Everybody in the world, that's right, every single person, lined up yesterday to welcome the decision by the BBC Trust to block the proposal to shut down 6music.

As previously reported, the Trust, which had to approve cutback plans announced by BBC management earlier this year, said yesterday "the case has not been made for the closure of 6music". The BBC regulator then told Corporation top dogs to conduct a complete review of their digital radio output, but not with any specific brief to shut down 6. In fact, it advised BBC bosses to look into ways to increase the digital station's audience instead.

While some fear that, by ordering a wider digital output review, the Trust is allowing BBC management to keep 6 alive for now, only to quietly wind down its operations at a later date, once people have stopped looking, many others are optimistic that yesterday's announcement really does mean 6music has been saved.

Working out quite how that was achieved would make a good academic study. Is it proof of the power of social media in uniting a modest group of disparately located aggrieved people, and in providing those campaigners with a visible platform and a forum to help maintain the momentum of their campaigning?

Or was it because 6music was just lucky to have a lot of high profile fans, including journalists, comedians and musicians? Or was it because some influential but opportunistic Tories saw the pre-Election benefits of speaking up for the cooler of the BBC's radio stations, given the Corporation's strategic review was seemingly written with the soon-to-be-elected Tory government in mind?

Did 6music benefit from the Tory's dislike of the BBC Trust, creating an environment where the regulator - fighting for survival - was looking for a high profile opportunity to show it can stand up to BBC management when it wants to? Or were the Trust and BBC top guard in cahoots all along, orchestrating an elaborate bit of misdirection; distract license fee payers at large over here by threatening to shut down a relatively cheap, innovative service with lots of celebrity fans, so no one notices you shutting down a whole load of other cool stuff over there?

Or perhaps the proposal to shut down 6music - one of BBC radio's least commercial services - and divert its £9 million a year budget to other stations that more directly compete with commercial radio, as part of a strategic review designed to placate concerns in the commercial sector about the Corporation abusing its safe funding streams to get unfair competitive advantage, was just such a dumb, dumb, dumb idea, even the management-loving BBC Trust had to knock it back.

Whatever the reason for 6music being saved, music people were happy yesterday. Though some shared the aforementioned opinion that there was still a risk the axe could reappear above 6 in the future, and warned the Beeb they'd be ready to continue the fight should that happen.

Geoff Taylor, top man at record label trade body the BPI, said: "We are delighted that the BBC Trust agreed that the case for closing 6music was unconvincing. The Trust's initial findings support our case that 6music makes a unique contribution to the UK's cultural. We'll be watching carefully to ensure the Executive's review of the BBC's digital radio strategy is not used as cover for a further attempt to close the station".

Over at UK Music, your main man Feargal Sharkey said: "UK Music is delighted by today's announcement by the BBC Trust that the case has not been made for the closure of BBC 6music. However, it does not represent a total reprieve - the Sword of Damocles has only been put on ice. We would still urge Mark Thompson and the BBC Executive to acknowledge the Trust's conclusions, to recognise 6music's unique role in supporting this country's musical talent and to commit to the station's long term future. We were also surprised by, but welcome, the Trust's commitment to conducting a broad ranging and far reaching review of digital radio, and look forward to inputting into that process in the coming months".

Speaking for the indie community, Simon Raymonde of Bella Union and a board member of the Association Of Independent Music said: "To all those thousands of people who wrote letters, signed petitions and joined protests, to the members of the Trust, we must say that today is a victory for common sense, or as Cat Stevens more eloquently once said, 'I am confident that, in the end, common sense and justice will prevail. I'm an optimist, brought up on the belief that if you wait to the end of the story, you get to see the good people live happily ever after".

Stephen Navin of the Music Publishers Association said: "The decision to save 6music will be particularly welcomed by those young up and coming bands and songwriters to whom the station has been so important. 6music has provided an invaluable platform for new and independent music. The Trust is absolutely right to highlight in its interim conclusions the vital importance of maintaining the type of distinctive content which is currently available uniquely on 6music. The Trust makes specific mention of the fantastic show of public support for 6music that we have seen since the plans were announced. Each and every music fan who replied to the consultation, or tuned their digital radio to 6music, should rejoice in the knowledge that their voice has been heard".

Steve Levine of the Music Producers Guild added: "The reprieve of 6music is fantastic news. By championing talent and originality, 6music provides the perfect antidote to the bland outpourings of so much of today's media. We need stations like this and are delighted that the BBC Trust has rejected plans to close it".

Georgina Rodgers, one of the people behind the Save 6 protests, told reporters: "The fans of BBC 6music welcome the BBC Trust's announcement. But we have only won the battle, and not the war, and we will be continuing our dialogue with the BBC Executive and the BBC Trust. It is clear that the BBC Trust recognises that 6music is a distinctive and culturally valuable station that fulfils the BBC's remit of high quality programming, and we want to build on that, in the context of the wider review of the future digital radio".

And finally, the Trust's response to the Beeb's strategic review was also welcomed by RadioCentre, the trade body for much of the commercial radio sector. Their top man Andrew Harrison said: "We welcome the interim report from the BBC Trust, and in particular its emphasis on distinctiveness and value for money, as the next step in the process to review the future size and shape of the BBC".

He continued: "In our response to the BBC Strategy Review, we highlighted the importance of delivering more public value on BBC Radio's popular music services and the critical need for a much clearer commitment to radio's digital future from the BBC. We are pleased, therefore, that the BBC Trust has mandated BBC management to deliver greater distinctiveness on Radio 1 and Radio 2, and welcome its call to draw up an overarching strategy for digital radio with the commercial sector".

