[Jack_]

Well I don't disagree with that, but Radio 1's position as a career make or breaker is due to its popularity, it isn't ascribed to them. If people didn't listen, then a commercial station like Capital would probably take on that role, so it's not as if it's a position they have just been handed, it has somewhat been earned over generations.

I don't know what they're really supposed to do though, Radio 1 like to have a balance of new and upcoming artists and your traditional pop acts that are identifiable to listeners, if you keep the artists you've broken then you leave less space for newer ones that are up and coming. It's a balancing act, trying to get a range of tracks that listeners will immediately identify with, breaking new artists, and continuing to support ones that they've recently introduced. Inevitably some artists are going to suffer, but that's just the way the industry works. It's fast paced, it changes from year to year, one minute you may be the next big thing and the next you aren't. That works the same in TV and celebrity culture too, I think it's a media-wide problem.

I would much rather have a varied playlist than the five songs on repeat every hour that Radio 1's commercial equivalents offer. Now that's dire.