You say goodbye, I say hello.  Brothers and sisters, it is sooooo good to be back with you. It is truly a privilege and delight to resume my weekly Smooth Jazz column after five months. I feel particularly honored to report on the format under the auspices of All That Jazz, as the company’s esteemed founder Cliff Gorov and I go way back, to the era when he sported an Afro and mutton chops.      

GREAT EXPECTATIONS                                       

As it was at R&R, my goal for this weekly column is to address the gamut of challenges facing the Smooth Jazz format at this critical juncture in its evolution. My mission is to provide reporting and analysis to increase your effectiveness and provide inspiration and courage through editorial discussions, success stories and thought-starters. I will continue to probe the best and brightest programming, sales and management minds to uncover strategic thinking that is critical to radio success, especially under PPM.

With ever-mounting challenges and ongoing upheaval in the business terrain, I will equally incorporate the views of a diverse cross-section of Smooth Jazz voices. You will read insights of label heads, promotion and A&R executives, managers, digital mavens, visionaries, mavericks and more. Naturally, I will spotlight the artists and music that comprise the heart of the format too. We will explore in-depth the imperative to change that generates forward momentum, challenge conventional wisdom, ask tough questions and engage in vigorous debate.

STORM WATCH                                      

Editorial coverage begins next week; meanwhile, let's sum up some recent events.  While the loss of KKSF/San Francisco and WNUA/Chicago is a setback, 'NUA was immediately resurrected on low-power FM with new calls WLFM ("The L"), with former longtime WNUA GSM Pat Kelley at the helm. In the most recent Chicago PPM, The L's cume hovered in the 500,000 range – an impressive statement, under the circumstances, on the audience's hunger for Smooth Jazz.

Just as in virtually every format, Smooth Jazz radio revenues generally dropped like a stone, some posting declines of 40% or more, which spells trouble with a capital "t."

Lenders forced Riviera Broadcasting, which counts KOAS/Las Vegas among its properties, into receivership.

With a handful of exceptions, music sales also continued to plummet, not only leaving many labels perilously under-funded to sign artists, but jeopardizing their existences. Record executives' dismay over ever-diminishing opportunities to secure airplay on new product by established artists is equaled by their profound frustration with the near-impossibility of gaining exposure for new acts.

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The Straight Skinny

 

Blissed Out, Off the Beach and Back on the

Smooth Jazz Beat

By Carol Archer

“yes, Virginia, there remains an avid, active audience for this music.”

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