It's like a house of cards… I know that everything feels that way right now, from U.S. infrastructure to the global economy, but I'm actually referring to FM radio's relationship with the music format known as Smooth Jazz. People seem to think that I'm an expert on the subject because the email starts to pour in heavy every time another iconic FM Smooth Jazz radio station flips formats… and I'm sorry to tell you that another one has… Miami's Love94 has become the latest victim to lose its frequency. Apparently on Christmas Day station owners (Clear Channel) swapped the format with Rhythmic AC and now they're playing danceable pop from yesteryear along with some of today's favorite toe tappers. If you're into Ace of Bass and the BeeGees then you'll enjoy getting your groove on with the new 93.9 FM-MIA.

Reading from the South Florida Daily Blog as I prepare for my own blog on Love94 I'm finding the same complaints about the station as I hear about most of the Smooth Jazz FM stations in this country… well here, let me show you:

"Look, I know a lot of you weren't fans of Love 94 and during the last couple years even I couldn't take their sickly sweet smooth jazz format that seemed to play the same songs again and again. But Love 94 is the first place I learned of groups like Everything But The Girl, The Rippingtons and Hiroshima. And, yeah, it was the only place in South Florida that you stood half a chance of hearing Pat Metheny, God's gift to contemporary jazz, or some of the more obscure and better stuff by Van Morrison or Sade. But over the years, they had lost a number of their DJs including Gina Martell, who did a great job with her spotlight on Brazilian jazz, and their playlist had turned terribly stale. But they still offered listeners an alternative to the pop junk that seems to thrive in South Florida and for that reason, and Stu Grant's wonderful Sunday Jazz Brunch, they deserved a spot on the dial, in my opinion. If you check out the comments in the Sun-Sentinel post, you'll see that a lot of people feel the same way."

I do like to think that I understand this genre and the lifestyle that accompanies it, but it's not like anybody in radio ever really considered my opinion about keeping the sound fresh… Don't get me wrong, I've got people in the industry that take me seriously enough, but those who sway the vote, well they just dug their feet in (or shall I say, dug their own grave). Smooth Jazz or "contemporary jazz" if you prefer, offers a very sophisticated and compelling listening experience that pulls from a wide repertoire of music for all ages. It could be very hot right now with listeners from coast to coast discovering today's Everything But The Girl (maybe that would be Sia or Zero 7 or Regina Spektor). A new millennium version deserves to remain in the mainstream mingling core format artists and exciting new format discoveries, integrated with relevant and intriguing crossover artists that match the soundscape of each individual radio market. Unique, local programming is at the heart and is the very art of radio.

I compare the individuals who have slowly eroded this format to those who have had plenty of warning about changing their habits to improve their health and still choose to not start walking and exercising or eating better or to stop smoking… rather, they just ignore the signs and the tides of technology as well as the pleas from the people and allow cancer or some other form of disease (dis-ease) to settle in and take the entire format down on terrestrial radio. Really sad… and entirely avoidable. Those of us who chose to pioneer this genre of music chose it because it was cutting edge and cool, not because it was stale and boring and the butt of jokes.

I keep coming back to the same feeling however, that it's not just Smooth Jazz that's taking the blow here, it's terrestrial radio in general that's sucking all across the board. I mean, people young and old know that there is little to no loyalty from FM or towards FM. I just guest lectured a class on Media at our local University and I talked to an entire class room of students ranging from 19 to 39 who said, each in their own way, that they do not have a relationship at all with local radio stations, rather they listen on-line or hear about new music from their friends.

This is no chicken and egg equation. We know what came first, had radio fostered the art of their medium and respectfully developed the listening experience, changing with the times, nurturing the craft and the people who make up the fabric of the programming, then listeners would not have pushed so hard for another venue to find their music. They pushed so hard that the flood gates swung wide open and now you can listen to thousands and thousands of stations on-line from all over the world, with great ease. In fact, you can listen to radio stations on your mobile phone! You can find jazz of every variety on the Internet… vocal jazz, instrumental jazz, piano jazz, holiday jazz, tropical jazz… We hear at SmoothJazz.com offer you a little of everything and we hope that you find our mix deep and compelling, because we search the world to find the music you hear on our Smooth stations.