As expected, 6music has been saved, thanks mainly to the thousands of listeners, musicians, journalists, bloggers, tweeters and music industry types who responded with very loud anger at proposals published earlier this year by BBC management to shut down the digital radio service.

The Times predicted last week that 6's closure would be blocked by the BBC Trust, which had to approve the proposals set out in the BBC strategy document published earlier this year. It was thought the saving of 6 might be temporary, pending another consultation about the station's future, though the Trust's statement this morning suggests it is assured a long-term future. The Trust has called for a wider review of the Beeb's digital-only stations, but not with any specific emphasis on whether or not to close 6music.

The Trust was clearly overwhelmed by the Save 6 campaign. 50,000 people filled out the public consultation form regarding the strategy review, and 78% of respondents focused primarily on the proposals for 6. The Trust said that 6music was "non-commercial", "well liked", "highly distinctive" and "value for money". It also made the DAB radio network more attractive to consumers, a key aim of the BBC's digital output. It encouraged the BBC to invest its energies into boosting 6's audience rather than looking into ways to shut it down.

In a statement this morning, the BBC regulator said: "The Trust concludes that, as things stand, the case has not been made for the closure of 6music. The executive should draw up an overarching strategy for digital radio. If the Director General wanted to propose a different shape for the BBC's music radio stations as part of a new strategy, the Trust would consider it".

Although that last sentence gives BBC bosses the option to have another go at shutting 6, its more general wording will make it harder to do so. The closure of the Asian Network, though, seems more assured, with the Trust saying that, as part of that wider review of digital output "The Trust would consider a formal proposal for the closure of the Asian Network, although this must include a proposition for meeting the needs of the station's audience in different ways".

Many of the other cuts proposed by the BBC strategy review, including of non-core online services, were approved.

Jarvis Cocker yesterday cautioned the Save 6 brigade about getting too excited about the news 6music might get a stay of execution courtesy of the BBC Trust, saying the digital station could do without a sustained period of insecurity.

As previously reported, The Times yesterday predicted that the BBC Trust will tell management at the Corporation that they can't shut down the digital music station - as they have proposed - but must instead undertake another consultation to assess the value of the service. Jarvis worries that although this will save 6 in the short term, it will extend the period of insecurity for the people who work there, because the Trust instigated consultation could still result in the service being ultimately closed.

Pulp man and 6music presenter Jarvis was speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Association Of Independent Music in London yesterday. According to Billboard, he joked that "I only started working there in January and then it was about three weeks later they decided to close it down - I did try not to take that personally".

On the Times report, he continued: "They [the Trust] may try to stall and say we need longer to think this over. But they should stick with the [original] timetable [and make a final decision]. It would be unfair on staff at the station to have to continue working under such uncertainty. And it would be a slightly dirty trick if they tried to prolong [the process] and hope everyone forgets about it, [so they can quietly shut it down in eighteen months time]".

Of course, the quick decision Cocker wants is that 6music will live on. He told the AIM event that "it really is the only place a lot of bands are going to get played" and that shutting it down "would have a detrimental effect".

Elsewhere at the AIM AGM, the boss of the trade body, Alison Wenham, also had some strong words for the BBC. In a speech that also took a swipe at Google and the government's plans to turn off the FM radio network in 2015, she was most angry about the Beeb's plans to shut 6, saying BBC bosses had provided only "poor excuses" for shutting down their only truly eclectic music service. She also disputed the idea that only younger listeners were interested in music-heavy radio. According to Music Week, she concluded: "I am of a certain age. By rights I should have stopped listening to music by now. I should be drinking Ovaltine. [But I am not]. Wake up and listen to people like me".

Although covering a number of challenges facing the wider music industry, and especially the independent sector, in her AGM address, Wenham ended her speech on a high, telling the indie label types in the room "the cult of personality over, a subculture is growing, this is the time for the independents to rise again".

The Times says it expects the BBC Trust to call for a stay of execution for digital music station 6music, which Corporation bosses want to shut down as part of a wide-ranging cull of BBC output. And given it was The Times who first leaked the BBC strategy review and revealed 6 was among the services being lined up for the chop, the optimist in me is going to assume the broadsheet have good sources on this kind of thing.

As much previously reported, Beeb bosses published their strategy review back at the start of March. It proposed axing and cutting back on numerous BBC services, including various websites and digital radio stations 6music and the Asian Network.

The aim of the review seemed to be to placate those in the commercial media who accuse the BBC of using their guaranteed licence fee funding to unfairly compete, excessively expand and rampantly overspend. It seemed BBC bosses feared that said commercial media would have more political influence under a Tory government, and the plan seemed to be if the Corporation voluntarily streamlined now, they might not be forced to make bigger cuts later once a new government was in place.

The only problem was, the review mainly proposed cutting the Beeb's more niche and therefore less commercial services, making more money available for those BBC channels that directly compete with commercial rivals, like BBC 1, BBC News and Radios 1 and 2. Therefore the review didn't even achieve its own aims.

There was outrage from different quarters to most of the proposed cutbacks, though the campaign to save 6 was the most vocal. Numerous petitions, opinion pieces, official submissions and supporter rallies pointed out that nothing in the commercial radio sector provided a service anything like 6music, and never would. As if to prove that point, NME Radio, the digital station that was closest to 6, closed down earlier this month because it couldn't make the service pay. 6music is, therefore, exactly the kind of radio station the BBC was set up to operate.

