Bottom of the Pops 

20 June 2006 tbs.pm/262

CBBC: bosses to axe Top of the Pops

It’s bad news from the point of view of television history – the loss of any show after 40+ years is always bad news – but the decision is probably correct.

Appaling viewing figures, no relevance for viewers, and no impact for the record labels.

And yet it’s the record labels that will suffer most. They manipulate the market to such a degree that a show like TOTP no longer works. Then they complain loudly that the pop market is shrinking. People don’t buy singles. What has gone wrong?

Well, perhaps if they didn’t manipulate the market in the first place, the problem wouldn’t occur.

It’d be scarier for the record companies, but they might find that thing their manipulation in the pursuit of profits has denied them: profits.