Smooth Jazz is one of the most listened to music formats on the Internet. Between SmoothJazz.com Radio, SmoothLounge.com Radio and our competitors, Smooth Jazz dominates global audiences on the Net. So we know that the format is healthy… at least the way it's done on a Global level, which follows this formula:

1) Hits and deeper tracks from core artists
2) New and exciting discoveries
3) Relevant and intriguing crossover artists

The FM Smooth Jazz recipe is quite different and consists of the same 400 songs playing in rotation over and over again including really, really, really old hits from dead or really, really, really old artists… I don't need research or auditorium sampling to know that this is not engaging. It's beige and it's boring and if that were the only version of the format available, I would understand if every listener started popping Lexapro or worse, tuned out.

So next time a Smooth Jazz radio station signs off… (KKSF?), please see my notes here and just swap out call letters. As much as I like to write, I'm not going to carve out any more time on this because it's a slow suicide with the Dr. Kevorkian of Smooth Jazz, Broadcast Architecture, at the drip… the soulless consultants of beige music programming are the pitcher holders of this watered-down version of the format. You may contact them directly, as they are far more suited to address your questions about the sad and unfortunate state of Smooth Jazz at FM. I'm opting to focus my time and attention on the exciting and growing state of the genre on-line, on a Global level… please, won't you join us and the world will be as one.

Sandy Shore - President/Founder SmoothJazz.com

Smooth Jazz in Jacksonville & Savannah Sign Off...

We recently learned that more Smooth Jazz radio stations have signed off the air. WJSJ & WSJF in Jacksonville, Florida have dropped Smooth Jazz for a "Rhythmic" adult contemporary format. Additionally, WSSJ in Savannah, Georgia has replaced their Smooth Jazz programming with gospel music. Dear lord!

Once again we are receiving phone calls and email from disgruntled Smooth Jazz fans. Of course, we invite them to tune in to our global broadcast for free anytime day or night and we can’t really hide our excitement about the fact that SmoothJazz.com and SmoothLounge.com are now available on Apple’s iPhone (FlyTunes.fm) in amazing digital clarity, so we pass that info along as well because that puts our stations in their cars with a simple mp3 plug in.

SmoothJazz.com was created from my personal experience with a similar situation here in Monterey, CA. So, I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that I am empathetic and that I do care about the concern these station losses are causing in their communities. Not only did I feel the loss as a listener, but also it was particularly painful for me as an employee. It’s hard to make a living when your job is working for a fickle industry like radio in a smaller market where you never know what you’ll be walking into each day. It was a revolving door of crazy.

I moved back to this area from L.A. where I was working on the air at The Wave (KTWV). It was the early 90’s, Southern California had just experienced an earthquake, the Rodney King thing was causing a ripple effect and the entire Southland was ablaze with fires. You didn’t have to twist my arm to get me to move back to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula where I grew up. I was in my mid-twenties and I thrilled to be hired as the program director for the area’s first Smooth Jazz station. In ten years we started and lost the format 4 times! Each time a new station owner wanted to put Smooth Jazz on the air, they’d call me.

During my "off" times when the format was dormant, I’d drive up to KKSF in San Francisco and fill in for their DJs. In 1995, I started a concert production company. When Smooth Jazz was on the local FM dial, we’d do well with the concerts. When the format wasn’t available locally, our concerts would suffer. Around the same year, I founded SmoothJazz.com. Audio on the Internet was a mere dream at that time, but I believed good things were to come in that regard.

I was growing very tired of the heartless ways of corporate radio and the transformation of broadcasting into narrowcasting. Getting a fresh start on the Internet was an exciting notion and as far as I was concerned, couldn’t happen soon enough.

