A Conversation with SmoothJazz.com’s Sandy Shore & Donna Phillips – HuffPost 1.3.14
Mike Ragogna: It’s official. Smooth Jazz is in the top five formats on the internet. You must be pretty excited about its current status.
Sandy Shore: We have never given up on the idea that this music mix would be well received globally. At least the way we present it, the format is really the best of the best from contemporary jazz, pop, funk, chillout/lounge, jazz, soul, neo-soul, world music and even elements of hip hop. The “Smooth Jazz” music mix is predominantly instrumental, only accented by vocals and therefore crosses language barriers with ease, which obviously makes appealing on an international level. And most importantly, the sonic groove feels good and again, when done right, speaks to all age groups.
Donna Phillips: In fact, our age demo on both our site and social media platforms defies that of the past over-consulted FM radio models, proven with the introduction of many new Smooth Jazz acts in their late teens and twenties who have seen great acceptance by audiences worldwide.
SS: So yeah, I’m thrilled that the world embraces Smooth Jazz, but definitely not surprised. I was counting on it! [laughs]
MR: Now that Smooth Jazz has evolved into something beyond its stereotype of light and breezy, how has your online station adapted to the change?
SS: At the risk of not sounding humble, we believe that we helped destroy this stereotype. We’ve been Redefining “Smooth Jazz” since the beginning of SmoothJazz.com in 2000 and in many states in the US and countries around the world, defining the format, so there’s no need to adapt to the change we set in motion nearly 15 years ago. And for me, way before that when I was programming the format in Monterey, California, on KXDC, we called the station “Radio Pacific” and played music that some would never have imagined blended together. We also have brought back album-oriented radio. With our World Premiers of new music from format legends, we literally play the albums all the way through the weekend before they’re released and the artist sits in the studio and takes the listener track-by-track of why they included each and every song. We’ve had the privilege of doing this with George Benson, Al Jarreau, Boney James, Dave Koz, Keiko Matsui and many more. In the new year, Dianne Reeves.
DP: Due to our independently owned and operated status with SmoothJazz.com, we’ve been able to create from an instinctual place focusing on relevant new ways to connect the audience not only with the music, but the artists behind the music as well as the many unique live event opportunities to experience the music. This more open experimental approach has proven successful in creating a more sustainable sales model for the record labels and more impactful and lasting branding model for rising star artists. By remaining more open and inclusive, the future appears endless with possibility for this diverse music genre as artists and festivals are encouraged to reach beyond previous limitations for creating and presenting new music. SmoothJazz.com’s slogan is “Nu Jazz No Rules” for the very reason that labels and boxes destroy all living things.
MR: [laugh] Nice. What are the origins of SmoothJazz.com?
SS: I purchased the domain name in 1995 when I was 31 years-old and on the air as a DJ at several California radio stations doing my best to make a living. The $100 required to purchase the name was earmarked for my electricity bill. [laughs] But I was becoming more and more disenfranchised with terrestrial radio, the narrowing of broadcasting, the over-consulting of the music and the longer commercial sets. I knew if there was ever an opportunity to break off from FM and get radio back to an artful medium, the internet was going to be the way. Keep in mind, this was before streaming existed. It would take seven minutes to download 45-seconds of audio back then. I have no idea why I believed so strongly in the future of Internet media, but it was so palpable to me, even then. Maybe because I wanted it so badly, as a listener and a consumer, I knew that the internet would bring deeper dimensions to the limited audio world of radio with visuals and colors and eventually video.
When I met my now business partner of 18 years, Donna Phillips, she put the color into the ideas. Her graphic design degree and willingness to learn how to move the visual experience online, combined with my insatiable desire to broadcast a deep mix of music globally, is the foundation for SmoothJazz.com. We originally used SmoothJazz.com for selling concert tickets for our ’90s Monterey Bay concert productions. Without secure shopping back then, our customers would literally have to print out the order form and mail it in with a check. We are fortunate enough to be within close proximity to the Silicon Valley and many kind-hearted individuals who seemed to overlook our lack of tech savvy, but really bought into our dream of broadcasting around the world. We were told to build our ideas and music library three years before the technology was even available, so we did.
