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Xfm 104.9 needs to show indie spirit

Posted in Media, Latest reporters' blogs, Russell Parsons May 1st, 2008 by Russell Parsons

Quarter one Rajar figures for London indie music station Xfm 104.9 must have made uncomfortable reading this morning for both its present and probable future owners.

The apparent collapse in its popularity with listeners, with reach down 26.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 39.8 per cent year-on-year, has to be of concern for both GCap Media and probable new paymasters Global Radio.

But what is about the station which has seen listeners fleeing in droves? Is there a place for a station playing only alternative music when Radio One, Virgin Radio and even dear old Radio Two cram their own airwaves with skinny jeans-wearing young gunslingers.

Commercial necessities dictate the station cannot take too many chances, so there is little room for the genuine musical mavericks which would distinguish it from the rest, however it does need a music policy to make it stand out from the crowd. An injection of the spirit shown by trail-blazers such as the Sex Pistols and Joy Division, bands which have left an indelible mark most of the station’s current playlist, would give it an edge. Less Hard-Fi more Art Brut perhaps. 

The speech-less Xu format it introduced less than a year ago and dropped recently, undoubtedly contributed to its recent decline. With the absence of personalities from the station for a large part of the day and the nonexistence of a distinctive musical policy, the station was lacking a hook.

Thankfully, the powers that be have seen sense and brought jocks, with Rick Shaw and Dave Berry joining Alex Zane, back into daytime, is sure to help the station, which is still recovering, in my humble opinion from the defection of Christian O’Connell to Virgin.

Xfm as a brand remains a viable proposition. Its website is an example to other radio stations in its accessibility, look and interactivity. The station, by the looks of the bands that still record sessions and present themselves for interview, is still held in esteem by the musical fraternity.

All of which means the station, although in need of some life –support is not yet for the next world.

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