BBC Radio 1Xtra host/DJ Sian Anderson exudes an electric presence that ignites the airwaves, leaving an indelible mark as one of the most captivating presenters on the Black music station. However, her influence extends far beyond the realm of radio.
As the visionary owner of Saint Music, a sub-label on Parlophone, Sian—who started out in the late 2000s as a grime blogger/promoter and then Editor at the community-based, youth-focused title Live Magazine, before joining Rinse FM as a much-adored presenter—serves as a beacon, propelling emerging artists to the pinnacle of their careers.
In a landscape riddled with obstacles for aspiring creatives, in 2017, Sian joined forces with J2K, co-founder of Crep Protect, to launch the ground-breaking venture known as Floor SIXX. The initiative grants young artists and all-round creatives the rare opportunity to be mentored by industry luminaries such as Apple Music’s A Dot and Link Up TV’s Rashid Kasirye. The South London native’s dedication to empowering rising talent soared even higher with the inception of Nexxt Step back in 2018—a four-week program developed in partnership with the government’s empowering #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign. Designed exclusively for young women artists in London, this transformative initiative provides mentored workshops, dedicated studio time and immersive writing camps (they even made an EP).
With an unwavering commitment to fostering opportunities for new talent, Sian has become a dynamic force within UK entertainment. Her unique ability to intertwine creativity, political acumen, and a nuanced understanding of the industry has positioned her as an exemplar of transformative leadership—a catalyst for positive change that paves the way for an inclusive musical landscape. And with her new cooking show on BET, Big Money Munch, and the super-exciting launch of her Caribbean restaurant, Octaves, the future looks all-too bright for Ms. Anderson.
We sat down with Sian to discuss her record label, Saint Music, the challenges women (still) face in the music industry, her mentoring programmes, and the July 21 opening of her new food spot.
“If you’re looking for a release, or for some music education or something to bridge the gap between one song and another, you need radio and presenters.”
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COMPLEX: Before we get into your inspirational music industry career, I want to talk about your recent diversion into food. Your cooking show with BET, Big Money Munch, just dropped and it highlights the intersection of music, culture and lifestyle. How do you see media platforms incorporating diverse forms of content to engage with audiences and reflect the richness of contemporary culture?
Sian Anderson: I’ve done TV a couple of times, and I didn’t really like the behind-the-scenes element of it. It felt like the presenter was almost an afterthought and everything else was more important, like the production crew, the setup, the angles, and then it’s like the presenter comes and says their lines and gets out of shot. I didn’t like it. But I thought to myself, “if I ever got a concept put in front of me that ticks all my moral compass boxes, I will do it.” So when BET hit me, like, “We’ve got this idea for you; it’s been written for you,” I was like, “There’s no way that I’m not doing this programme because it’s everything that means something to me.” Big Money Munch incorporates food, includes Black-owned businesses, and it’s regional. It was like the perfect show for me to do. And I put my reservations aside when I spoke to the production crew. It’s fantastic to know that there are people in these positions at BET who just genuinely live and breathe culture, and they put their money where their mouth is and execute it.
You also recently announced that you’ll be opening up your own Caribbean restaurant, Octaves. Congrats on that! How do you envision using your platform and influence to create spaces and opportunities for underrepresented communities within the business and culinary sectors?
I love food and I’ve been in the music industry for 16 years, so it felt like a natural progression to move on after making the cookbook [Sian And Her Son] and Big Money Munch to having my own restaurant. In terms of community, I’m going to be running a course for prisoners so that they can get their first job when they come out because it can be so challenging for them once they’re home. People don’t want to give you that opportunity; they don’t want to provide you with that chance. Prisoners who apply will be shortlisted each year and will come and do six months in the restaurant working to have a CV and say that they had that first job and have a reference from that first job. As well as that, we will also run free cooking courses for parents and kids in the summer holidays and half terms.
That all sounds super-exciting—and super-necessary with regards to the community aspect. To the music now, as a long-time supporter and promoter of grime, how do you balance preserving the genre’s authenticity and pushing its boundaries to appeal to a broader audience?
I used to have a Wednesday show on BBC Radio 1Xtra and it was two hours of straight grime, dubstep, D&B, and underground dance music. When I moved off that show and went to daytime radio, I only got four songs of my choice that I could play in that show, so I had to be careful which songs I picked and showcased because they would speak volumes. And because it’s daytime, you obviously don’t wanna spin too many grime songs because they tend to be quite hard, so I would space it out. At one point, I was only showcasing one grime song a week, but the good thing about that was when big grime songs came out, I would put my flag in the sand, like: “I’m gonna batter this one song every single week!” And when you have other DJs doing that, and all the other elements are at play, it can become a hit. I realised that, actually, less was more.