The very last time I worked for an FM radio station was the most disrespectful experience I had ever had in the industry. It was 2002, I was hired by an adult contemporary station and asked if I would help them change the format to Smooth Jazz in the evenings. They wanted me to build their music library and entrusted me with control of the project. For the entire summer of that year, I would go in to the radio station at night and meticulous rebuild their audio library one song at a time in their computer system. The year had already been challenging for me personally because my mom had fallen and shattered her elbow, but worse, she appeared to have suffered from brain damage. I was taking her to every specialist in the area to determine the extent of her condition. Yet, I was so committed to the format and the community that I would continue to go in every night and put in more music. I should also point out that I was on payroll for this station and so I wasn’t making any extra money for helping them with this project.

I remember walking in one August night and noticed a new bumper sticker on the glass window of the on-air door. It said something about classic rock… I actually did one of those double takes and walked around the building because I thought that maybe I went into the wrong studio. I was tired and perhaps I wasn’t paying attention. The building had 3 stations broadcasting, I could have gone into the wrong on-air booth... but that wasn’t the case. The owners had changed the format moments earlier to classic rock. Just like that.

I found out by a bumper sticker on the studio door. Why wasn’t I told in advance? Because I would have called in the TV news like I did the last time it happened a few years prior at another frequency. Or so they thought…

But as I tracked down my gear and packed up my goods, it sunk in slowly that my 20 some year love affair with FM radio was over. Just like that. Some have said that if corporations were individuals they’d be considered sociopathic by nature... Unfeeling, uncaring and amoral… What do you think?

For me it was an awakening... a cold shower of reality for which I’m grateful because otherwise I would have continued my enabling relationship with terrestrial radio.

Honestly, Smooth Jazz is flourishing on the Internet and not just on SmoothJazz.com. If you combine our listener hours with those of our on-line competitors, Smooth Jazz is one of the most listened to, if not the most listened to format of music on the Internet. Don’t be fooled when your local radio stations try to tell you that the format is old and dying. Maybe the way their consultants drove it into the ground by not broadening and expanding the artist roster, but that is simply not the case for those of us continuing to embrace the passionate spirit and lifestyle vibe of the format.

If you really want to try to do something to express your displeasure with your local station changing format, here are a few suggestions:

1) Contact the FCC and let them know that your community will be adversely affected by the loss of the format. Radio, after all, is supposed to be servicing the community and in turn they can monetize their broadcast with advertising. If enough people do this, the government agency may investigate. http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints_general.html

2) Research your market and find the lowest rating radio stations and contact them and encourage them to pick up the format. If you are in a position to do so, offer to advertise your company, product or service on their radio station if they change formats to Smooth Jazz.

3) If you still have Smooth Jazz in your market, support them by going to their advertisers and telling them that you heard about their company on the Smooth Jazz station. Also, do your best to show up at station events and support local Smooth Jazz concerts.

In closing, here’s an email that I received today from a Houston Smooth Jazz fan:

"I’ve been listening to SmoothJazz.com recently on my computer at work and at the computer at home since the recent demise of KHJZ here in Houston. I had listened to SmoothJazz.com several years ago after the previous jazz station here in Houston flipped formats, but rarely listened after KHJZ began broadcasting. KHJZ is still broadcasting over the Internet, and if you want to run out and buy an HD radio, they’re broadcasting in HD. However, I am so angry over the format flip and their obscene assumption that I can just buy an HD radio to listen to them, I won’t listen to them online. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there for what I wanted to write to you about.

What I really wanted to tell you is how much I’ve enjoyed listening again. I’ve heard a wider variety of Smooth Jazz than KHJZ was playing (just as you suggested in your blog). I have a nice collection of CD’s but listening to just them doesn’t keep me abreast of the new music coming out. So I’ve been enjoying the variety of good music. I also passed the link to your website to another friend who used to listen to KHJZ and I think he’s tuning in also.

