BPI brands BBC 6 Music axe 'illogical'

The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has said that a BBC plan to close 6 Music but retain classical station Radio 3 is an "illogical and perverse" act of cultural elitism.

The BPI, which represents the UK record industry, said that BBC director general Mark Thompson's recommendation to shut 6 Music rather than Radio 3 gives the impression that the BBC places "greater cultural value on classical output over popular output".

Radio 3's 2 million weekly reach is around double the listeners for 6 Music, but its annual budget of £39m is significantly higher than the £9m it costs to run the latter station.

According to The Times, the BPI said: "This analysis naturally leads to the question: why is it that 6 Music is being proposed for closure and not Radio 3; or alternatively, given that Radio 3 is not - and nor should it be - proposed for closure, why is it that 6 Music is?

"One hypothesis could be that the BBC places a greater cultural value on classical output over popular output."

The comment came as part of the BPI's submission to a BBC Trust public consultation on Thompson's recommendation to close 6 Music.

The BPI believes that 6 Music "enriches the life of the nation", but Thompson claims that it wrongly competes with commercial rivals and has too small an audience to justify its cost.

Yesterday, around a thousand protestors gathered outside BBC Broadcasting House to demonstrate against the station's closure.

Former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw has also given his support to the campaign to save 6 Music, despite staying silent on the issue while in government.

"I hope the BBC listens to the views of the BPI and the thousands of people who have responded to the consultation," he said.

The Trust's public consultation comes to a close tomorrow. It intends to make a decision later in the year on whether to accept Thompson's recommendation to axe 6 Music.