Music industry bodies also pointed out the woeful lack of airtime provided by the wider BBC to Britain's vibrant and wide-ranging music community. With Radio 1 and 1Xtra focused on urban and R&B, Radio 2 on pop and Radio 3 on classical, and with BBC TV now almost devoid of any music programming, there are huge parts of the British music catalogue - old and new - totally ignored by the State-funded broadcaster. 6music goes some way to addressing that discrepancy.

Despite the most senior of BBC executives, including the Corporation's dullard of a Director General Mark Thompson and the Beeb's top radio man, fizzy drink marketer Tim Davie, insisting 6 had to go, no end of journalists, musicians, entertainers, celebrities, politicians and every day listeners lined up to demand the station must be saved. Many of them presented their outrage at the 6 closure proposals to the BBC Trust, the regulatory body which must approve the strategy review's proposals.

According to The Times yesterday, while the Trust is likely to green light the majority of the strategy review's plans, they will block moves to shut 6, at least in the short term. It is likely they will ask for a specific consultation to be undertaken regarding the digital radio service, assessing Thompson's claim that the channel doesn't justify its £9 million a year budget.

The paper says the Trust has been "overwhelmed" by the public response to the closure of 6. They may have also been influenced by the fact the top two Tories with culture and media responsibilities, Jeremy Hunt and Ed Vaizey, have both spoken in support of 6. The Times quoted one of 6music's DJs yesterday who admitted there is now some optimism at the station regarding its future. They told the paper: "The optimism is growing. There is a feeling that they will not just kill us straight off".

Commercial radio trade body RadioCentre has told the BBC Trust that it reckons digital station 6music has "distinctive and unique programming [that] must be preserved"; though before Save 6 supporters get too excited, the commercial types aren't especially lobbying for 6music to remain as a stand alone station, but rather that the digital service's programmes be incorporated into the Radio 1 and 2 schedules, which is what BBC managers have already proposed in their misguided Strategy Review.

Of course, it's the more populist Radios 1 and 2 that commercial radio types don't like, because it's those national BBC stations that directly compete with their services. While commercial radio bosses would have no problem whatsoever with 6music continuing in its current form, the thought that 6-style shows be slotted into the Radio 1 and 2 schedules also appeals, because it would increase the amount of niche programming on those two channels, making it harder for them to compete with the Hearts and Magics and local FM stations in the commercial sector.

In its written response to the BBC's plans for revamping its radio output (plans which include the proposed closures of 6music and the Asian Network), RadioCentre, unsurprisingly, call for more to be done to stop Radios 1 and 2 competing with commercial rivals. Even if 6music's output was swallowed by the two bigger BBC stations, meaning more niche programming in their output, commercial radio types would still want more changes at the big two.

According to Radio Today, RadioCentre's report reads: "Radio 1 must reclaim its reputation as a station for young people, with a significantly greater focus on teenage listeners. Radio 2 should place much greater emphasis on serving the needs of older listeners, both in daytime music choice and the scheduling and content of programmes. The station's target audience should be raised from 35+ to 40+ (and 45+ after three years)".

Elsewhere, the RadioCentre report also calls on the BBC to fund the further expansion of the digital audio broadcasting network, so that DAB can match FM in coverage levels. On the issue of local radio, it calls for less networking of programmes (something the Strategy Review wants to increase), for no music in daytime, for specialist shows in the evening, and for collaborations with community, student and hospital radio stations.

Meanwhile, page space is also given in the submission to one of RadioCentre's biggest bug bears, the cross-promotion of BBC radio services on the Beeb's TV channels. It says such cross-promotion should only be allowed for uniquely BBC type programming - such as Radio 4's current British Museum tie up - rather than Radio 1 and 2 style shows that directly compete with commercial rivals, such as the Chris Moyles breakfast show and the UK Top 40.

RadioCentre top man Andrew Harrison says this: "The best of BBC Radio is among the finest in the world. However, BBC Radio also enjoys an extremely privileged position, and it is right to consider how it should continue to play its part in securing a thriving radio sector for all. This [the Strategy Review] is a unique opportunity to shape our industry for the digital age and one we cannot afford to miss. I believe that our recommendations will deliver top-quality BBC output, and we urge the Trust to prove itself as the cheerleader for the listener".

The BBC Trust's public consultation on plans to close down 6music may have now closed, but the Save 6 campaign continues, and attention next week will focus on a 60th birthday party for long term 6 presenter Tom Robinson, which is being used as another rallying call for the digital radio station.

Taking place at the Shepherd's Bush Empire next Tuesday (1 Jun), Chew Lips, Little Comments, Cosmo Jarvis and Eugene McGuinness will all take to the stage, while reps from indie labels Rough Trade, Bella Union, Domino, Beggars, Warp, Ninja Tune and Moshi Moshi, plus various 6music presenters, will be on hand for a big Save 6 moment at the end of the night.

New Culture Minister Ed Vaizey, who got labelled as "the politician who supports shutting 6" when he was slightly misquoted when the BBC cutback plans were first announced, and who subsequently said he thought 6music was a great service, has also been invited. He apparently met Tom at the recent Ivor Novello Awards. Though I suspect he'll be "otherwise committed" next Tuesday. And no doubt he'll be keen to point out it's not for politicians to interfere on BBC management decisions.

