TY - JOUR
T1 - Needle Time: The BBC, the Musicians’ Union, popular music, and the reform of radio in the 1960s.
AU - Witts, Richard
N1 - Influenced by Michel Crozier’s theory on bureaucracies, and using primary source material from the BBC written archives, this essay examines, through the prism of Crozier’s strategic analysis, the attempts of the centralized policy makers of BBC radio to comprehend their external environment – pirate radio stations, craft unions, ministries. These bureaucrats strove to retain a working relationship with the union while, at the same time, they attempted to meet the aesthetic demand of their license-payers to hear popular music presented ‘authentically’ on disc rather than by BBC contract bands playing arrangements. In particular, the pro-music policies of senior bureaucrat Richard Marriott are considered. While the article explores the layers through which policy is pummeled into practice, or by-passed, it concludes that the changes that make the greatest impact are those spurred by the external force of government.
PY - 2012/10
Y1 - 2012/10
N2 - The BBC is currently the world’s largest media employer of musicians. Influenced by Michel Crozier’s theory on bureaucracies, and using primary source material from the BBC’s written archives, this essay examines, through the prism of Crozier’s strategic analysis, the attempts of the centralized policy makers of BBC radio to comprehend their external environment—pirate radio stations, craft unions, ministries. These bureaucrats strove to retain a working relationship with the Musicians’ Union while, at the same time, attempting to meet the aesthetic demand of their licence-payers to hear popular music presented ‘authentically’ on disc rather than by BBC contract bands playing arrangements. In particular, the pro-music policies of senior bureaucrat Richard Marriott are considered. While the article explores the layers through which policy is pummelled into practice, or by-passed, it concludes that the changes that make the greatest impact are those spurred by the external force of government.
AB - The BBC is currently the world’s largest media employer of musicians. Influenced by Michel Crozier’s theory on bureaucracies, and using primary source material from the BBC’s written archives, this essay examines, through the prism of Crozier’s strategic analysis, the attempts of the centralized policy makers of BBC radio to comprehend their external environment—pirate radio stations, craft unions, ministries. These bureaucrats strove to retain a working relationship with the Musicians’ Union while, at the same time, attempting to meet the aesthetic demand of their licence-payers to hear popular music presented ‘authentically’ on disc rather than by BBC contract bands playing arrangements. In particular, the pro-music policies of senior bureaucrat Richard Marriott are considered. While the article explores the layers through which policy is pummelled into practice, or by-passed, it concludes that the changes that make the greatest impact are those spurred by the external force of government.
U2 - 10.1558/pomh.v7i3.241
DO - 10.1558/pomh.v7i3.241
M3 - Article (journal)
SN - 1740-7133
VL - 7
SP - 241
EP - 262
JO - Popular Music History
JF - Popular Music History
IS - 3
ER -