The other thing I wanted to comment on was how glad I was to hear the Barry Sea Project this morning. First time I’ve heard them played on air, other than a couple of ads for their CD on KHJZ. I like their sound, and their CD is on my wish list. I hope to hear them live next time they are on my side of H-Town. Keep up the good music!!!"

Thanks,
Nancy Saxon

Sandy Shore-President/Founder
SmoothJazz.com

Houston, we have a problem!

Being the number 1 search engine result for ’SmoothJazz’, it’s not surprising that SmoothJazz.com has been deluged with email and phone calls from very unhappy and concerned listeners in New York, Washington, D.C. and Denver… and now operators are standing by for KHJZ fans in Houston and their impending loss. We’ve been swamped attending to what appears to be a crisis in the world of Smooth Jazz in the FM arena.

First, I would like to welcome our new listeners from New York, D.C., Denver and Houston. You have discovered what over 2 million people each month are enjoying on SmoothJazz.com Radio, a crystal clear digital broadcast available for free on all popular media players including iTunes, Windows Media, RealPlayer, Winamp and others at rich 128k and 192k bitrates. For those seeking an economy of bandwidth with the same robust sound, check out our 64k AAC+ stream.

In addition, we’re also available as a Pre-set Station on the Roku Soundbridge (a computer-independent audio device that plugs directly into your sound system) as well as the Soundbridge Radio, a stand-alone radio that receives AM, FM and Internet radio stations around the world with amazing audio quality.

We’re also readily available on mobile phones through our technology partners SelectRadio, UpSnap and SmartPhone. And for those who might not be aware, SmoothJaz.com Radio is currently simulcasting on two international FM frequencies: Radio Padova in Northern Italy and The Flea in Auckland, New Zealand.

I’ve actually sat down and written this open letter several times over the past week and as it was ’marinating’ I’d receive calls and letters from artists, long time industry friends and acquaintances that got me rethinking my response to these recent significant events in FM radio.

There’s a lot of blaming going on and it’s a little frustrating for us here at SmoothJazz.com because we’re not sharing the same experience on the Internet as our FM friends are experiencing. Smooth Jazz is one of the most listened to genres on-line. To me, that alone is very revealing. In a world that is under-consulted and under-estimated, the format is blooming and growing and remains very appealing to a wide audience of listeners all over the globe.

Frankly we find ourselves a bit surprised at the finger pointing that’s going on right now… I suppose it fits the current climate of our country to some degree. Radio is blaming the recording labels for putting out music that is not compelling. The labels are blaming radio for not playing the music. The artists are blaming radio consultants for narrowing the playlists, while radio consultants are spinning reality to avoid responsibility. (I’ve found over the years that the latter is just par for the course.)

Everyone’s right by the way. Everyone’s to blame. Everyone’s part of the success and the failure.

I’ve never been a fan of consultants and research… I think it sucks the art out of radio. I gravitated to this medium and this format in particular because we used to be a group of radio artists who listened to everything and considered all genres of music to find an emotional connection to pass along to our listeners in a lifestyle presentation.

Homogenization equals death… cookie cutter radio formats that you can hear in every city, in every state is going to have an expiration date. This is just common sense… and I didn’t need to research it to figure it out. We all know that this is what has been chipping away at Smooth Jazz and if you want to look at radio holistically, it’s what’s been chipping away at radio in general for a very long time.

Worse yet, is this unfortunate trend that radio started a few decades ago of flipping formats when ratings slide and abandoning loyalty in their communities. It’s been going on long enough now that there are entire generations of listeners who do not place a value on radio like those of us who grew up with radio stations that meant a whole lot more than just a frequency.

