Two years ago I wrote a Perspectives editorial called "One Station Fits All." It was on the eve of the startup of the Smooth Jazz Network, which would provide programming that smooth jazz stations could use totally or run in certain day parts. The parent company's goal was to have the Network on the air in every decent sized market and then some. This would displace what was left of live, local smooth jazz radio and leave one company in control of the playlists at all the stations that signed on. The title was speculative though. I didn't think that within two years almost all the smooth jazz stations would either leave the format or pick up the Network full time or during the critical morning and afternoon drive time slots. It has happened though. There are now less than ten significant stations in the format that don't run the network during some time slot and of those ten, several have shifted so far toward Lite Adult Contemporary that you hear only 2-3 instrumentals an hour between Dan Fogelberg and England Dan and John Ford Coley, or even Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

It is very important for fans and supporters of this music to educate themselves, become aware of the limited choices they are being given, and not continue to settle for less so they can support and create alternatives. Especially as the Network shifts toward the Smooth Adult Contemporary approach and plays less and less of the music you come to them for. This is not to bash Broadcast Architecture (BA), the company that created the network. They are in business. They have obtained clients who pay them for the service they provide and their job is to keep those clients happy. Those clients are radio executives who are focused on keeping their stockholders happy. As a listener and fan you are not part of that equation. You were in 1994 but you are not now. BA is delivering a product. The problem is that it is becoming the only product available to anyone who still relies on radio for music. As I said in the original piece, too much power in too few hands is never a good thing. Hopefully knowing a bit of history will help you understand what is happening now, why it is happening, and enable you to question the status quo and ask for what you want instead of just taking what is given to you.

When contemporary/smooth jazz first emerged as a radio format there were hundreds of program and music directors, brunch show hosts, and others who were active in the radio community. We had lots of trade publications that provided an active exchange of ideas, music discoveries, success stories and opinions along with the usual charts and new release information. There were several program syndicators, a small group of consultants and a large group of independent programmers who often used various consultants for research and input. It was rare to see a consultant dictate a station's playlist or script the air talent's on-air conversation. The format was called various things - Contemporary Jazz, Progressive Adult Contemporary, New Adult Contemporary, Adult Alternative, and there were a few early rumblings of the term Smooth Jazz. This made for quite an interesting and exciting community. We would fill the format rooms at radio conventions with spirited exchanges of ideas and pick each other’s brains in hospitality suites and lobby hangs. One of the main reasons that excitement was building around the music and the radio formats that played it was the amount of people who were participating, sharing the music on-air and networking with each other. There was a huge pool of ideas and strategies for everyone to use, adapt and evolve as they saw fit.

The synergy created by two events threw the emerging format into an abrupt U-turn. The Telecommunications Act of 1995 deregulated radio station ownership, allowing a few companies to rapidly snap up large clusters of stations, and the SW Network Smooth Jazz format was launched. That Network was a satellite fed 24 hour format, complete with DJs, music and automation that made it possible for stations to insert a little bit of localism without having to add human beings to the payroll. When a company has just bought a large amount of stations they want to cut expenses, they also want to put formats on their new stations that won't take listeners away from the ones they already own. Smooth Jazz didn't compete with many existing formats. The timing was perfect for the network and they quickly gained a solid group of affiliates. Broadcast Architecture, which consulted the network, also saw the opportunity to expand their services to stations that were already in place and wanted to stay live and local. Most new owners were not radio people; they were investors who shied away from risk.   A fairly new format that played new music for adults was risky. The Network offered them a safer option. They reduced the size of playlists and added a lot of older songs and adult contemporary hits to the mix. They also convinced owners and managers that other programmers were "jazz aficionados" who could not be trusted to do what was in the best interest of the station. Within a year the community had been decimated and locally created playlists had been replaced by the recommendations of one consultant. When the SW Network was phased out by its parent company most of the stations added a few local people but stuck with the consultant because the ratings were pretty good at the time.

During this popularity peak another program syndicator entered the game. Jones Radio Network launched their version of the Smooth Jazz Format, also a 24/7 satellite feed that gave stations a way to cut the bottom line and provided a playlist that was thoroughly researched enough to keep the bean counters comfy. Jones Smooth Jazz stuck more closely to "real" smooth jazz. They played a lot of original instrumentals and leaned toward jazzy and adult alternative vocals rather than crossing over pop hits. By the late 90s they had a solid lineup of affiliates and offered an alternative to the increasing amount of oldies and pop vocals that BA was encouraging their stations to play. When the new Smooth Jazz Network went on the air in early 2007 they got some of the Jones affiliates to switch over. A few months ago Jones was sold to Dial-Global, a larger provider of syndicated programming. Dial-Global apparently saw the amount of stations leaving the format and Jones SJ's dwindling affiliate list and decided to get out of the smooth jazz game. They are laying off the smooth jazz staff and have made a deal with BA that will put their SJ Network programming on the remaining Jones SJ stations at the end of September. Chances are that if you still have a smooth jazz station in your market you are listening to Network programming at least some of the time. It looks like out of the larger markets, only Cleveland, San Diego, Tampa, Orlando, and Seattle haven't jumped on board and most of the commercial stations in smaller markets will be on The Network by October.

In our interview with Dave Koz he spoke of how we need dialog and an exchange of ideas among media professionals, musicians, record companies, concert promoters and the fans themselves. This is something that is absolutely necessary if we are going to evolve and recreate the excitement that should surround this music. How can this happen when there are so few people left who have any influence and those that do remain have known each other for years pretty much think just alike? What about others who are afraid to speak up because the real or imagined repercussions could damage their careers? We are about to reach critical mass though. There are too few people left on the field. Almost everyone has been laid off; even our superstars can't get enough airplay to impact sales, fans go to concerts and wonder why they can't buy music like they are hearing then refuse to spend money on bland, uninteresting product tailored for radio which isn't going to play it anyway. What's left to lose? It's time for fans to ask for what they really want so media people can deliver it to them. It's time for media people to get creative and start leading instead of following so fans can get a taste of what is really available. It's time for all of us to learn to use the technology that is now available instead of trying to bring back the past. It's time to speak out, speak up, talk to each other and listen to each other because there is a lot of vital and exciting music still being created. People won't know they love it until they hear it though. Some creative thinking is going to be necessary to get the music back in front of the audience and the audience back into the music and that can't happen with just a few people controlling everything!