We were grandfathered into the exciting project of “Net Radio” by AOL/Shoutcast, Winamp, Real Audio and our friends at Apple were more than generous with us at the founding of iTunes. I can remember when Steve Jobs’ assistant called me to make sure we were happy with our partnership. In addition to Donna, I brought in Scott O’Brien, who I worked with when he was programming a radio station in Monterey, California. Scott’s programming has always been clever and sophisticated. Even back in the ’70s and ’80s, he featured a progressive mix of music from Pat Metheny to James Taylor. Now based out of Seattle, he’s still at the helm of our music programming of SmoothJazz.com.
MR: By the way, what originally got you into radio?
SS: I knew at 8 years old, I was supposed to be in radio. There was no question about it! I was obsessed with the medium, didn’t go anywhere without my transistor radio. By the time I was 14, I took a Radio & Television course in school and my instructor, who would become my first boss and lifelong mentor, Nicolas Souza, tried to convince me to get into TV. MTV had just debuted and he felt strongly that the future for radio was television. I refused and he hired me at the local AM station on Cannery Row, not because I was any good, but because I wouldn’t take no for an answer, and I started broadcasting at 15. I was on the air in Los Angeles by the time I was 22. Women were not really IN radio in the ’70s and early ’80s. In fact, I was told by one program director that I would never be on the air full time during the day time as women were only used for evenings and weekends. Maybe I should have thought twice before taking a job at KMEN.
MR: Good for you, Sandy. Are there any artists that you feel are the flagbearers for the format?
SS: Oh God, yes, and they come from different corners of the recording industry. The sound really started taking shape with artists like Bob James, Earl Klugh, David Sanborn, Larry Carlton, Spyro Gyra, Chuck Mangione, Joe Sample, George Benson, Al Jarraeau… But before their records, there were artists like Wes Montgomery and Stan Getz whose laid-back style of jazz was really mellow–or “smooth”–and started a trend of relaxing jazz. Then there was the whole fusion jazz contingency with the likes of Herbie Hancock, Yellowjackets, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Jeff Lorber, Stanley Clarke/George Duke, many of whom are still kicking ass today and being rightfully acknowledged for their cutting edge, out of the box artistry. Crossover vocal acts like Anita Baker, Sade, and Simply Red also helped shape the sound of Smooth Jazz back in the day and they became the over-played cornerstone vocalists in the format. Not sure if that helped or hindered their careers, since they were the ones thrown under the bus along with Kenny G when the format became so watered down by certain industry consultants. Plus, the merging of artful, “new age” musicians in the ’80s like Michael Hedges, Mark Isham, Michael Manring that the Windham Hill label promoted were also integrated into the original sonic environment of the first Smooth Jazz radio stations. The format was called NAC back then–New Adult Contemporary. But the true, in the pocket, Smooth Jazz flag bearers? That category would have to include Rick Braun, Jeff Golub, Peter White, Richard Elliot, Jonathan Butler, Dave Koz, Acoustic Alchemy, Fourplay, Boney James, and the like at the top of the list.
MR: What is the demo for Smooth Jazz these days?
SS: For us, with an international audience, our demo skews a little younger and a little more male. Our sound incorporates a lot of fresh music with the goal to keep us sounding contemporary and relevant. We’re seeing the demo age peak between 25-54 as the strongest with a 60/40 split of men/women. Here is the Top 10 on Facebook: US, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Germany, UK, Ireland, Spain, and the Philippines
MR: What’s your favorite recording artist of all time and why?
SS: You do know that’s a very hard question for a radio person? But I know the answer, and I know it because in 2005, I almost lost my mom. She was in critical care for nearly a month and there was only one artist’s music I could listen to and thank God he has many soulful albums to chose from. Van Morrison. I always say he’s tapped into a higher source…
MR: Does SmoothJazz.com embrace new artists and how does it do that?
