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Advise to the Jazz Crowd

I

Improv

There were 125 people at a meeting last night at the BPL, concerned with creating new jazz radio options in Boston. Ideas ranged from continuing to try and pressure WGBH, trying to interest WBUR or WMBR, producing programs local in nature that could be played on a regional network, starting an internet station, trying to get more DJ's on college stations and coordinating new and existing college programs to get as much jazz coverage as possible. People are very concerned about the fact that young people who just listen to individual files get none of the context they would from a knowledgeable DJ and that this is not a good way to grow an invested audience.

I am asking the people on this list what they think of these ideas, bearing in mind that, while jazz is widely available, localism-the promotion of local musicians and of concerts in the area-is not. Thanks.
 
Good luck with that. The reason WGBH dropped it is because jazz generates little revenue in the form of donations.

WBUR isn't going to mess with success to appease 120 people.

WMBR probably won't either, but that's the best option.

If each of the 120 people donated $1k, I'll bet that WGBH would have thought about keeping jazz on the air. If people are that concerned, they need to put up or shut up.

I programmed a public station where I had to drop all but a few hours on Sunday after 10pm of jazz because there was NO money coming in for it. I like jazz, have done a lot of FOH mixing for jazz concerts, but I also realize that the station needed to get donations to stay afloat. Jazz wasn't bringing in anything.
 
I said 125 people, not 120...Maybe it was delusional to think that people would respond with anything other than " I tried jazz, it didn't raise money, so we dropped it" (In fact, people in that room have contributed a lot of money to WGBH over a long period of time. Sorry if it's not your $1K per year).

I happen to agree that it's a dead end to pursue WGBH and WBUR. However, I don't see the whole radio landscape as a competitive jungle. Fortunately, there are a lot of non-profit stations around here that are in the position of not having to see each other as bitter competitors, who think they might draw new listeners or underwriters who, given a creative promotional approach and-gasp-even collaboration would benefit from a jazz association. In a word, it's not just about an easy reading of the numbers, it's also a lack of impetus/energy/creativity to find new solutions.
 
Well, those extra 5 people should make the difference in a station that draws 280k a week.

That's why I said WMBR might be your best bet. Also, WHRB. But GBH and especially BUR are out of the question.

I'm just being real with you, on your prospects of getting jazz back on WGBH or any other large signal in Boston. It's a tough sell. And at a student run station, it's a tough game finding a student who actually knows the music and won't sound like a dope. As you well know, jazz people KNOW their music and want the host to be at least, if not more knowledgeable than they are. Some 20 year old kid who's never heard of Ahmad Jamal or Horace Silver isn't going to cut it as a serious jazz host.

I would talk to the folks at WICN in Worcester and see how they're making it work before you approach any stations. Obviously, they have a business model that is working for them.

Even WBGO in NYC isn't 24/7 jazz anymore, with mostly r&b on the weekends and a blues hour during the day. I love jazz, but it's a real tough cookie as far as getting donations from listeners. I don't know why either. Classical gets huge donations, jazz doesn't.
 
looked up WSMA, city of record is Scituate, but transmitter is 25 miles to the south by sagamore bridge and start of the cape. yes it is loud on top of dorchester heights, but even there is a headphone-cable (antenna) orientation i can listen to jazz on WICN instead.. and it only gets better as you go downhill towards rest of the city - here at sea level i can barely hear the jesus at all. also the stations are oriented so one is optimally at 90 degrees to the other when you're i boston, so a highly diretional antenna like a MOXON should do the trick if nothing else. plus the 8 hours of jazz on WHRB, mondays and fridays on WMBR, eric a few nights still
 
Insert Quote Well, those extra 5 people should make the difference in a station that draws 280k a week....But GBH and especially BUR are out of the question.
Click to expand...

I noted the 125 people because I'm not sure you're actually really reading my posts-I also said: "I happen to agree that it's a dead end to pursue WGBH and WBUR."

Tom from WICN was at the meeting and his expertise is much appreciated. They want to help, but I'm not sure how they could. An independent Boston jazz stream makes more sense than piggy-backing on a station that can't provide a local signal.

Thanks for the WSMA reference, but most of Boston-Cambridge is well out of its coverage area.
 
WNTIRadio said:
That's why I said WMBR might be your best bet. Also, WHRB. But GBH and especially BUR are out of the question.
Click to expand...

Maybe WHRB, but not WMBR.

WMBR is under pressure from MIT to fulfill student quotas for on-air programming and staffing. MIT wants the station to be at least 50 percent MIT. It's currently hovering slightly under that quota even during the last school year. It can't accept more community volunteers on staff, or community hosted program slots, regardless of what kind of programming they may offer.

If WMBR can recruit more students this fall, then perhaps a very limited, very small number of new community people could also be added, as long as the ratio of students remains over 50 percent.

If MIT students (undergrad or graduate) came along who wanted to play jazz, they would be all for it, but WMBR is not going to MAKE a student play jazz if that's not what they want to do. They have to have the desire, and an adequate amount of knowledge, for the genre.
 
I noted the 125 people because I'm not sure you're actually really reading my posts-I also said: "I happen to agree that it's a dead end to pursue WGBH and WBUR."

Tom from WICN was at the meeting and his expertise is much appreciated. They want to help, but I'm not sure how they could. An independent Boston jazz stream makes more sense than piggy-backing on a station that can't provide a local signal.

Thanks for the WSMA reference, but most of Boston-Cambridge is well out of its coverage area.
Click to expand...

I'm reading them. How about WICN starts a "jazz network" and programs an HD-2 of a station in Boston? Hey, it's a start, it's something that jazz fans can buy HD radios to hear it.

A jazz stream by itself, without the support of a radio station, especially a non-comm, will be VERY expensive because of the insane royalty fees for web only. If it's on an HD2 of a non-comm, then your royalties go way down because it falls under the blanket of a non-comm station streaming.

Talk to WERS. There is an HD-3 that isn't turned on yet. Maybe a modest fee to use it would satisfy both parties. Just a thought...

I was referring not so much to you, but the others in the crowd that somehow think they can convince WGBH or WBUR to put jazz back and/or on. I know you get it.

It's an uphill battle, but it's one I hope you can get some traction on.

You could always locate a 500W transmitter in a bad neighborhood* and play jazz ;)

*If it were in a good neighborhood, you would last about a week.
 
I appreciate your comments about the HD's. That's a good point about the costs of the streaming rights. Of course, that cost would probably be more than erased by what it would cost to get a station to sign off on one of its HD channels. I wonder if it would be possible to get the process underwritten by an HD equipment manufacturer.
 
You might get a noncomm to let you use an HD-2 or 3 for less than you think. If there's nothing on them now, then any revenue is found revenue.

Get a major underwriter to support it. Heck, you could even call it "The (company name here) jazz experience on WXXX HD-3". That could offset your costs quite a bit.

There are a couple of ethnic broadcasters that lease out HD's in NYC. Don't know what they pay though.
 
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