The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
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Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Thank you for those perspectives.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Okay. Thank you very much.
I turn to Baroness Drake. Please can you give a House of Lords perspective.
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Do you see any advantage to structural changes in Westminster committees? Are the committees set up to allow scrutiny of overriding of the Sewel convention? Would innovation be needed there?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
I heard recently that a German national radio station has commissioned a series of programmes about the Scottish jazz scene. It is showcasing Scottish jazz talent and is very excited about it. Do you not think that it is pretty shameful that our national radio broadcaster is not creating that space for Scottish talent but a German national radio broadcaster is?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Sixty per cent of the track listings on “Jazz Nights” are by Scottish artists, a great proportion of whom are emerging artists. There is no way that you can get that kind of coverage in “The Afternoon Show” or within the formats of linear programmes on Radio 2 or Radio 3 that end up on BBC Sounds. It simply cannot be done. You are constraining that genre. You are constraining the creativity and the talent of that genre into tiny little slots within mainstream programmes; are you not?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
I do not want you to be a professor, but as I say, do you have expertise in commissioning?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Do you acknowledge that that will damage jazz?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Your linear programme “Jazz Nights” is a long-standing slot; it has been there for years. It influenced Tommy Smith and many others. That is on BBC Sounds, so it is available. I imagine that you could do more to promote that.
Let us imagine that you are an aspiring young jazz musician who has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours improving your skills and are about to make that breakthrough. You could enter the competition that the BBC intends to set up and get some exposure through that, but where do you go then? If there is nowhere to play your music, if you are restricted to one tiny slot on the afternoon show, if there is no specialist Scottish jazz programme on the BBC any more and if your ability to get on to BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 3 programmes is highly constrained, where do you take that? I can see that you are nurturing talent up to a certain level, but you are then cutting away the platform where they can get exposure, raise their profile and go on to develop their career. Where is the progression if you are a young Scottish jazz artist?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
Let us just get this clear: will cutting “Jazz Nights” mean more or less airtime for young, emerging Scottish talent in the jazz scene?
Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2023
Mark Ruskell
But is it more or less?