I worry about this co-dependency between programmers and consultants. I think this dynamic creates a safe, boring environment that doesn’t cultivate unique expression when that is precisely what every city in every state deserves. Something unique to their location, to their community… of course there are national hits and favorites, but a programmer who’s truly in touch with the people in their neighborhoods are going to find that certain sound that mixes in a distinguishable difference to capture the essence of their city and in my opinion, then and only then, will the spirit of radio flourish and in turn be successful in all measures.

We encourage FM radio to embrace the opportunity to serve their communities in this beautiful country of ours. Be grateful that you have a region to be inspired by and reflect that in your music programming and not just in your local commercials and promotions.

Growing this and any format of music requires adapting and improvising when necessary. Oh, and it’s pretty much always necessary because everything changes. So consider new trends and incorporate them when they make sense for your station and market. Don’t dabble, just do it… Don’t over think it, don’t research it to death, commit to it… and then prove to your community that you are committed to it by broadening the format.

There is an art to reading the current of the water… incorporating trends and knowing when to move on. Those who are doing this are very successful! Seattle and San Diego come to mind. Two very different parts of the West Coast and two very different radio stations both airing their versions of Smooth Jazz… both succeeding.

So it can be done. But some overly-consulted, Smooth Jazz FMs have come perilously close to becoming the pleated Dockers of radio by relying too heavily on decades-old, recycled hits rather than reaching into the bounty of exciting new music from either core format artists or new artists. My desk is over-flowing with brilliant new music. If as many claim, Smooth Jazz is an aging format, why then are there so many exceptional new artists inspired to create this music?

The state of the music industry is a reflection of our new world. As radio programmers we need to pay attention to this. People are not waiting around for radio to tell them what they want to hear nor are they going to absorb the excessive salaries of the major labels by being forced to buy entire albums that they don’t want. Hence the popularity of download sales fueled by user-friendly, new media distribution platforms such as SmoothJazz.com. After all, it is "necessity who is the mother of invention."

We receive positive email from fans all over the world… many sharing photos with us of their audio set up showing how they have created the ultimate listening environments in their work places and at home using readily available technology to stream. In fact, I just got this email today from a designer in the Netherlands who is on his 3rd year of listening to our newest boutique format, SmoothLounge.com:

"I feel so chill, and thanks to your team, I now have almost 500 albums that I purchased from iTunes!!! Everyday/ night I sit behind my iMac, working as a designer, and I tune into Smoothlounge.com, it’s my lifestyle, and it’s very good inspiration! Please, go on like this for the next 50 years!"

SmoothJazz.com and SmoothLounge.com -- Providing two distinctive, deep mixes of smooth music that we believe are compelling to our worldwide audience. Our stations embrace independence and our websites nurture this sophisticated genre by introducing quality new music and new artists with the intention of creating an emotional connection with our listeners.

For every Smooth Jazz lover in New York, Washington, D.C., Denver, Houston and every city whose on-air light has been turned off, there’s a candle burning bright in the window of the SmoothJazz.com studio in our little coastal village in California where we’ll continue to broadcast our unique blend of music for a growing, global community.

Tonight, this world is just not the same without KPIG's fearless leader... We lost a great one on Memorial Day 2007. Much to the surprise of everyone, Laura Ellen passed away yesterday in the early morning hours. She apparently had been diagnosed with cancer as recently as a week and a half ago... It seems that there was optimism at first prognosis. Not feeling terribly well on Friday, Laura was admitted to the hospital where she learned that the cancer was in her liver and brain and spreading very quickly. She died surrounded by family and friends and her Border Collie Rosie who was smuggled into the hospital to be by her side.

