The Stage

Universal Music to partner C4 Radio in licence bid

Published Tuesday 20 June 2006 at 13:15 by Liz Thomas

Channel 4 Radio has disclosed that Universal Music will be one of its partners in the planned consortium for its bid for the new national digital licence, which media regulator Ofcom will advertise later this year.

While Universal Music will not provide a branded radio station, it will work closely with the broadcaster to identify new opportunities in content and formats in the commercial sector.

Nathalie Schwarz, director of radio at Channel 4, said: “We have always said that music programming will form a key part of our plans and partnering with Universal Music is an enormous measure of support from the music industry. Digital technology offers the music industry some incredibly exciting opportunities but it needs to act now to embrace this change. We want to give control back to the people that matter, the artists and listeners - people with a passion for music - to create really groundbreaking music programming.”

Universal has said it will work directly with artists to get their input on how music radio can help develop new talent, break new acts and engage listeners, in support of Channel 4 Radio’s strategy of putting listeners at the heart of any service it launches. This means artists such as Keane, The Feeling, Snow Patrol and Van Morrison could be involved in pitching ideas for new stations and services.