Tickets for the party are £15 and can be bought from www.gladtobegrey.net

As expected, one of the key commercial media firms that the BBC's 6music-shutting Strategy Review was in part devised to placate has said the cutbacks in services proposed by BBC bosses in the controversial document do nothing to alleviate their concerns that the Beeb is too powerful a player, and uses its guaranteed licence fee funding to secure unfair competitive advantage.

According to The Guardian, in its response to the BBC Review submitted to the BBC Trust, BSkyB says plans to close 6music and the Asian Network, two Beeb youth strands and parts of the BBC website are  "tactical and cosmetic" cuts that just "tinker around the edges" but do not dent the scope of the Corporation's activities. Basically, 6music and the Asian Network could be shut tomorrow, but BSkyB and its key shareholder Rupert Murdoch wouldn't stop moaning.

This is something much predicted by opponents to the cuts being proposed by the BBC. Many commentators have pointed out the irony that, in a bid to placate commercial critics, BBC bosses have proposed shutting down some of its least commercial services, a move which would see more money passed to those BBC networks other media firms most object to, in particular Radios 1 and 2 and, in BSkyB's case, BBC News.

Even the BBC youth services facing the axe - which the BBC review specifically says could be provided on a commercial basis - won't really placate commercial media owners. While in theory the youth market is lucrative, increased regulations regarding what you can advertise to teens coupled with that audience's tendency to spend more time online than with traditional media, means few non-BBC telly firms have big youth market ambitions. Indeed the main commercial channel for teens, Trouble, shut down last year.

In his company's submission to the BBC Trust, BSkyB corporate affairs man Graham McWilliam said: "The [BBC] executive's proposals appear tactical and cosmetic. They tinker around the edges of the BBC's activities, giving the impression of change while avoiding the fundamental questions over the BBC's future strategic direction".

Of course, to be fair to the BBC, while their Strategy Review is totally misguided as an attempt to placate commercial rivals, in reality little will stop BSkyB from moaning, short of shutting down BBC 1, Radios 1 and 2 and the BBC News Channel.

Sky's most recent complaint about the BBC regards plans for the new look iPlayer to provide links to rival broadcasters' online services, so that people who search for non-BBC programming on the iPlayer will be directed to where those programmes are available online.

Such a service is the BBC trying to fulfil its commitment to use its popular licence-fee funded website to drive traffic to commercial rivals, but Sky see it as an attempt by the Beeb to make their website the first-stop hub for British TV viewers, without realising it already is that, simply because most commercial broadcasters' websites are really shite.

If only it had all been an elaborate ruse to lure a whole new audience to their most credible of music services, then BBC bosses would deserve a gold star. But Mark Thompson's ship of fools just aren't that clever, so instead just look a bit silly. 

Yes, it's RAJARS day, the day the latest lot of listening figures for British radio shows and stations are released, and the stand out story this time round is that BBC 6music, earmarked for closure by the BBC top guard, has seen its overall audience rise by an unprecedented 50% in the last quarter, presumably thanks to the mega-campaign to save the digital music station. 

Given one of the justifications for shutting 6, despite it epitomising what the BBC should be about, was the modest size of its audience, so the sudden growth in listening figures - to over a million - will  put yet more pressure onto the Corporation's bigwigs to backtrack on this particular cutback plan. 

The BBC Trust's consultation on all of the Corporation's cutbacks and rejigs reaches its conclusion at the end of the month, and some had worried that the Save 6 campaign was slowly starting to lose momentum. But with the station scoring such a good RAJAR just three days after winning two gongs at the Sony Awards, 6 fans are going to be increasingly optimistic that the Trust will now have to force a u-turn on this particular bit of the BBC's strategic review. 

BBC presenter Richard Bacon, who hosts a show on 6 as well as 5Live, indicated late last night that the music station's latest RAJAR - made public at midnight - was going to be impressive. He subsequently tweeted: "A BBC Trust review said that not enough people had heard of 6music. The decision to close the station meant that everybody heard about it. And guess what - they love it". 

There was some good news for BBC radio twonks in the latest RAJARS. Chris Evans has brought in over a million more listeners to the Radio 2 breakfast show since taking over from Terry Wogan at the start of the year, despite worries ratings for the nation's biggest radio show might slump following Wogan's retirement. 

With a weekly reach of 9.53 million, the Chris Evans show is now the biggest breakfast show in Europe, and considerably bigger that Chris Moyles' show over on Radio 1, despite him also seeing an increase in listeners. You'll remember Moyles welcomed the news that Evans would succeed Wogan by announcing it would enable his show to become biggest at breakfast. 

Vindicated by their brave decision to replace Wogan with Evans, BBC bosses will also be keen to point out the average listening age of his breakfast show listeners is 51. There were fears Evans would bring the age of Radio 2 listeners down, making the station compete even more head on with commercial rivals. 

We'll have a scan of the rest of the RAJARs later today and update you on anything else interesting tomorrow. Normally we'd note that the RAJARs are statistically rather suspect, but given they've just given 6music a very good bill of health (I think you all know how we feel about the plans to shut 6) and have boosted the status of Chris Evans at Radio 2 (he's one of my favourite radio presenters) we'll gloss over that for now.

As usual, the BBC dominated at the radio industry's big night out last night, the Sony Awards, taking 23 of the 37 awards on offer, though given quite a few awards are for comedy and drama and quality news, there's a few categories where 'pile em high sell em cheap' commercial radio stations are never going to get a look in.

Still, assuming you count British Forces Radio and community group Hackney Podcast, the commercial sector did take fourteen prizes in total, including three of the five all important station of the year gongs for Planet Rock, Moray Firth Radio and Kiss FM.

