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Jazz Lovers, time to pool together our resources...

U

uncleDJ

Guest
Hi all you SJ/CJ/NJ etc lovers...

For the brick 'n mortar lovin' stick station devotees (of which I still work at one) wanting to get more of our music out there to the masses, we must seriously take a look at where we are, down a significant percentage of 'homes' on the dial, and get some grass roots action going.

The commitment to the music is always strong in our hearts, we love this stuff and always will, and really love the artists big time...but we must face the music:

THE ONLY WAY TO BEAT 'EM IS TO OWN 'EM.

Yep. I said this on another thread regarding this format. If there were a collective of us putting down cash to start or buy out a facility in each market, guess what? The music would return! Several years back when Mystic CT lost WKCD-FM to hip hop, I started a small thread called JazzSECT (Jazz of Southeastern Connecticut) which, sadly, did not catch on. It was meant for all of us to collect, regroup and figure out a way of buying a facility.

In market after market, I know, some of you may have also been so passionate that you've done something like this...and may feel that what effort you've undertaken just isn't enough to make the music come back to the dial.

We've seen of late how some of the jazz radio gurus have taken things which hurt the effort, and how some are coming on the scene to make things better. Yet, do we want to wait YEARS before the music is back? I sure don't.

For now, having choice on satellite and internet helps - especially with the diverse choices out there. But again...it's not on the dial.

HD radio is bringing back some of the SJ sound (in Hartford, for instance, WRCH-FM-HD2 is Smooth Jazz). But I don't own one yet, most in fact do not own an HD receiver.

My suggestion comes with clear realities:
1. Few of us could fork over tons of money to snap up stations right now.
2. Getting shows started on the non-commercial stations or internet is a good idea, broadens choice.
3. Any endorsement, from the jazz artists to other listeners to government only strengthens the cause.
4. This will take awhile.

Of all the music formats out there ours is very unique, and its listenership very dedicated. We need more than dedication right now, we need action. Anyone with any thoughts beyond my own please share them...maybe as a collective think tank we'll start repopulating the landscape with the best music which SHOULD be on radio.

-Bill Alley
Mystic CT
 
Somewhere in this country we need to go head to head with BA and see what shakes out. Vacationing in S Fla and in past years I could not wait to listen to Love 94. I miss my ipod in the car and sat radio. Love 94 is a joke. Not what I left 15 years ago when I lived down here. Back then they referred to themselves as "the soundtrack of S Florida. Not sure what to call them now. The vocals i am hearing are tired worn out songs from the 70's and 80's. Enough Barry White already! Pretty bad when my son is getting little resistance from me on what he wants to listen to.

Nock
 
This was what was so frustrating with the situation in Jacksonville. That station was owned by a smaller ownership group that stated that they wanted to innovate. When several of us who had experience with the format/music an a track record in the market approached them with ways to innovate in a reasonable and professional manner, to actually do something that would actually build listenership, they blew us off. Then they gave Bob Baldwin free rein to be "progressive" and he did exactly what BA says we all want to do: self indulgently play our favorite songs on the radio, go all over the road and then some with no regard for the audience or ratings potential. After he ran off the audience the station did have they ran right to BA to try to fix it. This company was willing to take the chance, they just took the wrong chance. And the foundation to build on was already here..this is a market that had a fulltime station that was doing OK (their morning show was killing them..this girl with a fake british accent that considered 5 minutes a "short" talk break) and 2 brunch shows
that were both in the top 5 on Sunday AM.

One success story can spawn a bunch of clones but the last 5 years or so have done such damage to the image of this music that it would take one brave, gutsy or desperate owner to be willing to try an approach to programming this music that is relevant to 2008.
 
Hey Cat...

The frustration is much more connected to the stations than the artists. Too much prognostication by media guru I bet.

The artists are doing that bold move for us. More NuJazz, more nuances to the SJ sound. The stations appear to be a bit fearful of it due to the veering away of that 'midpoint' - a mirror of Lite Adult formats. Heck, compare the Lite stuff to 10 years ago and even it has gotten edgier. John Cougar Melloncamp now, but 10 years ago 'Hurts So Good' would never have darkened the playlists of lite hits stations.

-Bill Alley
 
I know...I got into deep heat in my first MD job, which was at an A/C station in 1980, because of "Ride Like The Wind" which had what my GM called a 'hard rock guitar solo" ......
 
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