Laura loved her dogs. Her beloved Australian Shepherd Amy passed away last year and broke Laura's heart. Amy had a wonderful life and was loved more than any dog ever could be. While I worked along side Laura at KPIG she paid me the highest of all honors in her world; she gifted me one of Amy's puppies... the pick of the litter. Everyday I would get down on the floor and I would talk to Amy's belly and speak to the puppies and tell them that I couldn't wait for them to come into the world. The day the litter was born I was there at Laura's ranch in Watsonville. I had never seen one day old puppies before. They are the size of mice. Little, tiny things. Laura had me over every week to see my puppy and watch her grow until week number eight when I did more than see my puppy... I took her home! Basil leaped over her siblings in a bound and jumped into the car and has been by my side every since. She'll be 10 this year. Basil is an amazing being filled with light and love. She hugs us when we cry. She smiles when we walk in. She relentlessly shoves her frisbee into our legs until we play. Laura filled my life with something so loving and good and giving - I am eternally grateful.

Laura Ellen was a pioneer in the music industry. She was a visionary and a very clever, determined woman. She was like a woman from the wild west who lived by intention. She was passionate about KPIG and all that it encompassed. And KPIG encompasses a lot. The musicians are as diverse as the listenership yet all bound by the commonality of music; Laura Ellen's music. KPIG is a one-of-a-kind, global sensation from the coast of Northern and Central California to the world. Laura's vision for a sonic world of organic, earthy, inspired music featuring Americana, Folk, Western, Rock, Blues and more has been so well received that I think even she was blown away by the success. KPIG lives and breaths on its own thanks to Laura Ellen. She gave it life.

Laura Ellen surrounded herself with talent. A brave move in this industry, or any for that matter. With talent, comes ego. Laura listened and allowed her associates to contribute until they crossed the LINE. This is precisely where people referred to her as "stubborn," "hard-headed," and "tough." But what people didn't realize is that Laura let people's ideas and creative input in much further than most in her position. I'm convinced that she not only expected creative conflict, but she thrived on it. Those sparks moved KPIG into the realm of legend. Everyone who contributed their talents and vision to this radio station are a part of Laura's tapestry.

Laura was so proud of KPIG. She protected it like a mother would a child. She listened for quality in everything. Laura knew quality... Whether she was listening for a song or an air personality. She selected these elements with great skill and I think great amusement.

Despite the corporate environment that KPIG has been under this decade, Laura and her long time campanion and station manager Frank Caprista have finessed KPIG into an original, truly organic, 100% real radio station that is as comfortable as an old pair of blue jeans on a Sunday morning.

KPIG is home. I think that's why I went there today. When we lose a loved one we often can't go anywhere. We struggle to process our loss. But with Laura Ellen, I could go to her KPIG. It was church for me today. My old friend Ralph Anybody was at the helm doing Laura proud by keeping the music playing and allowing room for others to remember and pay their respect.

Laura made a lot of room for me in her creative vision. She allowed me to push and expand the KPIG envelope during my time there. I don't think that she agreed with everything I did. In fact, I know that she didn't because she told me so. :-) I loved the Triple A, alternative / acoustic stuff like Counting Crows, the Indigo Girls, Big Head Todd, and dare I say it, Hootie and the Blowfish. She taught me about artists that I have since embraced as favorites like Lucinda Williams, Todd Snider, Robert Earl Keen, Iris Dement, and more.

Together we created BACKSTAGE PASS on Sunday mornings for the "folder folks." These were the indie artists who would submit their music in glossy folders. (Why do indie artists insist on using folders when submitting their music? We could never figure this out.) The show became quite popular and developed into a Sunday morning tradition on KPIG focusing mostly on live, unplugged and acoustic music. We had hundreds of indies and major recording artists join us including David Crosby, Dar Williams and the Wallflowers. Laura loved the show, but often thought my interviews were long and indulgent and honestly, a lot of them were. But that didn't stop her from inviting me back to the Pig Sty some 4 or 5 years after I left the station to interview the Indigo Girls. This was Laura's style... She was thoughtful like that. She knew how much I would love this opportunity.

Laura Ellen was a dear friend of mine. She was an ally. She believed in me and supported me and was proud of me. On many levels she was a great, great influence in my life when it counted the most and remained as close as I needed her to be over the years. I think she knew how I felt about her. I really do.

I'll miss you very much Laura -- Long live your KPIG!