SS: Absolutely! We’ve built our entire platform around new artists and new music. Nothing makes me feel better about life than discovering new music. That is exactly why I got into radio. My passion for music. Until SmoothJazz.com, there was not a global marketplace for the artists of any format! We created an online environment where the songs we played “on the air” would display the album cover for the duration of the song on our website with links to buy on-line. Back in 2000, nobody was set up to offer worldwide distribution. So before iTunes, we did it. We sold music digitally for the artists we played and cut them checks every month. Eventually, Amazon, iTunes and CD Baby joined the global music distribution movement and SmoothJazz.com has partnered with all of them to further sales for recording artists, both independent and signed.
We realized that the paradigm was shifting and traditional resources for artists were no longer available, so what started out as an on-line version of an FM radio station 14 years ago has become a Global piazza for new artists and new music from favorite artists. I don’t believe that adults lose their enthusiasm for new music; I think consultants wanted us to believe that based on their “research,” but in reality, the online, global music community has proven otherwise. We like to believe that we make stars at SmoothJazz.com. We literally search the world for new, talented artists and bands, and we play them and help them get more airplay through our radio station colleagues like Sirius XM, FM stations around the world, and fellow internet broadcasters. In addition, because of our partnership with worldwide music festivals, we help these discoveries get booked and once they perform at a major festival, other festivals get word and book them as well.
One of my favorite new bands is from Budapest, Hungary–The Peet Project. They’re young guys, great musicians, whose youthful approach to Smooth Jazz is exciting and vibrant. The lead instruments are violin and saxophone with pop vocal choruses. They’re fantastic and they played to standing ovations this year at the SmoothJazz.com sponsored Seabreeze Jazz Festival in Panama City Beach, Florida and the JazzTrax Catalina Island Festival in California. Check out this partial list of our 2014 Event partners: http://smoothjazz.com/jazzblast/Event/hottest_festivals.htm
MR: What advice do you have for new artists?
SS: Make music for you and not for the radio. If it happens to be that the music you make fits the commercial vibe of radio airplay, then great! If that’s not the case, then whatever you’re meant to do with your music will come to you and that will be your music’s calling. Maybe you’ll score motion pictures or perhaps you’ll pioneer an entirely new musical direction. By staying true to your art, you’ll be inspired lifelong. Anything else is not authentic.
MR: What do you see in SmoothJazz.com’s future?
SS: More listeners coming from all musical tastes and a bigger global community of enthusiasts who continue to utilize our radio station and app as a way to stay connected to the jazz lifestyle–the recordings, the artists, the festivals and events, the charts and more. That includes artists, industry, fans and friends. We also hope to see more integration with the SmoothJazz.com audio stream and FM HD channels for local communities who are reconsidering putting the format back on the air. SmoothJazz.com will start broadcasting in Monterey, California in the new year on KWAV 96.9 HD-2 channel. New cars coming from Honda, Ford, Jaguar/Range Rover and many more are rolling out with the new HD radios and we’ll be there, available for the people who still believe that the radio is only that thing with buttons in the middle of your car. We’ve been doing this for 14 years, but I believe this is only the beginning. With the ease of use of new mobile technology, music fans young and old are getting the hang of internet radio. Since the launch of our app in 2012, we jumped from eight-million tune-ins per month to 49 million.
DP: Also, we’ve just entered into a deal with KWAV FM in Monterey, California to broadcast SmoothJazz.com’s stream 24/7 on their HD2 channel in 2014. KWAV is a Buckley Broadcasting property and one of the United State’s premier Adult Contemporary terrestrial radio stations. I’m personally excited about this opportunity as we’ll be able to offer the Smooth Jazz format in the local Monterey Bay community to those who prefer to access their music on car radio consoles. Many makes of new cars are rolling out in 2014 with HD Radios including Honda, Range Rover, Jaguar, Ford… We’re hoping that KWAV proves to be our flagship HD partner as we make this opportunity available to other FM stations around the country.