The power of Radio 1's younger, cooler sister station is mirrored in the burgeoning success of UK urban talent. But how much of that is down to the democratic process behind their playlist?
"I thought we'd have KFC," someone murmurs. With Domino's pizzas and MacBooks at the ready, the makeup of the far-from-glam third-floor boardroom at 1Xtra's London HQ isn't necessarily what you'd expect from the UK's most influential urban playlist meeting taking place. "Anyone for a cup of tea?" asks MistaJam, a DJ who also has a slot over at Radio 1. With the milk and two sugars sorted, it's down to business, even if it feels like the relaxed kind of business you'd engage in at the student union.
With a weekly listenership of 816,000 and urban music frequently making up for near-on 50% of the UK singles chart, 1Xtra is the first port of call for anything R&B, hip-hop, grime, reggae or dubstep related. If you're a plugger with an urban offering looking to the holy grail (otherwise known as the Radio 1 playlist), the approval of sister station 1Xtra is crucial to you. More often than not, it's their hits of today that become Radio 1's hits of tomorrow. Jessie J, Wiz Khalifa, Tinchy Stryder, and Chipmunk are all trump cards that demonstrate 1Xtra's unwavering reputation for giving both major label and unsigned acts the platform they need.
Playlist meetings are usually shrouded in mystery because they are the place where new tracks can be made or broken before they've even hit the airwaves. Once the panel has sat down to decide the list for that week, no plugger, manager, record label exec or payola (I kid, I kid) is going to make a difference. But that's the power 1Xtra ? and their playlist meeting ? now has. MistaJam, Ronnie Herel, Cameo
The station began broadcasting in August 2002 and is home to world-class DJs and genre leaders including Tim Westwood, Trevor Nelson, MistaJam and Semtex, many of whom have grown hand in hand with the UK's urban industries.
"Gyptian's Hold Yuh would be a great example of that," explains Ryan Newman, 1Xtra's music systems assistant, otherwise known as the "information wizard" of the team who comes armed with stats. "One of our specialist DJs had been playing it for a few weeks then raised it up the list when he saw its potential as a hit ? seven months later it charted at No 16 and it was on the 1Xtra playlist for a record 30 weeks."
That's not to say they don't make mistakes though. "You can't get it right every time," Austin Daboh, 1Xtra's music manager (and a rising star of the radio industry in his own right) says, laughing. "I'd like to add," chips in MistaJam, "that I bought Kid Cudi's Day & Nite and the Skream remix of La Roux to the table but they didn't make the list at first."
Taking charge of the weekly Tuesday meeting, it's Daboh and his small team (Newman and Anna Nathanson, music producer) who make the ultimate decisions. "We have a pre-meeting with our longlist and filter out music that might be too new or we know just isn't right, then at midday it becomes like a steering committee. After that we re-group and decide."
What makes the 1Xtra playlist meetings unique is the inclusion of DJs; other stations opt solely for production staff. While you will find the odd producer present, it's currently the turn of MistaJam, Twin B, Sarah Jane Crawford, Seani B, Cameo and Ronnie Herel to settle the scores. "We switch up the DJs every six months or so," says Daboh. "We like to keep it fresh and we let them put forward a track each week that may have come to their attention ? they're specialists after all."
And it turns out the process itself isn't all that different to hanging out in the student union either, albeit far more democratic. Loading up the first track, Mavado's Star Boy, the group is quick to conclude that it's too early for the playlist. Next in line it's Jodie Connor feat Tinchy Stryder and the track Bring It. Despite vying for interest with pizza, Brit awards gossip and Twitter, Jodie Connor looks a likely addition to this week's playlist. Flo Rida isn't so lucky. Despite the stats proving past success, no one's sold on the need to playlist the track. Allow five minutes for Flo Rida jokes. With Wretch 32's Unorthodox up for discussion, it's time for Twin B to leave the room. As a stakeholder in Levels Entertainment, Wretch's record label home, the BBC rules come into play. But even with Twin B at a safe distance it's clear this is going to be another hit for the latest MC to break the charts. As a homegrown artist, Wretch isn't in the minority he used to be either ? currently over 45% of all music played on 1Xtra is from the UK.
As the two-hour session draws to a close, equally promising is the revelation that the word "bollocks" was only deemed necessary on one occasion: "You have to be honest though," concludes MistaJam, "and sometimes only that word really fits."
The debate behind the records that made the 1Xtra playlist
What they REALLY said ? the 1Xtra DJs on some of the tracks fighting for the playlist this week:
Jodie Connor feat Tinchy Stryder ? Bring It
"She's got a strong fan base and they're going to want to hear it."
"Jodie's had a 1Xtra journey so we'd be stupid not to support it."
Mavado ? Star Boy
"I went to see him at Amsterdam last weekend and he didn't perform it so I think we can afford to wait."
Giggs feat Example ? Look Over Your Shoulder
"With a clever edit it's a go ? we need stuff like this alongside Jodie Connor."
"We're the only station who can reflect mixtape culture on daytime radio so definitely."
Flo Rida ? Who Dat Girl
"That's a milder brand of cheese than some cheese on the playlist. I'd put it on over Jodie Connor."
"It's like popcorn; you can eat it all night and it just won't make you full ?"
Wretch feat Example ? Unorthodox
"We should just A-list this no doubt."
"There's no debate. Hit. Hit. Hit. Move on."
TI feat Eminem ? That's All She Wrote
"Just another generic TI track."
"It sounds like an Eminem record. We shouldn't waste that space, just sprinkle it about."
Katy B ? Broken Record
"It's not my fave but we should go with it ... We've supported her since the funky house days in 2007, we've built the story up ..."
"It's just annoying that Radio 1 are leading on it ? politics of plugging!"
BBC Radio 1Xtra is available on DAB digital radio, TV and online.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/feb/22/behind-scenes-bbc-1xtra-playlist
Aki Ross Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri
No comments:
Post a Comment