Is jazz music radio nearing extinction?
Hey there! I am very lucky where I live to have a non-for-profit, no-commercial, all day every day jazz station. Playing everything from Miles to Medeski, Joplin to Jobim, Cole Porter to Chris Potter. However, I think there are only a handful of these stations nationwide. The thing is, I don’t think there have been too many of these stations ever. Most radio stations are supported by advertising (which sucks to listen to on the radio), and companies pay for advetising on radio stations that play popular music (rock, oldies, pop, hip-hop, country), becuase that is what the most people listen to. Jazz radio is not nearing extinction. There just hasn’t been a huge audience for it since probably the forties. Now, with the internet, more and more jazz stations are appearing online. Even our station (KUVO) broadcasts online for free so that everyone in the world can listen. Isn’t this expansion of jazz music radio? I think it is. There are hundreds of free jazz stations online now, which you