6music, nominated seven times in six of the main categories, scored just one Gold award, but that was for the best show on the radio ever, 'Adam & Joe', who won the Best Comedy prize. 6 also won the periphery Rising Star award for Jarvis Cocker (who is still rising as a radio star, of course), taking their awards haul to two. The other doomed BBC digital station, the Asian Network, also won a prize, for Best Speech Programme.

Jarvis used his acceptance speech to diss the BBC for its plans to shut down his station. According to the Telegraph, he told the Sonys audience: ''Since I am an elected majority, you will forgive me if I have a little rant. I said that a vote for me was a vote for 6music. The show that I do couldn't exist on any other station. I'm allowed to play whatever music I like, interview whoever I like and record jingles in my cellar".

He continued: "The presenters of 6music are music makers as well as music presenters. The BBC must offer licence players value for money. I'm not saying what we get paid, but they do it for the love of music and it is certainly value for money. 6music is never going to be the biggest station in the UK but it would be devastating if it was to close. 6music isn't going to change the world, it just wants to make it a bit nicer. Rant over, thank you very much".

Elsewhere, commenting on this year's awards, Tim Blackmore, chairman of the event, told CMU: "Having been associated with these awards since their inception in 1983, I remain immensely proud to be part of an industry that continues to deliver high quality audio on an ever increasing range of platforms. Radio is truly one of our most creative industries and the proof is in the work of this year's gold, silver and bronze winners".

To watch footage from the bash and interviews with nominees and guests conducted by the fabulous Marsha Shandur and wonderful Nick Wallis (OK, so they're both very long term friends of CMU, but scientific research has shown they are both fabulous and wonderful respectively) go to www.radioawards.org.

For fans of long lists, here's the full list of this year's Sony gold winners:

Breakfast Show Of The Year (Big Stations): Today, BBC Radio 4

Breakfast Show Of The Year (Small Stations): Dixie & Gayle, Real Radio Yorkshire

Best Music Programme: Dermot O'Leary Show, Ora Et Labora for BBC Radio 2

Best Specialist Music Programme: Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1

Best Entertainment Programme: Capital Breakfast Show, 95.8 Capital FM

Best Speech Programme: Nihal, BBC Asian Network

Best Sports Programme: Sportsound, BBC Radio Scotland

Best News & Current Affairs Programme: Newshour, BBC World Service

Best Breaking News Coverage: Alzheimer's Tragedy, BBC Radio Ulster

Best Live Event Coverage: Absolute Blur, Absolute Radio

Best Community Programming: The New Ballads Of Reading Gaol, BBC Radio Berkshire & Company Paradiso for BBC Radio Berkshire

Best Internet Programme: Hackney Podcast, HackneyPodcast.co.uk

Music Radio Personality Of The Year: Scott Mills, BBC Radio 1

Music Broadcaster Of The Year: Zane Lowe, BBC Radio 1

Speech Radio Personality Of The Year: Frances Finn, BBC Radio Nottingham

Speech Broadcaster Of The Year: Sir David Attenborough, BBC Radio 4

News Journalist Of The Year: Lyse Doucet, BBC World Service

Best Specialist Contributor: Mark Kermode, BBC Radio 5 Live

Best Interview: Jenni Murray interviews Sharon Shoesmith on Woman's Hour, BBC Radio 4

Station Programmer Of The Year: Euan Mcmorrow, Radio City 96.7

Best Use Of Branded Content: NME Radio for Skins Radio

Best Single Promo/Commercial: Dear Stan, Talksport

Best Promotional/Advertising Campaign: Vote Joe, Real Radio North East

Best Competition: Who's Calling Christian? Absolute Radio

Best Station Imaging: Oxfordshire's 106 JACK Fm 

Best Music Special: Elvis By Bono, White Pebble Media and Ten Alps Radio for BBC Radio 4

Best News Special: Crossing Continents: Chechnya, BBC Radio 4

Best Feature: Archive On 4 - Working For Margaret, Brook Lapping Productions for BBC Radio 4

Best Comedy: Adam And Joe, BBC 6music

Best Drama: People Snogging In Public Places, BBC Radio 3

Station Of The Year (up to 300,000): Moray Firth Radio (MFR)
 
Station Of The Year (300,000-1 million): BBC Radio Derby 

Station Of The Year (1 million plus): Kiss 100 

Digital Station Of The Year: Planet Rock

UK Station Of The Year: BBC Radio 5 Live

Sony DAB Rising Star Award: Jarvis Cocker, 6music

Special Award: British Forces Broadcasting Service

Record label trade body the BPI yesterday issued a statement formally calling for the BBC to save digital music station 6music, which, of course, Corporation bosses want to close next year. The statement follows the previously reported industry delegation who rocked up at the BBC Trust earlier this week to try and persuade bosses there to block the Beeb's proposed radio cutbacks. 

In the industry delegation was Sony Music's Paul Curran, Universal's David Joseph, Warner's Jeremy Marsh, EMI's Andria Vidler and Infectious Music's Korda Marshall plus reps from trade bodies the BPI, UK Music, the Association of Independent Music and the Music Managers' Forum.

Yesterday's statement outlined the argument the music industry bods presented earlier this week. They argued that 6 provided a music service that could not be replicated in the commercial sector, and therefore the station is an excellent example of the BBC's public service mission in action. That the station plays an important role in the country's cultural life, by showcasing new and alterative artists. That 6 should be thought of as contemporary music version of Radio 3, rather than an alternative to Radios 1 and 2, and its audience size should be viewed in that context. And that putting the bigger 6 shows on Radios 1 and 2 would just see alternative music saddled with graveyard slots.

