Telescope Radio Expands Programme Schedule To Include ‘Unsigned’ And ‘In Focus’ Sessions
The recent COVID-19 restrictions have had a devastating effect on the music industry, with the organisation representing the commercial side of the sector, UK Music, revealing in their annual Music by Numbers report on Wednesday 18th November that UK music industry is set to halve in size by the end of 2020 with £3bn contribution lost from the economy through the shutdown of concerts and festivals throughout the country.
“The UK music industry was a vibrant, fast-growing and commercially successful sector before the pandemic hit,” said Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, Chief Executive of UK Music, who describes the pandemic as a “catastrophic blow.”
While the live sector has been the hardest hit, streaming has seen a renaissance, with Spotify reporting an increase of nearly 30% in paying subscribers during the national lockdown.
Now, a new internet radio station, born from the boredom of a group of musicians unable to play during the pandemic, has launched in a bid to support other artists and promote local and national unsigned and emerging bands.
Telescope Radio is the brainchild of Alex Boucher, an ex-signed artist whose Hertfordshire-based band 3 ½ Minutes had a string of hits during the 90’s and toured with bands such as The Senseless Things, Blur and Family Cat.
Alex wants to give something back to the industry and help support artists and bands through the recent COVID-19 crisis.
“The station basically was something to do through the initial lockdown,” said Alex. “The idea was for it to be a retro station, playing classic songs that we grew up listening to.
“However, it became apparent really quickly that the pandemic was having a devastating effect on the live music scene with bands being unable to play. So, we thought we’d help support artists by launching an emerging/unsigned part to the show, with the immediate results being a great success.”
The new show has seen hundreds of artists from across the country sending in their latest tracks, with the show broadcasting globally through the Radio.Co platform, offering listeners as far afield as Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
“The show really is about promoting these artists to an audience that might not have heard of them, with us encouraging that audience to support them through physical sales of singles and albums, or through merchandise such as T-Shirts,” explains Alex.
With Telescope Radio proving to be an essential platform for artist communication, the station is already looking to broaden its appeal by launching a dedicated Q&A programme, ‘In Focus,’ with some of the biggest names in the industry already confirmed.
“We’re really excited about In Focus,” enthuses Alex. “The show starts Friday, 20th November at 6pm with legendary producer David Eringa, who has worked with bands including the Manic street Preachers, Tom Jones, Kylie Minouge and Roger Daltry.
“Other artists set to appear on the show include 90s indie favourites The Suncharms, Mat Flint (Revolver, Death in Vegas, Deep Cut) and US alternative rock outfit, Buffalo Tom.
Telescope Radio is a new online radio station, transmitting 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
Bands looking for airplay can send demos (MP3s) to: telescopeonair@gmail.com
For more information visit www.telescoperadio.com
Jem Girl at the Piano 