I know they've been on there for awhile but why did people like Dave Koz, Kenny G., Brian Culbertson, etc. become radio DJs for the format? Where do they broadcast from? I don't understand why musicians suddenly turn to radio. Who are they employees of?
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Smooth Jazz Artists As DJs - How did that come about?
- Thread starter icycool7227
- Start date
I believe they are employes of BA-i think all of those shows belong to them. They turned them into DJs because they thought it would bring them ratings.
They mostly have people program the shows then spend a few hours a week talking from a script. I agree-there were so many great DJ's and they are all gone
They mostly have people program the shows then spend a few hours a week talking from a script. I agree-there were so many great DJ's and they are all gone
They get a script and read it - voicetracking - from their home studios. Norman Brown actuallly gave that away in a print interview a few years ago and I don't think he knew it. He talked about how hard it was at first to read the scripts without sounding like he was reading.
They were hoping the "star power" names would bring in listeners. They were also playing on creating the illusion that the musician was sharing his/her favorite music with the audience but they just voicetrack and do the liners like other jocks these days except for situations like Blake Aaron's show which is on a noncommercial station and gives him the ability to actually be himself and do what these others try to create the illusion that they are doing. Ken Navarro also has a good thing going on smoothjazznow.com because although he doesn't program the music he does have input and the PD is very music oriented and tailors the playlists to give the hosts music they can get excited about.
When Culbertson tweets that he has Earth Wind and Fire, Celine Dion, and the Doobie Brothers coming up and is excited about that I totally gag!
My feeling: I don't get onstage and play an instrument, that's your job so please don't take my job!
They were hoping the "star power" names would bring in listeners. They were also playing on creating the illusion that the musician was sharing his/her favorite music with the audience but they just voicetrack and do the liners like other jocks these days except for situations like Blake Aaron's show which is on a noncommercial station and gives him the ability to actually be himself and do what these others try to create the illusion that they are doing. Ken Navarro also has a good thing going on smoothjazznow.com because although he doesn't program the music he does have input and the PD is very music oriented and tailors the playlists to give the hosts music they can get excited about.
When Culbertson tweets that he has Earth Wind and Fire, Celine Dion, and the Doobie Brothers coming up and is excited about that I totally gag!
My feeling: I don't get onstage and play an instrument, that's your job so please don't take my job!
Cat's right. It was another ploy to try to bring legitimacy to a garbage product. They figured, "If we bring A-list artists of the genre into the studio (through VTing) and make them RPs, stupid listeners will believe that these artists actually endorse the programming and will be inclined to listen as a result, even though they may think the programming stinks." Well, let's just say it was another failed experiment by the Ivory Tower of Smooth Jazz Radio. Our listeners may have a tendency to be lazy at times (allow themselves to accept an inferior product instead of tuning out and searching for better alternatives), but they are far from stupid. And the fact is, there really is only ONE Dave Koz. He is a natural, polished, on-air radio personality. As much as I respect the talent of his colleagues in the studio and on stage, Koz is in a league of his own. I just wish he could free himself completely of the 800-pound gorilla.
Blake's show is fantastic, and not only because of its content/production and the fact it is on a non-comm. Blake has at his side a fun, super talented, and polished on-air radio personality in Tina Anderson (formerly of KTWV). They complement each other very well, and it is no surprise to me why the show has been received so well by listeners and the artists alike.
Blake's show is fantastic, and not only because of its content/production and the fact it is on a non-comm. Blake has at his side a fun, super talented, and polished on-air radio personality in Tina Anderson (formerly of KTWV). They complement each other very well, and it is no surprise to me why the show has been received so well by listeners and the artists alike.
My feeling: I don't get onstage and play an instrument, that's your job so please don't take my job!
You nailed it-
I also noticed that other stations are bringing in (to me) B level guys like Nick Colionne and Ken Navarro to DJ as well. DJs when I was growing up kept the community together and created a real vibe for the music. These are just ego driven guys who think they can do it all and they can't. Being a great DJ is an art
You nailed it-
I also noticed that other stations are bringing in (to me) B level guys like Nick Colionne and Ken Navarro to DJ as well. DJs when I was growing up kept the community together and created a real vibe for the music. These are just ego driven guys who think they can do it all and they can't. Being a great DJ is an art
Been around for decades. Look to the old rock radio days & the guest dj hour. It had started to become very much an irritant with BA though. I remember when Koz was ironing out the kinks in the early days. It was something of an "eventual" evolution with BA. There came a time when they would actually leverage Koz or Ramsey for an extra Mixmaster. That's really when the little voice in your head started to say, "wait a minute..." BA wanted to be all things-consultant & content provider. Granted, some are better than others but Market Mgrs bought it hook line & sinker as a way to get "added value" in terms of research and make budget or save $. PD's followed in step, too. It was basically a cluster you-know-what & drove the Prod guy (and everyone else) crazy-especially with the Brian McKnight Show. Kenny, Brian, Dave, they all track it-it gets cleaned up and sent or downloaded. But yeah, on some take away the "star" (?) power/name & listen objectively as a PD listening to an audition/demo & ask the question, "would you hire this guy?"
I don't think Navarro or Colionne did it out of greed..that station actually gives its personalities input into the programming so there is some value to doing it. Navarro realized that he was juggling too many hats and is stepping back from the on-air thing though.
I think it is really cool to ask a musician to create a "super set" of songs by other artists that they would like to turn their listeners on to and build a little feature around that. That is really interesting. But musicians pulling full time airshifts - only if they'll let me get onstage and play guitar and take the paycheck for what they do (and scare the audience off
)
I think it is really cool to ask a musician to create a "super set" of songs by other artists that they would like to turn their listeners on to and build a little feature around that. That is really interesting. But musicians pulling full time airshifts - only if they'll let me get onstage and play guitar and take the paycheck for what they do (and scare the audience off
)And MixMaster turned out to be such a such a great methodology for finding out what the audience wanted to hear. That's why the audience grew so much after it was implemented :
: :Actually, Mixmaster worked great for awhile. Hence #1's in Chicago, Sac, Phoenix, to name a few markets that used the methodology. For a time it worked and yes, as with all testing-agreed-Trash in Trash out. Things do change but you also need at times, quantifiable data. Part instinct, part research. Otherwise you may as well just get some friends together & play your favorites. Whether it's terrestrial or online you'll always need ways to tweak the product. AC, did you ever participate?
If an artist who was a DJ was truly playing music that would be new and fresh and introduce us to things that we don't know about,then I'm all for it.But to have them sitting at a studio reading a script and playing what they're told to play-Well gee I wonder why the format died.
I'm not going to be waiting with baited breath to hear Nick Colionne play what everybody else is playing. I guess I'm just old scholl.
I'm not going to be waiting with baited breath to hear Nick Colionne play what everybody else is playing. I guess I'm just old scholl.
I was at a station in another format that used their research and went from being in the top 5 to dropping out of the top 10 then changing formats.
But knowing what we know now were people actually listening or just writing the station down in their diaries out of loyalty to the only "jazz" station in the market while beginning to tune out as far as actual listening habits were concerned.
don't know timeline from being #5 to out of top 10 then changing-could've been some other things going on behind closed doors you weren't privy to, since sounds like it was from a distance. One bad test does not break a solid station. Ahhhh, "knowing what we know now..." IF I had a dollar...agreed. At this stage it's apples to oranges. My only inquiry was originally motivated from misinformed generalities I'd been seeing on this board for some time.
It wasnt from a distance. I was on the staff and the test was done locally. It "indicated" that we needed to severely shift the music from hot A/C to Lite with an R&B lean. Bad move. We knew that but new owners got fast talked.
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