Change the game: Jazz in the new world (Part 1)

Over the last fifteen years, technologies like digital music formats, social networks, and mobile tech have upended the entire music industry, and modern jazz subgenres have gotten no quarter from the disruptions. But like a fire clearing a forest, these changes have made it possible for a brand new world to sprout. How might the musicians who create the music, the fans who consume it, and the constellation of entrepreneurs who make it a viable industry take advantage of a new environment where all bets are off?

In our two-part series, one entrepreneur shares her vision of the new world. Kim Giles is a former jazz radio promotions and marketing executive whose company, Beyond One Entertainment, provides management, marketing, concert production, and other consulting services to independent artists. Today, we discuss the current state of contemporary jazz, and examine how musicians are embracing emerging technologies in order to speak directly to fans. Tomorrow, we look ahead to the innovative new models music entrepreneurs are testing in order to get new music made, heard, and monetized. Fans, musicians, entrepreneurs – take note!

JazzTonic: We understand that the decline of smooth jazz radio has been much talked about in the industry, but a lot of avid fans still want to know the inside story. Can you shed some light on this for us? What's happening?

Kim Giles: It's definitely been the result of a series of business decisions. One of our goals in radio was to create a larger cumulative audience. So the question is, how do you take a small, niche format, and broaden its fan base?

This is why you saw jazz radio formats start to play light rock or other genres – to draw people in. If you drive to work in the morning and you're a dial changer, and you come across a Celine Dion song, you might think, “Oh, I didn't know this station played that song.” And you might get people to listen to more songs on your station. Many advertisers only want top 5 stations because budgets are tight, and they can get the broadest reach with top-rated stations. That means if you're not top 5, you’re missing out on ad dollars.

So stations started integrating other stuff like light rock in order to get more listeners. This disenchanted a lot of jazz listeners, and confused people as to what the stations were – that’s where things started to fall apart. Some stations have started to come back – in Cleveland and Chicago, for instance – though they don't always come back to the same dial position.

I don't know whether jazz radio will ever be the same as it was in its heyday. Our listeners are very passionate, even if there aren't very many. A million people might have slightly different takes on the reasons for the decline, but in radio, it’s ultimately a ratings game.

JT: What’s the bright side?

KG: You know, even though I'm a radio gal, I’m careful not to give radio too much power. Don’t get me wrong – it's still one of the best ways to deliver new music to listeners. But email, online radio, event marketing for shows – these are other ways we can deliver music.

That's the great thing about jazz – it's always been better live. So the shifts we’ve seen in jazz radio have given artists the time to really express themselves on stage, and not try to nail down a format for radio. And I’ve personally enjoyed the challenge of finding new ways to get this music out there.

JT: You mentioned that advertisers were more difficult to come by because the audience wasn’t as broad – but what about the fact that jazz listeners are an incredibly enthusiastic, tight demographic?

KG: That’s definitely a selling point. These are a core audience of very passionate fans that spend money on travel, wines, cruises – the good life. Even if their household income is relatively low, this is a group that saves up all year long to see their favorite musician in concert, or at a festival.

JT: Can you talk in more detail about the new channels for getting music out there? How do musicians find their audiences? How do current and potential jazz lovers find their music?

KG: First and foremost: email, internet, Facebook, etc. A lot of the modern technology has let artists reach millions of fans and be personal. Technology like YouTube breaks down barriers and makes artists more interesting. Before, fans couldn’t reach artists as easily – they didn't have access to artists' worlds.  Now artists can reach out and have conversations with fans. The one thing artists have to balance is that this might water down their mystique a bit. I don't think anybody should give up that mystique completely.

I think that being successful in this genre now is about getting creative. I learned how to think outside the box in my previous career in radio. In Tampa, we'd plan our live shows, and we’d do the traditional promotional stuff. But then we’d get creative: we'd do trade deals through direct mail coupons, we'd do cross-promotions, we'd do [contests] with newspapers. Now, we get artists to invite their Facebook fans and Twitter followers to shows, and have artists share email blasts with each other.  We can do ticket giveaways, meet and greets, interactive stuff, and all of that makes the listeners more connected to what's going on with the music.

And there's still more stuff to learn – I think it’s never-ending.

JT: The internet used to be a free-for-all in terms of music piracy, but now we’re starting to see easy-to-use, subscription services like Rhapsody, Pandora, and Spotify. Can you explain for readers how musicians make money off of these services?

KG: Well it all comes down to the royalty system. There are mechanical royalties, which means that if I use your song on my album, I have to pay a mechanical licensing fee. This is typically brokered by the publisher, or a licensing company like the Harry Fox Agency.

