EARLIER this week, the much-loved radio station XFM Scotland sang its last song and was consigned to silence.
The UK wide XFM has flung itself in the direction of appealing to the masses with big name celebrities and a garish new name – Radio X, which conjures up thoughts of the similarly titled Grand Theft Auto radio station. Ex Radio 1 frontman Chris Moyles will take the helm, and is rumoured to be joined by the likes of Vernon Kay and Ricky Wilson of the Kaiser Chiefs.
In the meantime the Scottish section is a hapless casualty. The reason being that Ofcom demands a certain amount of airtime for locally produced content, and XFM parent company Global decided to just throw the station, rather than seek a solution.
So what does this mean for Scotland, and in particular Scotland’s music scene?
XFM was a huge ally for upcoming Scottish talent; with host Jim Gellatly aiding in the rise of Biffy Clyro, Twin Atlantic and Amy McDonald among others. This has continued to be the case with more recent acts with bands like Baby Strange, Model Aeroplanes, The Van T’s and Altered Sky all thanking the DJ and radio station for support.
The station was a perfect place for bands to get quality national airtime, with Gellatly taking risks on new talent and demonstrating his almost unerring ability in finding the next big movers and shakers on the Scottish scene. It will be a loss as XFM Scotland drew an audience of all sorts; not just devout followers of new music, and so bands could really expose their music to the masses.
So a new hole has been created in the heart of Scotland’s booming music scene and it is one that will be hard to fill. However as the country continues to pour out talent such as Young Fathers, Frightened Rabbit, Chvrches into the world, there is reason to be optimistic yet.
Gellatly will still be on air through Amazing Radio, which although it will only be available digitally in Scotland, will still be a platform for upcoming Scottish bands. In addition to this there are organisations like ourselves, the Scottish Alternative Music Awards (SAMA’s), local radio stations like Clyde 1 and the newly developed Go Radio who could step up and fill the void. There are also the growing local STV channels that are giving more and more upcoming bands a shot and a host of independent magazines and blogs all with their teeth well into Scotland’s musical body.
XFM and Gellatly will be a loss and as it is a loss to commercialism and mainstream personalities, it makes it all the harder to bear. The petty reason for the station closure is a reason to be angry, and yet also a reason to be defiant. The love that the station has – Snow Patrol and Stuart Braithwaite both posted condolences on the closure – means that there is a demand for this in Scotland. In this small country music is important and always prominent.
It is an end of an era for Scottish radio, but it is not the end. As long as Scotland continues to breed talent at the rate it does, new platforms will spring up to showcase it. XFM Scotland’s demise could well be the fertiliser that feeds soil for the next crier of Scottish music.
