This is why Sheffield’s Jarvis Cocker has penned an open letter that has got people talking

It was revealed last week that the broadcaster is looking at changes to BBC Radio 3, which includes the axing of two jazz shows and the popular experimental music show Late Junction being reduced from three nights a week to one.

Other changes reportedly include condensing Music Planet, a world music show, into a single hour-long slow.

Pulp signer Jarvis, plus other music stars including Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno, led the signatories of a new open letter protesting against the changes.

The letter reads: “Our culture benefits so much from these programmes.

“Music lovers tune in to make new discoveries and build new creative communities.

“Music makers rely on these shows as lifelines to support and share their music with enthusiastic audiences, nationally and internationally.”

It adds: “New works and unexpected collaborations have happened either directly or indirectly due to these shows.

“This flourishing cultural ecosystem will be damaged, and musicians’ careers profoundly affected, as opportunities for their work to be experienced by the mainstream will be drastically reduced, at home and abroad.

“We work in the worlds of jazz, folk, classical, experimental, electronic music and beyond, but together we share a common purpose. We urge Radio 3 to think again about the changes they are making, and how they will profoundly affect our broader culture.”

The BBC is yet to respond to the open letter.