They also used the opportunity to complain again about the lack of a weekly music show on prime-time BBC TV since the demise of 'Top Of The Pops'.

Confirming the industry's support for 6, BPI chair Tony Wadsworth told CMU: "We cannot see the sense in pulling the plug on a successful outlet for artists, both new and established, that are not being played on either Radio 1 or 2. 6 Music has significant cultural worth and public value that you can't measure by audience numbers alone, and it provides programming that commercial radio does not".

Talking of 6music and the Save 6 campaign, as UK music industry chiefs met with the BBC Trust to air their concerns about the 6 closure plans yesterday, the Beeb's head of Stuff And Shizzle Tim Davie denied those resurgent rumours that the Corporation may as yet u-turn on their decision to axe the station but rebrand it as Radio 2 Extra.

As previously reported, those claims resurfaced in a Sunday Times report last weekend, and basically say that BBC bosses are considering saving 6 but renaming it 2 Extra, so that it fits in with plans to only have five national radio brands.

But writing on the About The BBC blog, Davie said: "Firstly, let me make it clear that, while we have proposed rebranding Radio 7 as Radio 4 Extra, there are no such plans for 6music. But I should also explain that the proposals made in the Strategy Review are the first part of a process. The BBC Trust are currently consulting the public on those proposals and nothing will happen until after the consultation is closed".

He continued: "I [have previously] outlined the rationale for the closure of 6music and said that we will reinvest any funds from the proposed closure of 6music in digital radio content. This commitment to digital radio remains and we are looking at a number of ways of doing this. I said we would look at protecting some 6music programming by redeploying it elsewhere and considering how we can also do justice to its legacy in areas like new music development. This commitment also remains. But simply rebranding 6music as Radio 2 Extra is not one of our plans".

Gordon Brown has lent his support to BBC 6music and said that Jarvis Cocker, who presents a show on the station, is his favourite DJ. While, as with most politicians pulled into this debate, he stressed it wasn't his job to tell the BBC what to do, he did manage a bit of electioneering by pointing out that many reckon 6music is being cut in a bid to placate a future Rupert Murdoch-supported Tory government, who are likely to want the Corporation streamlined. His basic implication - the end of 6 is David Cameron's fault.

Asked if he supported the Save 6 campaign, Brown told The Press Association: "Yes because it's the next stage you worry about. The Conservatives have said that they'll hive off Radio 1. A lot of things that the BBC does are incredibly creative and quite risky - and this is a necessary means of us being a creative society. I want to safeguard the independence of the BBC and I think the licence fee is the means by which you do it".

He continued: "The licence fee is essential to the BBC. Any proposal to massively cut the fee or to strip the BBC of its independence - or alternatively, to remove its ability to make certain programmes - is a huge mistake. I don't think politicians should make that decision about what the BBC produces. I think the BBC should make that decision. I also think, personally, that the BBC should not have succumbed to pressure to cut certain things - but they have".

He was also asked, as part of a series of pointless either/or questions, to pick his favourite DJ out of Radio 1's Chris Moyles, Radio 2's Chris Evans and Jeremy Vine and 6music's Jarvis Cocker, to which he replied: "Definitely 6music. Definitely". Which is a shame, because up until that point he'd seemed quite sincere.

In a further dig at Rupert Murdoch-led changes in the media, Brown also said that he didn't think paywalls on newspaper websites, like that being introduced by Murdoch's Times, would work, saying: "People have got used to getting content without having to pay. I don't think you are going to be able to put things behind paywalls in the way that people think". Of course that is the same argument for forcing record labels to licence anything-goes P2P networks instead of supporting three-strikes style systems for stopping the free exchange of content only. Though Brown didn't talk so much about copyright owners having to get used to the public wanting their content for free in last week's Digital Economy Bill debate, did he?

In other 6music news, The Times last weekend reported on rumours that 6 might be saved, but will be rebranded as Radio 2 Extra to fit in with the BBC's new 'only five national radio brands' system, in the same way Radio 7 will become Radio 4 Extra. Radio 2 Extra would likely only broadcast 12 hours a day, instead of the current 24. These are not new rumours, though are being more discussed this week because of the Times report. 6 fans don't like the proposals, partly because of the cut in programming, partly because they don't want to be labelled Radio 2 listeners, even though internally at the Beeb 6 is already a sister station of 2.

As far as we know, BBC management are still set on cutting 6 completely, though they might be preparing options for if the BBC Trust block the radio station cuts in their review of the current cut-back proposals. But a BBC spokesman said yesterday: "We would like to clarify that there are currently no proposals for BBC Radio beyond those outlined in the Strategy Review".

I've been meaning to mention this all week, but there is still time. Members of the Save 6music Facebook group are trying to get a song by indie curiosities Half Man Half Biscuit to number six in this week's singles chart.

Which is pretty ambitious - [a] getting a top ten single these days requires rather a lot of sales and [b] aiming for a specific chart position other than number one is almost an impossible feat to achieve. Still, that's obviously not the point; rather it's an effort to keep the Save 6 campaign in the news while championing a band who are very much in the spirit of the only British radio station who genuinely supports the more quirky artists and bands of planet indie.

