A Nice Problem to Have.

I first got into radio in 2008 when I started volunteering at the Lancaster & District YMCA. They were running a radio project called Diversity FM which was broadcasting to the local area on FM and online. At the end of June that year I started presenting a weekly folk music show which I called “Off The Beaten Tracks”.

One of the first cds which arrived in the post for me was 'Poor Man's Heaven' by Seth Lakeman and I arranged to do an interview with him just before he headlined at the now defunct Brampton Festival. This was a bit foolhardy of me as I was very new to radio but despite being somewhat nervous, the interview went okay. I only did one other telephone interview on Diversity which was with one of the organisers of the Ingleton Folk weekend. Unfortunately we had some technical problems which meant the poor chap was left hanging on the line for over 20 minutes while Tony, the studio manager, tried to patch him through to the studio. After that experience I decided not to do any more interviews over the phone and instead concentrate on the music.

These days I get a regular supply of music from various promoters and artists but back when I started at Diversity I realised that it was up to me to email singers and bands and ask if they could send me a cd. This wasn't a problem with local artists who were, on the whole, happy to give me copies of their music in return for some airplay but it was a bit hit and miss with more established artists. And as for getting free tickets for concerts – forget it. The best offer I got was a “buy one get one free” deal for a Karine Polwart show at the Platform in Morecambe but sadly I couldn't find anyone to take the other ticket.

I did feel I had made a bit of a breakthrough one week when I found a large envelope waiting for me at the YMCA. It was from none other than Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention. Not only had he sent me a copy of Fairport's latest studio release but there were also copies of four other albums along with a programme from the tour the band was currently on. I was quite overwhelmed by his generosity though I think he had taken pity on me as I had told him that I had been unable to attend their show in Kendal as I'd been unwell.

These days many of the albums I receive are in mp3 format which obviously doesn't have the same thrill as opening an envelope and fishing out the disc and accompanying press release or occasional hand-written note. I have received four cds from a singer songwriter called John Rigby who likes recording in remote locations such as Cape Wrath in the north of Scotland and I enjoy getting letters from him giving me some background to the music. He has virtually no web presence apart from an email address which is quite unusual in this day and age but he seems happy enough just writing and recording songs when the mood takes him.

Receiving music digitally over Dropbox is impersonal but makes sense from the promoter's point of view in that they can send multiple copies of albums out over the internet with little cost to themselves and from the presenter's point of view it means you have fewer cds piling up around your home. All the cds I receive I copy on to my computer as I need the music in mp3 format to include in the shows I record. Yes, there is a drop in quality but for those of us recording and uploading shows remotely to radio stations it is really the only way to do it.

All this brings me on to the matter of how those of us working as DJs manage to listen to all the music we are sent. I imagine I get only a fraction of the cds the likes of Mike Harding or Bob Harris must get through the post but there are still only 24 hours in a day and there's only so much of that time that anyone can spend listening to new music. I read an interview with Mark Radcliffe who said that he uses the time he spends driving between the BBC and home to listen to new music. An assistant at the studio puts new cds in a box which he puts on the passenger seat and goes through them presumably just listening to two or three songs per album.

I remember hearing about a musician friend of mine who criticised a DJ who said he only listened to a minute of each track on a cd before hitting the fast forward button. But if you are snowed under with new music to listen to, sometimes that is the only option. I don't like listening to music like that but sometimes if a song doesn't grab your attention immediately it is all too tempting to skip on to the next track. Personally I think it is better to do that than listen to just one track and not bother with the rest of the cd or not listen to the cd at all. Then there's the whole issue of how some albums grab your attention immediately but others need repeated listens for you to really get into the music.

I could use the analogy of a kid in a sweet shop. Say folk music is chocolate. Normally the kid buys the occasional bar from the sweet shop, takes it home and savours it from the first bite to the last. But what happens if the sweet shop starts sending him bars of chocolate to his house? If he tries to eat everything he's sent he'll make himself sick and not want to eat any more. So he just eats a bit of each bar. If he likes that first taste then he'll have some more otherwise he'll try another bar. Likewise with music. If I sit and listen to every album I'm sent from start to finish I'll probably find myself getting sick of that type of music and reach for something different from my collection. The equivalent for the kid with the chocolate is that he gets fed up with being sent chocolate bars and goes out for some crisps or whatever. You get the general idea, I hope.

But it is a nice problem to have. I have discovered many new artists especially from the other side of the Atlantic who I would never have heard of if I hadn't got involved with Diversity FM and, since its demise in 2012, Acoustic Spectrum radio. At least with mp3 players you're not limited to listening to music at home or in the car though I must admit that when I'm walking round town I prefer not to listen to music. But sitting here, as I am, at my computer I should really be listening to one of the new releases I've received recently and start putting together my next playlist. But I can't do that and listen to the cricket at the same time. Though with England's current dismal form I think I'll go back to the chocolate, I mean music.

Colin Bertram presents The Folk and Acoustic Music Show on Acoustic Spectrum Radio each Monday at 9pm with repeats on Tuesdays at 2am and Friday at 1pm. You can also listen to his shows at http://www.mixcloud.com/cmbertram/.