Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Brit Music Scene

Brit Music Scene

New Campaign For Top Of The Pops Return

Posted: 27 Jan 2009 04:26 PM PST

Ever since Top Of The Pops was canceled in 2006, there has been some high profile campaigning to get the show brought back. After all, TOTP successfully ran for 42 before being axed, and would still be with us if the BBC hadn’t started paying so much attention to viewing figures.

I originally covered the story in October, 2008, after The Ting Tings made clear their desire for the show to be brought back. I was against the show coming back, feeling it had had its time and the world had moved on. Although, I did appreciate the Christmas Special the BBC reinstated after pressure from Simon Cowell and others.

In November, Mark Cooper, head of music entertainment for BBC TV suggested the campaign had worked, and that TOTP would indeed be returning to our screens at some point but since then, no official word has leaked of the whens and hows.

Now, music industry plugger, Dylan White, has spoken to Music Week about where he thinks the show would fit in the schedules, and how it could be tweaked to make it more of a success this time around.

He wants the show brought back in a 5:30pm slot between the end of children’s television and the start of the news. He explained:

“The content of the programme would be driven by ['Top Of The Pops'] magazine and the Top 40, so would heavily feature the likes of High School Musical, Rihanna, Sugababes, Katy Perry and, yes, some ‘X Factor’ stars.”

I can certainly see the logic to this argument. The people who mostly buy singles and therefore influence the weekly charts, are kids. By the time you reach my age, you’re more likely to buy albums of your favorite groups and leave the singles well alone. So why not cater for those most invested in the format?

The problem is that the artists mentioned are the ones who already get the most airplay on television and in mainstream outlets. Giving them more seems a little pointless to me, as does promoting Cowell’s talent search, The X-Factor.

Bring back Top Of The Pops in this slot by all means, but the BBC should also be looking to cater for those of us over 12 who want to hear good bands playing live, not miming, on television. Maybe TOTP2 should be rejigged as a live show for new bands rather than the trip down memory lane it currently is.

[Photo Source: Phillie Casablanca at Flickr via Creative Commons]

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Share This

at 5:53 AM