The aim is to get the band's 'Joy Division Oven Gloves' into the chart this Sunday, which means that if you want to join in the fun you need to go and download that track from a chart-returning download store by midnight tomorrow.

According to The Guardian, the owner of Half Man Half Biscuit's record label Probe Plus said the band's frontman Nigel Blackwell was "flattered" by the attention, and that while 'Joy Division Oven Gloves' is by no means the band's best song, he understood why it was a fun choice for a Save 6 publicity stunt.

While admitting he didn't think 6music was quite as good now as it was a few years back, he said it was still a "smashing station", adding that it was the first national station to play Half Man Half Biscuit since John Peel and Andy Kershaw's shows disappeared from the Radio 1 schedules.

Members of the Save 6music Facebook group yesterday asked what UK Music's viewpoint on the possible demise of the digital music station might be - they, presumably, having heard coverage of the cross-sector trade body's big report on 6 yesterday.

Well, Feargal Sharkey used the end of his speech at the Liberating Creativity launch at the Houses of Parliament last night to confirm that he and his organisation are very much behind the campaign to stop the planned closure of both 6 and the BBC's Asian Network. Giving a particular welcome to the 6 and Asian Network reps at the party, he encouraged everyone present to support the effort to stop the two valuable music services being axed.

Culture Minister Ben Bradshaw also gave his support to the Save 6 campaign, sort of. As with Liberal Lord Tim Clement-Jones, who spoke at the Save 6 rally on the weekend, he stressed that it is not for MPs or ministers to tell the BBC management how to do their jobs. However, he encouraged everyone who opposed the plans to cut 6 and the Asian Network to make sure their opinions are heard by the BBC Trust, who must approve the cuts for them to happen.

He added: "[Trust chairman] Michael Lyons has assured me this is a genuine consultation, nothing is a foregone conclusion, and the Trust will really listen to what licence fee payers tell them. So I urge you all to respond to that consultation". 

Hundreds of 6music fans braved the rain and amassed outside the BBC's Broadcasting House on Saturday lunchtime to protest at the much previously reported plans of BBC management to shut the music station down. 

Various presenters and supporters from and of the station spoke, while bands who have enjoyed support from 6 played acoustic mini-sets. Liz Kershaw kicked off the proceedings by telling the amassing crowd that the battle was not lost, and that if enough people lobbied the BBC Trust - who must approve the Corporation's top guard's plans - the station could still be saved.

Gideon Coe thanked the crowd for their support, and encouraged everyone there to ensure they, and everyone they know, made a formal complaint to the aforementioned BBC Trust, because, he said, the more people who lobby the Beeb's regulator the higher the chance of the station being saved.

Tom Robinson said both 6 and the Asian Network were being closed mainly as the result of a "tidying exercise" by BBC management. "BBC chiefs have decided they want five radio brands, with 'extra' digital spin offs", he told the protesters. "Neither 6 nor the Asian Network fit into this plan, and that's why they are being shut". To that end, he said it was important those make submissions to the Trust stress the need for a whole 24/7 channel dedicated to showcasing and championing new and alternative music, otherwise the Trustees might agree to a fudge where a handful of 6 shows get shoved into the graveyard shift on Radio 2.

Away from Team 6, Liberal Lord Tim Clement-Jones gave his formal support to the Save 6 campaign. He said it wasn't for MPs to dictate how the BBC should be run, but it was right for licence fee payers to tell BBC management when they believe they've got it wrong, and that parliamentarians provided another forum through which 6 fans, as licence fee payers, could air their opposition. "You should write to your MPs and tell them how you feel about 6music", he told the crowd. "The good news is, they're going to be particularly sensitive to your opinions in the next couple of months".

Allo Darlin and The Brute Chorus were among those who made musical contributions, while Black Soul Strangers led the crowd in a reworked version of 'Hey Jude' ("na na na na na na na, Save 6" etc). Mirrorkicks frontman Anil Kamalagharan shunned his guitar, climbed on top of his drummer so he could be seen by the whole crowd, and sang two songs a capella. As an outfit supported by both 6 and the Asian Network, he rallied a cheer in support of the other BBC digital station also facing the chop.

All of which led up to the grand finale, when Mr Adam Buxton took to the megaphone and joked "this is the only station in the world that would air a shambles like 'The Adam & Joe Show'; and just when it was going so well, they shut down the whole station, that's obviously the only way to get Adam & Joe off the air!" While admitting that Mark 'Tommo' Thompson and his chums had a difficult job, he said "6 is a totally unique station, providing shows and playing music and showcasing bands that simply no other radio station does, which I thought was exactly what the BBC was meant to do!"

Keen for the Save 6 massive to have a chant, he led the crowd in a call of "What do we want", "Leave us alone", "When do we want it", "For a long time". Happy faces all round, one just hopes they are happy again in May when the BBC Trust reports back on the cutback proposals.

Speaking to Radio Today, one of the 6 fans who organised the protest, Georgina Rodgers, explained why she'd proposed the rally in the first place. She said: "What I wanted to do, when I suggested that we have a protest outside Broadcasting House, is to bring the web campaign on Facebook into the real world. I think it's very easy to say: 'Yes, I'll join this group on Facebook' - but today a couple of thousand people actually turned up to vote with their feet and say: 'We're angry about this... we're not happy about it... we're very passionate about this radio station'".

Video coverage: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iQjnnlQuWw
Protest Gallery: www.forfolkssake.com/news/4088/save-bbc-6-music-protest-gallery

Pictured: Adam Buxton rallies the Save 6 crowd, taken by Edward Drummond.

