DISQUS

Steve · 1 year ago

"But he misses the point - innovation isn't an inherent property of music piracy. Case in point - new bands aspire for airplay on (BBC) Radio 1, not your local pirate radio - because Radio 1 launches talent, not piracy."

That's not strictly true - at least depending on music style. Sure, Indie and rock bands will always want to get played on Radio 1, XFM or 6 Music. When it comes to urban styles such as rap, house, garage, then nearly all artists and labels send promo's to the pirate radio stations in the first - its usually the legal stations such as Kiss or 1xtra that tend to pick up tracks much later when the pirate stations have built up the interest. In London, pirates are still hugely influential - such as breaking Dizzee Rascal, Ms Dynamite, Wiley, etc.