of moving some of its presenters, staff, and shows from London and elsewhere to the new studios at
MediaCityUK in
Salford near
Manchester. The studios are located on the ground floor of Dock House. Among programmes broadcast there are
Radcliffe & Maconie,
The Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show, and
Marc Riley's and
Mary Anne Hobbs' shows.
Proposed closure In February 2010, in anticipation of a review by the BBC Trust, newspaper reports suggested 6 Music might be axed. The review stopped short of recommending closure but noted that only one in five UK residents were aware the station existed, and that it lacked presenters with credibility as music experts.
The Times claimed that
Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, proposed closure as part of a bid to scale back BBC operations and allow commercial rivals more room. A high-profile campaign to oppose closure of the station attracted media attention and led to "#SaveBBC6Music" quickly becoming a trending topic on Twitter. A leading voice in the campaign was
Jarvis Cocker, the lead singer for the British band
Pulp who presented his own show on BBC 6 Music, ''Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service''. A Facebook group set up to oppose the proposed closure gained nearly 180,000 members. A campaign was launched to get the song "
Joy Division Oven Gloves" by
Half Man Half Biscuit to No. 6 in the
UK Singles Chart on 12 April 2010; it entered the Singles Chart that week at No. 56 and the
Independent Singles Chart at No. 3.
The Sunday Times reported that following the public outcry over the proposed closure, 6 Music would be rebranded as Radio 2 Extra, retaining a similar playlist but broadcasting for only 12 hours a day but
Tim Davie, head of audio and music at the BBC, denied this was a possibility. Five months after rumours of closure first emerged, the BBC Trust announced that it was not convinced by the BBC Executive's plans and that the station would not be closed. In the first quarter of 2011 some BBC radio services, including 6 Music, were part of an efficiency review conducted by
John Myers. His role, according to Andrew Harrison, the chief executive of RadioCentre, was "to identify both areas of best practice and possible savings."
BASCA was actively circulating petitions challenging the BBC's plan to close down 6 Music.
2020s In 2020, Paul Rodgers, the senior head of commissioning for 6 Music left the station, and was replaced by Samantha Moy as the Head of Station. Moy has made a series of schedule changes, presiding over an "undeniable culture shift at the station". Some music executives have questioned the overall strategy at the digital station since 2020, raising doubts about initiatives such as all-day pop programming, stating it to be "more typical of a commercial network rather than a BBC station", with listeners commenting that themed days are "a sign that they're running out of ideas". In 2021,
Shaun Keaveny left after 14 years of presenting, saying he was "forced out onto the ice floe like an elderly Inuit relative". Due to audience complaints, the BBC issued a statement that "Radio networks always evolve over time". In 2023, long-serving presenters
Gideon Coe and
Marc Riley had their hours cut to make way for a new evening programme called
New Music Fix Daily with
Deb Grant and
Tom Ravenscroft, reducing the hours of new alternative music on the BBC weekly from 20 to eight.
Stewart Lee described the move as "a land grab on the sound and attitude that have given the station credibility and purpose", with insiders stated the move would 'rip the heart out of' the station. Some listeners believe the station changes are due to "ageism" and a drive to win younger listeners, In September 2023,
Steve Lamacq announced he was to step down from presenting the daily drivetime programme but would return in January 2024 with a Monday drivetime programme.
Huw Stephens took over Lamacq's slot on Tuesdays to Fridays. On 11 February 2024, 6 Music broadcast from Wogan House for the final time after 18 years, with
Gideon Coe sitting in for
Cerys Matthews. The station has now returned to new studios inside
Broadcasting House. In January 2025
Lauren Laverne announced that she would be moving to the mid-morning slot, with
Nick Grimshaw replacing her as the new Breakfast Show host. Grimshaw had already been covering for Laverne on the Breakfast Show for 4 months following Laverne's
cancer diagnosis. ==Statistics==