Some Really Good Ways To Help Independent Musicians…Part 4

Sharing great music really is the first, best step for individuals to support it, but it can go beyond just supporting the musicians themselves. Independent radio has become a last bastion for independent musicians. As the saying goes, ‘independent radio and independent music are interdependent’, but it seems most people haven’t quite cottoned on!

In supporting an independent radio show, you show support for independent music – yeah, I know, it really isn’t that simple. At least it provides a focus for where this article goes next. Defining ‘independent radio’ is a challenge in respect of general support for grassroots music, because there are mainstream shows that also give air time to a selection of the best of music from the independent world. Defining ‘independent music’ is also not that straightforward, because a musician’s label (if they have one) may be a well established independent business. So this article gives a snapshot of the way radio works in the UK insofar as my current level of knowledge can take it. Hopefully, it will open a more accurate conversation about where we go from here.

The Bigger Picture:

Probably the biggest shift in the independent radio scene in recent years has been the BBC’s cutting back of local radio stations from 2022. If there was an earlier signal in the folk scene that a shift might be on the way, it may have been when Mike Harding’s popular Radio 2 Folk Show was shut down in 2012: he did not go “of his own volition”. That’s no disrespect to Mark Radcliffe who’s done an excellent job since, but when a stalwart of the traditional folk scene was so publicly sidelined, it seemed to point a direction of travel. Some would say that’s a good thing. Some would disagree. My own view is that age doesn’t stop music creation, nor the ability to project one type of music over another. The BBC missed a trick in not accommodating both.

Meanwhile, the comparative ease and lower cost of establishing an Internet radio presence, meant that while the BBC was re-jigging its entire local radio offering, other players were joining the game. It seems this shift is not only irreversible, but that commercial radio is much more alive and well than I’d been led to believe: “Commercial radio has reached its highest ever share of UK radio listening at 55.7%, widening the gap over the BBC which now stands at 42.1%” (RAJAR 2025). But then there’s the way in which each station selects the music for their shows.

We are a long way from the days of Radio Caroline and John Peel. Back then, presenters were hired for their music knowledge, and skill in identifying, selecting and presenting a wide range of music. To an extent, TV killed the radio star, but radio remained important for those, for example, who liked to work to music, drive to music, revise to music, etc. These days, many radio shows are populated only by songs that appear on the highest number of playlists, taking the selection process away from the presenters. The theory is that playing the most popular songs will hold on to the biggest audience. In reality, it’s alienated many stations from a vast swath of fabulous new music created independently in bedrooms and garages across the world.

While all that is a very simplistic view of the way in which UK commercial radio works, it does paint a reasonably accurate picture. An estimated 39.5 million people tune in to commercial radio stations every week. “Online listening across the UK continues to grow, with a record 29.3% of all radio listening now happening online – ahead of AM/FM analogue listening at 26.6%.” (RAJAR 2025). The point here, is that however music is selected for individual stations or shows, radio remains a really important outlet for independent music.

A Global Labyrinth:

A whole tranche of radio is now accessible only online: Independent Radio, Independent Community Radio, Community Radio, and the conflation of the words ‘community’ and ‘commercial’. Is it a global community, national, regional, or local? The answer is ‘all of those things’ because the Internet now means we can listen for free to stations hosted for minimal cost on global platforms. That said, it’s an absolute nightmare for listeners to navigate their way around the myriad radio offerings, so they tend to hone in on the few that seem to best match their tastes, or sometimes the ones that are physically close by, and stick with them. There is a largely unexplored psychology to radio listening habits that I don’t intend to get into here!

One of the problems the listeners themselves have is the variety and respective clarity of websites that host independent radio shows. Sometimes the quality of the radio feed can be an issue. Platforms like Mixcloud are excellent in providing a fairly clear and obvious structure. Check in particular Black Dog Radio‘s live Saturday morning show on that platform. However, the websites of other independent platforms and the stations themselves leave a lot to be desired, and resource is almost always at the back of all that. I’m picking out just a few from the hundreds of UK shows to give an idea what I’m talking about:

The BSide, Cardiff UK: https://radiocardiff.org/index.php/shows/the-bside/ 

Beyond Radio, Lancaster UK: https://www.beyond.radio/

Celtic Music Radio, Glasgow UK: https://www.celticmusicradio.net/ 

Folk Friday Radio (Internet Only): https://global2.citrus3.com:2020/public/folk-friday-radio

QRadio, Belfast: https://www.qradio.com/belfast/radioplayer/ 

TD1 Radio, Galashiels: https://www.td1radio.scot/ 

Wey Valley Radio, Alton UK: https://weyvalleyradio.uk/ 

The structures are very different. The music ‘genre-focus’ for a radio station isn’t always clear. We live in a world in which an extra click seems too much effort for many. That said, it can still be difficult to locate individual shows, and while we’ve been working on a website for Folk Friday Radio for a while now, its development needs funding and it needs time to get it right. Folk Friday Radio isn’t unique in that. In the end, the first focus has to be the music. The rest will follow. Most independent radio shows are run by teams of volunteers. Independent radio is not a money-making venture. It’s focus is exactly where it should be, on the music.

In accepting that the support of independent radio for independent music, however well-intentioned, has something of a disparate feel to it, I would encourage each and every one of you to try something new: a new station, a new show, new music, world music. There is a whole mine of music out there, and it isn’t that difficult to find new and innovative shows, presenting fabulous music you will not have heard before. If you do find something new, whether a new show or a new musician, please don’t keep it to yourself. Share your experience with your community of family, friends and other contacts. It all helps.

My final point is addressed to the musicians. As a musician, I know how hard it can be to get a new release listened to. I know that a new release probably has a radio shelf life of 3-4 weeks before it seemingly vanishes into the ether. I also know that it can take time to find and listen to the radio shows who play your music, and build a relationship with their presenters. Been there, done that, and still doing it. Do you know why? It’s simple really. The more support is reciprocated, the more support you get. Independent radio is a last bastion for independent music. As the host of an independent radio show on an independent radio station, I see that more clearly now than ever.

I hope you’ve all found these four articles useful in directing your support for independent musicians. There will be more in the future in order to accommodate the chameleon of online existence, but for now please share this article, share independent radio experiences, and most of all, share the music that you love.

Peace.

John