The 12-week consultation process by the BBC Trust on the future shape of the BBC, including the survival of 6 Music and the Asian Network ended yesterday – Tues 25th May 2010.

UK Music, AIM, the BPI, Featured Artists Coalition, MMF, the MU and others have contributed observations to a 19-page submission to the BBC Trust’s Strategy Review outlining why in their view closing 6 Music is wrong.

UK Music has told the Trust that 6 “embodies the best of the BBC” providing “a unique and distinctive service that is unrivalled”. To close it would leave 1 million plus listeners disenfranchised.

Both AIM and the BPI have pointed out flaws in the Trust’s own arguments for closing 6. Closing 6, they argue, would "undermine the BBC’s ability to meet its requirements to “stimulate creativity”, “cultural experience” and to maintain “quality and distinctiveness”. AIM dismissed the BBC’s suggestion that bits of 6 Music content could find their way into Radio 1 and 2 programming.

BPI research found that 13% of 6 Music’s output is new music. The BPI chairman, Tony Wadsworth, said: “The BBC’s own charter makes crystal clear that the corporation is specifically tasked with stimulating creativity and cultural excellence. It defies belief, therefore, that the BBC is proposing to close a radio station that excels at doing exactly this, particularly when 6 Music’s audience is growing in leaps and bounds and virtually the entire UK music community is united in support of it.”

According to UK Music 750 UK artists registered with PRS for Music would be denied any kind of audience without 6, arguing the only broadcast royalties these artists receive are via plays on 6.

Axing the Asian Network would leave a big gap in mainstream broadcasting dedicated to supporting and encouraging Britain’s best talent.

Read the full story here

The BMF will be featuring radio very prominently at Music South West 2010 in November.

Click here to visit the Save 6 Music website.