If my artist wants to do a cover, it'll cost them $0.091 per unit. That means they have to pay $91 in royalties for every 1,000 records they press for that one song. The same goes for digital, with the difference being that we’re now paying for licensing for downloads we sell of other people’s music.

Then there are performance royalties, which are paid based on the airing of a song. This applies to radio stations playing music, but it also applies to things like on-hold music, lobby overhead music, and live shows. Performance rights organizations like BMI and ASCAP here in the U.S., and similar organizations in other countries, will basically go out and find every place your music is being aired, and tap those places for royalties.

This is how I learned how deep it goes: we started a jazz series in Sarasota that had about 2,000 attendees, and we did it once a month for six months. These were regional artists playing cover songs as well as their own. Well the next year, the lady who ran the shopping center where it was held called us and said that BMI wanted $600 in royalties. And I said, “Well, you're gonna have to pay it.” Because that little money is based on how many people were present, and it’s then being paid out to the original musicians.

So there are organizations out there that keep track of this sort of thing. A company called SoundExchange tracks streaming – so all of those streaming services are tracked by that company so that the royalty money gets to the artists. This is basically the digital version of what SoundScan does for physical sales, or what Billboard does for radio play so they can produce the charts.

JT: How does YouTube play into all this?

KG: As far as YouTube goes, we’re trying to get as many viewers as possible in order to create awareness, and drive that awareness down the sales funnel. If we spread the word far and wide about a musician or a project, then we can turn browsers into fans and fans into customers.  YouTube helps create that awareness – and there’s a direct correlation between doing that and improving sales.

JT: Are you ever concerned about cannibalization? Do you find that customers won’t buy what they can get for free?

KG: You have to do it in such a way that you're not cannibalizing. I have an artist who sends out free singles to his fans, and the idea is to give just enough to make them want to buy the whole CD or see the show.

JT: Are you finding that jazz artists are experimenting with other genres in order to increase their appeal?

KG: I still get email blasts from sources that talk about the radio and music industry, and through those I see station ratings, and charts for genres besides jazz. When I look at the data for Light Rock and Urban Adult Contemporary, I do see that some artists have crossed over, like Norman Brown, Brian Culbertson, and Rick Braun. In fact, Rick Braun just put out a vocal album. Now they’re not turning their back on the genre when they do that. They’re experimenting and finding other niches, and that exposure is very helpful, especially if there is a time when smooth jazz ceases to exist altogether on terrestrial radio.

You know, there was a time when we didn't have these stations, and this music was played on R&B or light rock stations. The potential influences are infinite, and some artists are reaching and stretching so they can find new audiences.

JT: Jazz has always evolved. The subgenres – bebop, free jazz, smooth jazz, Latin jazz, many others – these evolved from that original tradition that was born down in New Orleans. So it's only natural that something will come next. Are we starting to get a sense of what that next thing might be?

KG: Jazz is going to be one of those genres that continues to be influenced by other genres, and will continue to be just a bit under the pop culture radar. Smooth jazz is more commercialized, mainstream and accessible than other forms. The music is definitely evolving, and these are the influences that are pushing it forward.

Jazzheads and musicians have always had their own small community; jazz is more than a format – it’s a lifestyle. It’s all different walks of life, ethnicities, socio-economic categories, and because of that you have different influences, and a very distinct vibe. This music is about open-minded people who like good things in life no matter what their economic situation. 

JT: I ask the question about the resonance of contemporary jazz with younger generations a lot. What are your thoughts on that?

KG: There's a decent – but not a huge – amount of young people who enjoy this music.  There's a style called chill, which is a more electronic, late night, Friday night, techno-ish style of music. A lot of college students get into chill.

Outside influences help modernize things that younger generations see as old. It also opens up the genre for people who many not like standard jazz: smooth jazz is a little bit of light rock and R&B; fusion is more rock and jazz. Jazz has something for every walk of life.

Moreover, parents have a big hand in what the younger generation is listening to. If the parent isn't a big jazz fan, it’s a bit rare that the kid will be, unless they have other influences. I also think it has to do with learning music in school, because when you learn an instrument in school, you’re going to learn about the instrument's role not only in jazz, but also in other genres of music.  - ART

Tomorrow: Kim discusses the opportunities for independent musicians, the possible rise of a broader "musician middle class", and how she's innovating the traditional manager role.

Kim Giles is the founder and CEO of Beyond One Entertainment. Find her on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Photo by Flickr user James Cridland, used under Creative Commons license