Your experience as a presenter, first at Rinse FM and now at BBC Radio 1Xtra, gives you a unique perspective on the evolution of radio and its impact on music culture. How can radio platforms stay relevant in the digital age while maintaining their distinctiveness?
Radio gives you something that digital does not, which is a friendly voice on the other side. There’s nothing quite like being able to zone out of whatever you’re going through and whatever’s going on in your life and zone into a presenter that you connect with. So there are many questions about the digital age and DSPS and playlists and those ways to listen to music as an alternative, and fine: if you want to listen to music as a playlist, that’s for you. But if you’re looking for a release or for some music education or something to bridge the gap between one song and another, you need radio and presenters.
With the rise of social media and its influence on news consumption, how do you navigate the fine line between providing accurate information and engaging with a fast-paced, often polarised online discourse as a presenter?
I don’t get involved in any of it, because I feel like it’s like an endless pit of rubbish, just being regurgitated, and it’s so hard to find the truth through everything that everyone’s going to say. Like, when something happens, you’ve got Twitter on their version of events, you’ve got TikTok on their version of events, you’ve got the news and their understanding of events, you’ve got a conspiracy theorist and their version of events. Everyone’s got a different version of events. So, who am I in between that? And because I work for the BBC, it’s difficult for me to think that I can come and have an opinion that is different from the BBC; the BBC is going to have their idea, and they’re going to have their belief in between my radio show; I’m going to be on the air, and the news is going to come on three times. For me, it’s better I just keep my mouth shut and let the news be the news.
“We can talk about the Black community all day long, about what’s going wrong etcetera, but unless you’re going to do something about it, it’s just noise.”
Fair play. As a BBC presenter, how do you balance editorial independence and the organisation’s guidelines and policies, especially when covering politically sensitive topics?
I respect people on the timelines talking and giving their opinion. I appreciate people using a platform and radio to provide an idea and I respect that people have a voice—I wholeheartedly feel like they should use their voice. But I want to be the change. Like, we can talk about the Black community all day long, about what’s going wrong etcetera, but unless you’re going to do something about it, it’s just noise. You have to do something; you can’t just be on the internet or on the radio talking—you must do something. So that’s why I ended up setting up programmes Like Nexxt Step Music Academy, and why I’m setting up the free meals for parents and children at my restaurant, and why I’m setting up the scheme for prisoners.
With your involvement in mentoring programs like Floor SIXX, what advice would you give aspiring young artists trying to break into the music industry, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds?
The key advice is your community. You will have to build a community before you go to record labels and media outlets. It’s essential! Make sure your family and friends like your music, make sure the kids at school like your music, make sure the bossman in the chicken shop likes your music and build your community so that it doesn’t matter what other people think of your music because you have people that love you and love your sound and are supporting you and championing you and pushing you forward. If you don’t have that, then you’ve got nothing. And that’s where the term ‘industry plant’ has come from in recent years because it’s like we’re seeing people who have been propelled without a good fanbase.
The #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign and the creation of the EP of the same name through Nexxt Step highlight the importance of empowering women in the music industry. What key challenges have you observed that young female artists face, and how can the industry better support and uplift them?
There are so many challenges, and the one that I’m constantly battling with artists is the challenge of self when it comes to female artists. There are so many things up against them that they almost have a defeatist attitude before they’ve even started, because they know what they’re about to face. Like, we can talk about misogyny, sexism, racism, we can talk about all the isms and schisms... Imagine you’re a woman and you’re coming out making music—you already know that all these things will happen to you, so how can you be optimistic? How can you be enthusiastic? How can you feel safe, when you look around at all the women that have come before you and you see all this stuff that’s happened to them, and you know, in the back of your head and your heart, that eventually, one or maybe all those things are going to happen to you too? So, whenever I’m working with women, that’s the first thing that comes up. They’re so worried about whether they should go to the studio by themselves. Is it safe? Should I go to shows by myself? Is it safe? How do I prevent this from happening to me? How do I stop that from happening to me? If I dress sexy, will it give the wrong impression? They’ve had all these worries in their head from day one that they held themselves back. So yes: all the isms exist. And they’re massive, massive blocks. It caps their enthusiasm, and I wish there were ways in which they felt protected from the get-go. But we’re not there yet.
Your work at Polydor and your own sub label, Saint Music, and various creative projects outside of radio broadcasting showcases your multidimensional approach to your career. How do you balance these different endeavours while maintaining a cohesive artistic vision?
One thing supports and helps the other. Among all the things I like, being good at radio and understanding radio helps me know what makes a hit. And me being a presenter and being a people person or somebody that people can talk to and listen to makes me understand what consumers want, and then working with young people, again, lets me know what the streets want because young people won’t be hesitant to tell you if no one is listening to that person. So, one thing helps another and helps another in such an indirect way. But it all comes together full circle, and I’m still on my journey so I’m always learning and taking in new things.
