Radio 3's RAJAR boost

Good to see Radio 3 and the BBC Proms this morning being talked about in the press after yesterday's RAJAR quarterly audience figures were released. RAJAR is the body which measures Radio audiences and we get our listening figures every three months.

Radio 3 has an audience of just over two million listeners a week and has had its fifth consecutive quarterly rise.

So many commentators over the last 24 hours have picked up on the idea of classical music and the arts being turned to in times of difficulty. There is indeed enough evidence over the years that people still want to be entertained in hard or uncertain times. Of course the Proms ticket prices also represent great value for money.

The growth of Radio 3's audience and the strong audiences at the Proms are indeed encouraging signs for the health of classical music. This is not, though, just about needing to relax at times of stress, as some would have it.

Music is a richer experience than that. It certainly has the power to console but it can also inspire and has the strength and potential to transform our lives not just offer aural balm.

For example, the response to the MGM Prom last weekend has been overwhelming - audiences were clearly energised and blown away by the sheer exuberance of John Wilson's orchestra as well as enjoying the magic of those wonderful melodies and panache of the orchestrations. We were flooded by positive feedback.

This week's Proms promises plenty more transforming opportunities.

The National Youth Orchestra (Saturday night) always receives a warm welcome - what better symbol of hope for our classical music world than the dedication and skill of those young players?

• RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) is jointly owned by the BBC and commercial radio trade body the Radio Centre. Participating listeners are asked to record their radio listening in quarter-hour time blocks for one week.
• The RAJAR figures for 'linear listening', not including on-demand listening or podcasts, in a table and the official quarterly press release (PDF).
• The BBC's RAJAR press release.
• Ian Burrell in The Independent reports the RAJARs: Stressed-out listeners turn to classical.
• Trade paper Radio Today leads on the RAJARs.
• Media Guardian has a 'who said what' feature on industry reaction to the latest figures.
• Wikipedia's entry on RAJAR.
• Picture, At Radio 3, by Steve Bowbrick.
• Roger Wright interviewed by Ben Dowell in Media Guardian in July.