Classical pods sprout at the BBC

If you want to hear the classical charts wherever you go, the BBC will provide them on a podcast from tomorrow. I’m not sure it’s going to change many lives, but at least it tells you what music is going into the shops and at what speed it is leaving.

Here’s the announcement:

Hello –

I’m writing to alert you to an exciting event in Radio 3 history and a first for BBC Audio and Music.

Tomorrow morning, when Naomi Anderson presses the button, the first Breakfast Show Specialist Classical Music Podcast will be unleashed.

The podcast is taken directly from our regular Tuesday morning exploration of the newly released Specialist Classical Chart.  It’s basically the 0800-0830 segment of the show, when each week you can hear chart details and some of the new entries, fast movers and often the number one.

What’s really special about this podcast is that, after months of negotiation and collaboration, we’ve secured for our listeners the opportunity to hear not just a few seconds of music but whole movements or works excerpted from CDs appearing in the chart. (We can include up to 9 minutes from any individual CD). This gives our audience a chance to sample and re-sample CDs as they keep themselves informed and make their spending decisions.

It starts tomorrow, Tuesday, and will be available around midday every successive Tuesday, initially for a 6-month trial period.

You can download individual episodes from here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/r3chart

Or you can subscribe to the weekly thing through iTunes, Yahoo, Zune, Google Reader, Zencast. Whichever way you do it, do it.  And please tell your friends, if you have any.  If not, complete strangers are a good option.

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/10_october/29/podcast.shtml