Music Week Award winner Remi Burgz has warned that the pressure on artists to deliver instant streaming results risks producing acts who haven’t had time to “find their voice”.
The BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ discusses her story so far, the role of radio in the industry, the state of UK Black music and more in an interview in the July edition of Music Week.
Asked whether recent cuts to radio and promotions departments at some labels concerned her, Burgz argued that the bigger issue is a lack of patience with artist development.
“I feel like music cuts through regardless, whether you have a plugger or not,” she said. “Having someone there makes it more seamless, but the music will come through. I feel it could be impossible to cut out radio or, if not impossible, certainly not in anyone’s best interests. We have to help each other.
“I think what I’d like to see more of in the industry is more patience with artist development. The pressure to deliver on streams immediately has made the timeline between signing and expectations of results much shorter. You’re expected to come as a fully formed pop star now, but give people time to find their voice.”
The presenter won her first Music Week Award in May – coming out on top in the Radio Show category – and underlined the continued importance of radio for artists at every stage of their career, adding that a playlist spot on stations like BBC Radio 1 or 1Xtra remains one of the strongest signals of legitimacy for new artists.
“For new acts, a playlist spot on BBC Radio 1 or 1Xtra does give a level of credibility. It is a good look for labels, and it is a good look for promoters,” she said. “For established acts, it’s a tool for maintaining cultural presence. If you’ve had a break for a while, you’ve got to come back and say, ‘Hey, I was away doing this.’ You’ve got to let us know what you’re up to and let people know you’re back outside and you’ve got something new to say.”
Radio is… one of the main and most powerful legitimising forces in music. You’re trusted to have your ear to the ground
Remi Burgz, BBC Radio 1Xtra
Burgz, who joined 1Xtra in 2021, beginning at the Weekend Breakfast Show before becoming the host of a weekday show a year later and moving into the drive-time slot in 2023, went on to give her opinion on the radio landscape in general.
“I think radio is one of the most powerful legitimising forces for experience,” she said. “It’s also one of the main and most powerful legitimising forces in music. You’re trusted to have your ear to the ground. Hopefully that’s enough for the listeners to legitimise it and to take it all in.
“Some people really rely on radio to hear what the community is talking about, what is new, what is exciting, what is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. It’s our job as presenters to feed them that. A lot of people don’t go out and look for stuff, searching on social media; they rely on radio.”
Burgz, who cut her teeth at South London youth community station Reprezent Radio, raised concerns that funding cuts at grassroots stations risk closing off a vital pathway into the industry for young people.
“If I’m talking about the community station that I grew up on and loved, Reprezent Radio, I understand that they’re going through funding cuts,” she said. “Certain things that used to support them are not doing so anymore and it’s getting much harder to keep the lights on. I feel that not only is this a place for young people to grow, but it is also a grounding for young people to understand what they want to do in life. You could come there and it’s like a youth club… It opens your mind to so many things.
“To have these facilities closed, or lacking, or struggling to keep the lights on, just means there’s not a place for children to grow, and all they have is TikTok and doomscrolling – things that might not help the mind of a young person. They need somewhere to go outside and express themselves and find themselves. The lack of those opportunities is heartbreaking.”
On the subject of the state of Black music in the UK, Burgz pointed to the breadth of genres currently thriving.
“There are many places to look when it comes to Black music; it has a say in so many different genres,” she said. “If you are only focused on one type of Black music, then you’re limiting yourself. The underground is thriving, and soca is thriving.
“I recently spoke to Kees ‘Kes’ Dieffenthaller from Kes The Band, one of the pioneers of soca from Trinidad, about how soca is an all-year-round genre. So, if you’re focused on only one element of Black music, then you’re not as tapped in as you thought you were.”
Subscribers can read the full interview with Remi Burgz in the latest issue of Music Week.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.musicweek.com ’
