BBC Trust: Service Review of BBC Network Music Radio Annex: Radio 3 content analysis About this analysis

The Trust analysed two weeks of output from Radio 3 and Classic FM, from 22 September to 5 October 2014, in order to test how similar Radio 3’s music is to Classic FM’s in peak listening periods.

This analysis used a log of music played on Radio 3, which was provided by the BBC. Classic FM’s repertory was taken from its playlist, which is published on its website. (Note we substituted a small amount of content for Classic FM from a later week, due to some gaps in the published data at the time of sourcing).

For the purposes of the analysis we considered only Radio 3’s primary classical music output, so excluded Jazz, World Music, and programming that only provides short excerpts of music alongside speech (such as CD Review or Music Matters). The analysis included all of Classic FM’s music.

The Radio 3 data supplied to us by the BBC included detail on the length of each piece played. As this was not available for Classic FM’s repertory, we estimated the average length of track on Classic FM using the published start times of each piece, then subtracting the estimated amount of speech content. We listened to six hours at different times of the day to provide an estimate of the proportion of speech/advertising to music. Based on this listening, we have estimated that around 20% of Classic FM’s output is not music, which we estimate increases to around 25% during its breakfast programme.

We excluded trails and excerpts of music under 1 minute from Radio 3’s output, and applied the same principle for pieces under 1 minute when considering Classic FM’s output.

In order to compare music output, we also categorised of ‘type’ of piece played on Radio 3 and Classic FM. This classification was undertaken by the BBC, and is not intended to be definitive, but provides an indicator of the musical variety. The categories we used were: orchestral, piano; choral; chamber; opera; vocal and other1.

Results

The table below provides a summary of the results of this analysis. As shown, the average length of piece on Radio 3 was 9 minutes 44 seconds, compared with 5 minutes 28 seconds for Classic FM (based on the assumption that 20% is speech based, and 80% music).

During the two week period, Radio 3 featured 1407 plays of classic music pieces, which consisted of 1,264 different pieces. Dividing the total number of plays of classical music pieces by the number of different pieces featured, gives a “repetition rate” (i.e. the average number of times an individual piece is played) of 1.1 for Radio 3. Classic FM featured 2,632 plays of 1,427 different pieces, giving a “repetition rate” of 1.8.

1 Other includes organ, guitar, popular, and a small number which don’t fit into any of the above categories. While Radio 3 played a lower number of pieces, they were from a higher number of composers. The analysis shows that the average “piece to composer” ratio for Radio 3 was 3.4, compared with a ratio of 7.4 for Classic FM. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: Summary of Radio 3 and Classic FM content analysis

Radio 3 Classic FM Average piece length 09m 44s 05m 28s* Total plays of classical music pieces 1407 2632 Number of different pieces 1264 1427 Piece “repetition rate” 1.1 1.8 Number of different composers played 417 357 Average piece to composer ratio 3.4 7.4 *Estimated using published start times of music pieces and an assumption of 20% non-music.

We also analysed the number of pieces and composers played in the two separate weeks of the analysis. This shows that 4% of the pieces played on Radio 3 in week 2 of this analysis had also been played in week 1, compared with 51% on Classic FM. Of the composers featured, some 38% featured in week 2 on Radio 3 had also been played in week 1, compared with 70% for Classic FM.

The analysis of ‘type’ of piece played on Radio 3 and Classic FM shows that Radio 3 features a wider range of different types of music. An estimated 40% of pieces played on Radio 3 in the two week period we analysed were orchestral, while sizeable proportions were chamber, choral and piano. Classic FM featured a higher proportion of orchestral pieces, accounting for an estimated 81% of pieces played. See Figure 2.

Figure 2: ‘Type of piece’ breakdown of Radio 3 and Classic FM’s classical music output

Radio 3 Classic FM ORCHESTRAL 567 40% 2136 81% CHAMBER 307 22% 92 3% CHORAL 208 15% 120 5% PIANO 153 11% 147 6% VOCAL 99 7% 16 1% OPERA 53 4% 60 2% OTHER 20 1% 61 2% TOTAL PLAYS 1407 100% 2632 100% Notes: The categorisation of ‘type’ of piece was undertaken by the BBC, and is not intended to be definitive, but to provide an indication of the music variety. The breakdown provided is based on total plays, rather than of individual pieces.

Breakfast programme results Analysis of the breakfast programmes only reveals some different results. The length of piece on Radio 3 and Classic FM was broadly similar, at 4 minutes 55 seconds and 4 minutes 57 seconds respectively.

Radio 3 featured of 304 plays of pieces in its breakfast programme, which consisted of 302 different pieces, giving it a “repetition rate” of 1.0. Classic FM featured 381 plays of 351 different pieces, giving a “repetition rate” of 1.1.

The average “piece to composer” ratio for Radio 3 was 1.9, compared with a ratio of 2.5 for Classic FM. See Figure 3.

Figure 3: Summary of Radio 3 and Classic FM content analysis findings, breakfast programme

Radio 3 Classic FM Average piece length 04m 55s 04m 57s* Total plays of classical music pieces 304 381 Number of different pieces 302 351 Piece “repetition rate” 1.0 1.1 Number of different composers played 160 151 Average piece to composer ratio 1.9 2.5 *Estimated using published start times of music pieces and an assumption of 25% non-music.

Analysis of the number of pieces and composers played in the two separate weeks showed that none of the pieces played on Radio 3 in week 2 had also been played in week 1, compared with 13% for Classic FM. Of the composers featured, some 30% featured in week 2 on Radio 3 had also been played in week 1, compared with 50% for Classic FM.

The breakdown of ‘type’ of piece played in the breakfast programmes shows that Radio 3 features a slightly higher proportion of orchestral pieces than it does throughout the whole schedule, accounting for 48% of all pieces played, while Chamber, Choral and Piano still feature in sizeable proportions. Classic FM featured a larger proportion of orchestral pieces, accounting for an estimated 81% of pieces played (the same proportion as featured in the schedule overall). See Figure 4.

Figure 4: Summary of ‘type of piece’ breakdown of music output on Radio 3 and Classic FM’s breakfast programmes

Radio 3 Classic FM ORCHESTRAL 146 48% 309 81% CHAMBER 55 18% 12 3% CHORAL 41 13% 6 2% PIANO 33 11% 33 9% OPERA 9 3% 6 2% OTHER 20 7% 15 4% TOTAL PLAYS 304 100% 381 100% Notes: The categorisation of ‘type’ of piece was undertaken by the BBC, and is not intended to be definitive, but to provide an indication of the music variety. The breakdown provided is based on total plays, rather than of individual pieces.