BBC 1 PLEDGES MORE PLAYLIST
SPACE FOR BRITS

After facing criticism for not playing enough homegrown acts, BBC Radio 1 has pledged a commitment to playlisting three singles for up to six new U.K. acts. The idea is by the third they’ll have risen the ranks to its A List.

There was just one British act in BBC Radio 1’s Top 10 songs played last year (“I’m In Control” (Island) by Aluna George f/Popcaan), with another 17 in the Top 50, which was 36% British overall. Of those 18 U.K. acts, nine fall under the Beeb’s “new” category with no album yet released.

“It’s no secret that the wider music industry, of which Radio 1 forms an important part, struggled to break any U.K. artists in 2016,” playlist boss Chris Price told British trade title Music Week. “This is about Radio 1 taking a leading role in trying to fix that issue. We should continue to play a part in breaking U.K. artists at home and on the world stage.”

The initiative joins efforts from the Official Charts Company, which has changed the streaming conversion rate for one sale on the singles chart to 150 streams from 100 in the hope of achieving less stagnancy after a rather boring 2016 for High Street Kensington.