R2OK!

simon richard · Joined: 03 May 2009 Posts: 12 Location: worcester

I appreciate costs and budgets are a big issue at present and even the BBC are having to justify costs and expenses, but has Radio 2 been put to the bottom of the list, I had to listen to Radio 1 the other day as I was in a colleagues car, and all the imaging has been updated, the news ident,they are now promoting themselves as BBC RADIO 1, all the daytime shows have fresh new sweeper jingles and bed's, Moyles has new sung jingles every week, so my concern is why does Radio 2 never update it imaging, the news jingle and travel have been the same for over ten years, Radio 1 updates every year, I would love to know why? and Wogan can still not get to grips with the news intro, he is still lost in the 88-91fm from the BBC, is he the reason why the imaging never changes, I have a feeling it is....

Helen May · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 19382 Location: Cheshire

Quite frankly it doesn't bother me that they haven't changed them. Do you listen to a station for its jingles or for the music it plays?

For me it's the latter, as I hope it would be for most of the other listeners.

H
_________________
88 - 91 FM this is Radio 2 from the BBC!

I said it live on air in the studio with Jeremy Vine on 10/3/2005

Rob · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 163 Location: Leicester

This is a difficult balancing act.

Jingles *are* important for the image of a station. They impress, they create a flow and they inform. They also allow the presenters to come over as normal - the jingles plug their names, so they don't have to, which can sound big-headed.

Keeping the same jingles gives a continuity to a station.

However, jingles can become outdated - they need to reflect the music that's played round them.

Radio 1 leads on newer music for the younger listeners. The music changes at a much faster pace than it does on Radio 2, so the jingles needs to change with it. Radio 2, on the other hand, plays a high proportion of older music. If a jingle sounded right next to "True" in 1983 (when it was released) then it will probably still sound good today.

So Radio 2 adopts and evolutionary approach, adding to the jingles collection rather than taking them away.

The other thing to consider is that Radio 2 is "personality-led" radio. We have Sarah Kennedy muttering about domestic problems, Wogan spinning a hazy version of reality, Ken Bruce being just a nice bloke with a warped sense of humour... It's all people stuff, and jingles can get in the way of that sort of radio.

It's the relative absence of jingles (except on Steve Wright's programme) that makes Radio 2 stand out from the other stations.

Oh, and Wogan messing up going into the news? That's just him playing around. He's perfectly capable of getting it right (he does from time to time), but he's been allowed to get away with it in the name of entertainment.

Rob.

Helen May · Joined: 10 Dec 2006 Posts: 19382 Location: Cheshire

Rob,

You're right about them adding to the collection. I remember being shown round Ken's studio just after the move to the new studios and seeing the computer screen for the jingles which had a lot of new ones at that time.

I don't mind hearing some of the old ones as it takes you back and makes you realise how the station has changed and progressed.

H
_________________
88 - 91 FM this is Radio 2 from the BBC!

I said it live on air in the studio with Jeremy Vine on 10/3/2005

mark occomore · Joined: 07 Dec 2006 Posts: 9955 Location: UK

Some jingles have been updated over recent years. Emma Forbes, Elaine Paige and Zoe Ball have new sung ones similar to Simon Mayo one. If you look on the Wise Buddah Website Johnnie Walker etc have new jingles.

They sometimes in house ident some jingles over the top of the existing sung ones, which were made nearly 10 years ago by Groove Addicts. It does cost a lot of money make jingles.

A lot of the DJ's like Steve Wright get some else to make them which probably costs him? He has had his up to the news jingle extended recently.

PJ in Kent · Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 1102 Location: Go on, guess!

Mark:

The likes of Steve Wright (and Chris Moyles and various other presenters) "employ" their own production companies to do their jingles.

Then, as they are not "in-house produced" BBC jingles, the production company (and therefore the relevant DJ) get paid about £15 each time the jingle is played.

So each time you hear one of Wrighty's (et al) irritating jingles he's pocketing 15 notes a pop.... work that out over the course of a 3 hour show Shocked