Summer on Radio 1

[Jono]

Andy Parfitt has a lot on his plate as controller of Radio 1, popular music and head of 1Xtra and Asian Network, but he still finds time to keep tabs on Chris Moyles.

Andy Parfitt is radio’s answer to Nigel Havers: smooth, charming. It’s difficult to see how he has time to be so relaxed. If the pressure of running “the nation’s favourite” and the BBC’s flagship radio station is not enough, he has the added responsibility of looking after the corporation’s most niche networks in 1Xtra and Asian Network. Plus he is controller for popular music, Switch and pan-BBC music event The Electric Proms.

But surely the job that keeps him awake at night is managing Chris Moyles? Parfitt doesn’t bite, probably because he’s heard it all before. “He’s great and is intensely focused on the business of making a great radio programme every morning,” Parfitt says of his breakfast DJ, the self-styled ‘saviour of Radio 1’ who has made a number of well-publicised gaffes. “We talk about radio and broadcasting a lot together. If you listen to a radio show as I do - as a radio professional - you can absolutely see with what great care [he works].”

And he is keen to put Moyles’ foibles “into context”, a phrase he uses frequently during the interview.

“He has just completed a five-year, nine-month stint as the breakfast show host on Radio 1, which beat Tony Blackburn’s record from the 1960s,” says Parfitt.

“He’s done thousands of hours of broadcasting in that time and has overstepped the mark on three or four occasions. So the ratio of great broadcasting versus making a mistake is pretty good.”

What does Parfitt think of censorship? And what’s his definition of overstepping the mark? “I find it interesting, mainly because Radio 1 doesn’t censor,” he says. “We have clear guidelines we adhere to. But what we do broadcast - whether it is Zane Lowe’s Masterpieces or some of the content in the Rock Show - [has] some pretty strong material there. Our view is in line with the guidelines; if you give a clear warning there is going to be strong material in this programme, then the audience accept it as part of a genre.”

Parfitt keeps his cool even when asked how, in April 2007, he could spend £1,517.06 on “external entertainment” communicating the Radio 1 strategy to its specialist presenters. Not to mention doing it again a month later, this time spending £1,186.88. He says one of the jobs he has to do is to make sure all the DJs - whether once-a-week specialists or on every day - understand where the BBC is and what the strategy is.

“It could be the next events in the calendar or discussing our approach to campaigns,” he says. “Much of my controllership is about engaging the DJs and discussing editorial guidelines - not just running the station. Because they work at different times, I try to find an evening where I can gather them all in a place for a sandwich and a beer. That’s what the expenses are for and I am very happy with the ones I incur. Over the months they add up of course, but if you’re a licence fee payer, you would expect the controller to get stuck in with the DJs and discuss these points.”

An accusation often levelled at the station itself, mainly by the commercial sector, is that it strays out of the 15- to 29-year-old demographic it is supposed to serve. Parfitt doesn’t dispute that, but he does have a problem with people saying it’s deliberate.

“The key thing I wish to get across is that I don’t believe there is any successful media brand that absolutely matches the stated demographic,” he says. “And there is an interesting story about taste, media taste and the changes in society. If you target 15-29, like we do, you will pick up people under 15 and over 29.”

He says one important factor is changes in music taste and the fact people want to stay younger for longer. “It’s the iTunes phenomenon,” he smiles. “If you share your music with your kids, you may bump into Lady Gaga and you might like her content and performance as much as your teenage daughter does. It’s a spreading music taste that has been driven over the last few years by British alternative rock bands. What you can’t do is identify people who are 30 and tell them to stop listening.”

And Parfitt is happy that the BBC Trust accepts - in its recent review - that some factors are outside Radio 1’s control. Nevertheless, he admits that the network “does target new joiners” who are just shy of 15, because “radio listening as a whole is in decline among younger age groups so we have job to do for the whole industry”.

Network champion

Parfitt is keen to discuss the Asian Network and 1Xtra. And he talks about them both with as much enthusiasm as he does Radio 1, something you might not expect from your average 51-years-young white, middle-class male.

“I took over last year and the schedule has undergone a lot of surgery since then, beginning in January 2009. It’s a very important part of our offer, because not only does it speak to a specific British Asian audience which doesn’t listen to many other BBC radio stations, it also offers a news, drama and music service, which is not provided anywhere else.”

And he says the changes have already started to bear fruit, with “nice gentle rises in the last two Rajars”. The downside to this, however, is that these same gentle rises have meant that the Asian Network has come in for criticism for becoming more “mainstream” - a term that does not sit very easily with Parfitt.

“I don’t know what mainstream means in that respect,” he says. “If people mean it has become more accessible, easier to navigate the schedule and more welcoming - yes it has. But if people are saying it’s become more mainstream in that it’s lost its focus on distinct content, religious festivals and so on, then absolutely not.”

And he is equally evangelical about 1Xtra. “It was inspired by universality,” he says. “There are some audiences for whom Radio 1 was difficult to reach. There is a group of younger, urban-dwelling people, who are more likely to be ethnic minorities, who want particular genres. Radio 1 can do hip hop, pop and dance, but there is a group that wants what is commonly referred to as the ‘black music’ genre. 1Xtra was designed for them.”

It is Parfitt’s conspicuous love of the melting pot of ethnic minorities, youth and raw talent on the BBC airwaves that made him add controller of popular music to his remit and rule himself out of replacing Lesley Douglas as controller of Radio 2 following the Sachsgate scandal.

“I didn’t want to apply for it, had I been invited to,” he says. “I have been the controller here for 10 years and with my other responsibilities, I have an opportunity to develop my skills as a chairman, a leader and as someone who encourages talent and coordinates across the portfolios.”

Because of this, Parfitt says he has “one of the greatest roles at the BBC”.

ANDY PARFITT ON…

Privatisation of Radio 1

It would be an act of national vandalism. Radio 1 is at the very heart of what the BBC stands for and provides news and current affairs to people who otherwise would not get it.

Compliance

The rules are right for the job that needs to be done. We are broadcasting to 12.5 million a week and so we have a large responsibility. Does it suppress creativity and risk? Not at all. It’s easy to amplify one compliance issue and say the whole thing has gone mad.

Chris Moyles

The cliché that his show is a kind of zoo-type noise could not be further from the truth. I admire his radio and broadcasting skills and his ability to make you laugh consistently with his content. Nevertheless, that does not get him off the hook. If he does make a mistake, he is very quick to learn about it from me.

More indie labels

It’s something I am monitoring. There is a fair percentage of tracks from independent labels and I am mindful of the fact it’s not just major companies providing great music. But I don’t want quotas.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/interviews/andy-parfitt-radio-1-popular-music-1xtra-asian-network/5007182.article

[E*F*4L]

Privatisation of Radio 1 would be national vandalism

i agree

[Nik B.]

hang on... have they tried to turn an article about R1 Privatisation into one about Chris Moyles, or Vice Versa???

[Electrobix]

Gosh, I actually agree with Granddad Parfitt on something!