BBC Radio 6 Music

BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands.

In 2002 it was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available only on digital media: DAB radio, BBC Sounds, digital television, and throughout northern and western Europe through the Astra 2E satellite. BBC Radio 6 Music has been described as a "dedicated alternative music station". Many presenters have argued against the perception that the main focus is indie guitar music. The station itself describes its output as "the cutting-edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 60 years and access to the BBC's wonderful music archive". Its format resembles eclectic radio as seen in other countries, as while there is a programmed playlist there is a wide range of music genres played on the station with pop, rock, dance, electronic, indie, hip-hop, R&B, punk, funk, grime, metal, soul, ska, house, reggae, jazz, blues, world, techno, experimental and many others played regularly on the station. In addition, there is a greater degree of presenter choice in relation to the programmed playlist compared with other BBC radio stations and especially with commercial radio. Since 2014, an annual music festival, 6 Music Festival, has been held; initially staged in cities around the UK and broadcast live on the station, since 2023, the festival has been staged annually in Greater Manchester as a more scaled-back event. In July 2010, the BBC Trust announced it had rejected a proposal by the BBC to close 6 Music to provide commercial rivals more room. The Trust commented that the station was "well-liked by its listeners, was highly distinctive and made an important contribution". In 2018, 6 Music was the most listened-to digital-only radio station, with an average weekly audience of 2.53 million. 6 Music operates a spin off 'stream', Radio 6 Indie Forever, dedicated to indie rock, indie pop and classic indie music, broadcasting exclusively on BBC Sounds. According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 2.7 million with a listening share of 2.5% as of December 2024.