BBC RADIO 1
George Ergatoudis
Head of Music, BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra
The musical policy of BBC Radio 1 has been overseen by George Ergatoudis since 2005, and he added responsibility for digital sister station 1Xtra four years later. Along with controller Ben Cooper, he’s the face of Radio 1 to the industry. After repeated calls from governing group the BBC Trust to lower Radio 1’s average listener age, 41.7% of all 15- to 24-year-olds in the United Kingdom now listen to the station every week. One highlight of 2013 was the annual Big Weekend, held in Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, for which Ergatoudis booked such heavyweights as Calvin Harris and Bruno Mars. Its Live Lounge feature has spawned a successful spinoff album compilation series on Sony. He’s proud of the station’s role in landing major international stars. “In the last 12 months, we’ve featured exclusive filmed interviews with Jay Z, Kanye West and Eminem, and together the videos have generated millions of hits on our YouTube channel, which has nearly a million subscribers now,” he says. Ergatoudis also cites Radio 1’s role in breaking London Grammar, Bastille, Rudimental and other 2013 stars. The new year has brought another compilation series launch, “Radio 1’s Dance Anthems,” in conjunction with Ministry of Sound.