Audiences should be free to listen to what they want
The alliance between Universal Music and Classic FM to present and promote the high profile Bristol Proms, a concert series that draws heavily on artists signed to Universal Music and Classic FM record labels , demands closer examination. All too often BBC Radio 3 is seen as the only 800 pound gorilla in classical radio . But Classic FM tips the scales at an even heavier weight: with 5.3 million listeners the station controls 74% of the UK classical radio market, leaving Radio 3 with just 26%. The success of Classic FM since its 1992 launch in exploiting the 'shallow classical' market has been the biggest single factor in reshaping classical music not only in the UK, but also globally. BBC Radio 3 has reacted by chasing the same audience as Classic FM, and this has led to the much lamented dumbing down of Radio 3's output . a process that has spread virally around the globe . Radio 3's reactive strategy is proved by hard facts figures to be a mistake. The latest R