No less than 94 MPs have now signed the previously reported Early Day Motion tabled by Labour man Tom Watson calling on the BBC to reverse their plans to shut down 6music and the Asian Network. Though Tory culture man Ed Vaisey, who told CMU he digs 6 after the Guardian implied he was pro the station's axing, is yet to add his name to the Motion. He's going to be at the previously mentioned UK Music event at the Houses Of Parliament next Monday, I vote we kick him to the floor and force him listen to Neil Fox on Magic until he gets his pen out. That's the sort of democracy in action I think we, the British public, could really get behind.

Anyway, as previously reported, Watson's EDM reads as follows: "That this House notes with deep concern recent newspaper speculation that the BBC is considering closing its 6music and Asian Network radio stations; believes that both radio stations offer outlets for independent and non-mainstream music; further notes that both 6music and Asian Network reach out to audiences not otherwise well served by the BBC; congratulates 6music and Asian Network for acting as a source of talent for the BBC and other media; recognises that the BBC has a duty to represent and give a platform to minority interests that need a mainstream platform to develop and grow; and calls on the Government to encourage the BBC to continue its support for 6music and Asian Network for many years to come".

Don't forget the Save 6 protest is this Saturday, outside the BBC's Broadcasting House in London at midday. And if you're a 6music fan, look out for the Powers Of Ten playlist in this Friday's CMU Weekly - it's very exciting.

You want a forecast for this week? Okay, here's one: less Quality Street. There have been far too many sweets in the CMU office lately. At this rate, I'm going to have to enforce some kind of exercise regime, and no one wants that. Least of all me. Anyway, enough about the poor diets of CMU employees, what about more music-related things that are happening this week. Oh, what, you mean like these?

01: Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis. The Dillinger Escape Plan's fantastic fourth album, 'Option Paralysis', is released today via their own Party Smasher label. You can hear the whole thing right now on MySpace, but don't go and listen there, the sound quality's rubbish, pop out and buy it on your lunch break instead. In the meantime, check out this playlist put together by bassist Liam Wilson for last week's CMU Weekly.

02: The Great Escape launch party. Each year The Great Escape festival and conference partners up with a country to show of its musical talent. Last year it was New Zealand, and this year they're staying in the Antipodes with Australia. First thing on the agenda is a launch party, which will be held at Australia House on The Strand this Thursday in conjunction with the country's music export specialists Sounds Australia. After that, The Great Escape will be well and truly launched for 2010. www.escapegreat.com

03: CMU's supreme guide to music rights. There's a second chance to attend CMU's beginners guide to music copyright this Wednesday. An introduction to copyright law, a review of music rights ownership, and guides to collective licensing, collecting societies and copyright enforcement, it's perfect for independent label owners or music publishers, self-managing artists, junior execs at bigger music firms, or more experienced music people looking for a catch up. Very limited places are available, so be quick. www.thecmuwebsite.com/events

04: White Mischief third birthday. To celebrate their third birthday, neo-Victorian promoters White Mischief are holding two very special events in London this week. The first, The White Mischief Revue takes place at Proud Cabaret on Friday and will feature vaudeville acts, live music and vintage DJing. The main event, The Great Exhibition, takes place the following evening at The Scala and promises to be "a multi-room steampunk extravaganza" and will include a live performance from CMU favourite Thomas Truax. www.whitemischief.info

05: Save 6 rally. Okay, this isn't happening between now and Friday, but it is happing just about within five days of you reading this, thus not entirely breaking the rules of this column. Anyway, enough rambling, we need action. The BBC want to shut down 6music and force us all to listen to stuff we don't like. If you think that sounds like a bad thing, head down to BBC Broadcasting House in London on Saturday at midday and wave a stick, or something. More info here

There you have it. Other things you may enjoy this week include: drinking tea, scratching, puffing your cheeks out and feeding bread to ducks.

Andy Malt
Editor, CMU Daily

A Save 6music rally will happen outside BBC Broadcasting House in London on Saturday 27 Mar at midday. The plan is to raid the recently refurbished building and completely trash it. No, not really, it's gonna be peaceful and all that, because, as is widely known, every single 6music listener is a lovely lovely person. Though some pan hats may be worn, and toast may be present. The rally is being organised by members of the Save 6 Facebook Group, which currently has 160,000 members.

In related news, the BBC has admitted it has now received 8000 formal complaints about its plans to can 6music as part of wide-ranging cuts. I think that is in addition to the formal submissions made by listeners to the BBC Trust, who are reviewing the cutback proposals put forward by BBC bosses.

In other 6music news, Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley will reunite for one show together on the digital station on Good Friday, a nod to the days in the 1990s when they co-presented Radio 1's new music evening show, the Evening Session.

The BBC's Chief Operating Officer Caroline Thomson has apparently told a media conference that 6music should close because the average age of its audience is 37 and that is at the heart of the demographic targeted by commercial radio.

According to the Guardian, Thomson defended the Beeb's controversial proposal that the digital radio service be shut at the Westminster Media Forum, and said: "The average age of its listeners - 37 - is at the heart of the demographic targeted by commercial radio".

Of course, it's possible Thomson has been misquoted or taken out of context there, and wasn't really suggesting that the 6music audience somehow crosses over with that of Magic and Heart and Absolute.

But if that is what she was saying, then that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, and demonstrates Thomson is so out of her depth she drowned long ago and is now just a zombie, and should be fired forthwith and placed somewhere where she can't bother the BBC ever again. That is all.