Support The Campaign For Real Music

written by Robert Benson


For those of us who are tired of the same old music being played on radio stations around the world, a novel concept called the Campaign For Real Music (www.campaignforrealmusic.com) is here to help us. The concept is the brainchild of the people at Radio Cafe (www.radiocafe.com), a site that is set up to promote the very best in quality music.

I spoke with one of the founders of Radio Café and Campaign For Real Music, Paul Langford about the goals and formation of these websites.

“I founded the sites with a few friends who feel the same way as I do,” detailed Paul. “It started around four years ago, has evolved quite a lot, but the aim has remained the same throughout- to try and promote real music, and musicians, that simply do not get the exposure elsewhere that they deserve. There are so many artists who, for whatever reason, no longer get radio airplay; therefore, a whole generation is missing out on a wealth of wonderful music.”

“Conversely, there are also numerous fantastic young musicians and singers who haven’t had the chance that their talents deserve. We want to raise their profile and we do this primarily by featuring them on this site, featuring them in our shows and getting them directly involved. We also are slowly building up a happy family of supporters who share the same or a similar ethos.”

“We hope the Campaign will help radio music schedulers appreciate the many types of music that are not being well represented on the airwaves. We’d particularly like the BBC, which offers some fantastic shows on some of its local radio stations, to review its DAB and national radio offering, and provide a broader mix of music for all,” explained Paul. “At the moment, there seems to be so many stations playing the same mix of music, and many popular genres of music have little to no airplay at all.”

I inquired as to what kind of music he is referring to and just how exactly does Campaign For Real Music promote their artists?

“We focus on the quality of the music; irresponsible of age, what counts is the effect, craft and end quality of the music. We promote the music by creating an artist ‘profile’ and we are happy to profile any music which involves time, effort, art and quality - our definition of "real music" - and which has been overlooked,” detailed Paul. “Initially we saw certain genres which are clearly not being catered for on mainstream radio in the UK (although the situation appears to be a little better in the US), as follows:

"Light music" - now known as "beautiful music" in some quarters – gets absolutely no airplay in the UK at all. But not all that long ago it formed the mainstay of British music radio, and the BBC produced masses of this type of music through its own orchestras. Sadly, the 1980s saw its demise and the last dedicated hour of light music on the BBC was cancelled last year.”

"Soul" is also a dying genre. These days it has been replaced by the confusingly named "R&B", aka "Urban", and the focus and sound is far removed from the incredible production and musical talents that provided so much great music during the 70s and 80s.”

"Classic vocalists" - some might call this "crooners". These days yes, we do have fantastic singers like Diana Krall and Michael Buble. But frustratingly this appears to be at the expense of the likes of Vic Damone, Jack Jones and Julie London, who get very little airplay in the UK other than a few chosen tracks. In fact, this would lead a listener to think that these were the only recordings that these artists ever produced - for example, Julie London released dozens of albums, yet we rarely hear anything other than "Cry Me A River" on the radio these days.”

"Jazzy tunes" - while jazz has a huge following, select areas such as dance bands, big bands, jump jive and jazz funk have little to no airplay on mainstream radio. These wonderful forms of music deserve much greater profile.”

“We also include an "other" category so that we capture any artists who deserve a greater profile but do not fit into the above genre.”

I was curious as to what the criteria were for a musician to be selected and to be profiled?

“The criteria are simple: the musician or artist or broadcaster has talent, but does not get the recognition they deserve, or has been overlooked or forgotten,” said Paul.

How can a person get involved with what you are trying to achieve?

“We're pleased to hear from anyone who would like to support the Campaign For Real Music. A number of musicians and artists have been in contact, ranging from funk legend Don Blackman (of "Blackman" fame as well as numerous 1980s adverts) to pop star Leo Sayer ("When I Need You" and "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing") to composer Neil Richardson (most famous perhaps for the "Mastermind" TV theme tune, but a man who has done so very much more). But it's really anyone who is passionate about real music that we are keen to hear from. And everyone can have their say and join in at www.campaignforrealmusic.com.”

So there you have it. Music lovers, who want to not only promote the music that they love, but also new music that has the quality and spirit to be loved. And, that my friends, is what music is supposed to be all about.

Copyright 2008 Robert Benson
www.collectingvinylrecords.com