When we launched SmoothViews three years ago, the genre we call smooth jazz was not getting much good press. It was mostly maligned in publications and on websites that covered any segment of the spectrum that is referred to as jazz. Most publications that made it to the 21st century devoted their pages to coverage of straightahead jazz or the more progressive, improvisational side of contemporary. Participants in Internet forums engaged in ongoing discussions of what is and isn't "jazz." Concluding, of course, that the pop instrumental end of the contemporary spectrum was not only not jazz, but did not merit discussion at all. The few websites and publications that did give it any coverage seemed to do it only in the context of background accompaniment for upscale consumerism or social activities. A genre that started out with so much energy and diversity was being shoved into this little niche where everything had to create a background mood that was defined by adjectives that started with s - sultry, seductive, sensual, and of course smooooooth, with the ooooh in the middle stretched into infinity.  Meanwhile a little cadre of us were listening to the tracks that were not designated "singles," songs other than the softest and most unobtrusive one on the album, and seeing artists work the crowd into a playful frenzy and get standing ovations and screams for encores precisely because they did not hold back. As comments on the decline of the music became more profuse, we wanted to showcase the aspects that had been pushed underground - the exciting and creative elements of the music and the artistry, creativity, and intelligence of the people who create it.

When we hit the web in November 2004, Warner Bros had already eliminated their jazz division, shedding an impressive roster of genre mainstays, but keeping Boney James and Norman Brown in hopes of converting them to Urban Adult Contemporary acts. Windham Hill's attempt to move into contemporary jazz had sputtered, and Narada had built a very respectable roster consisting largely of artists who left those two labels. GRP seemed to be revitalized with the addition of new stars like Mindi Abair and Brian Culbertson, and innovative releases by long-time favorites like Al Jarreau. Radio was cutting their playlists to even smaller selections of songs, but you could still hear original instrumentals by the big name artists and an occasional up and comer. One consulting company controlled the content of most of the influential radio stations, but the people who were on the air were still mostly local. Some local Program Directors still had input into what they played, and there were even a few independents who listened to the voices of their own listeners, rather than focusing on distant voices from industry epicenters like LA. Most artists were still aligned with record companies, and those who chose to release a CD on their own were still viewed with a tinge of skepticism. Were they self-releasing because they couldn't pass the quality control criteria of a real record company? Those who were signed had a support system of promotion people and publicists to spread the word about their music and help them get it in front of the audience. It seemed like there was a star-studded sold-out cruise heading out of some port somewhere almost monthly. And you could still walk into a store and buy a CD. Not as easily as you could if you were looking for a Top 40 smash, but you could find more than just Kenny G and Enya on a major retail shelf.

Change happens fast. Over the last three years record companies reconfigured. GRP phased out their smooth jazz artists and tried to shift to Adult Alternative vocals, but still haven't found their John Mayer or James Blunt. Narada stepped under the Blue Note umbrella and cut long-time staffers in the process. Some heritage artists started boutique labels or decided to do it all themselves. Most of them don't have the promotion or marketing resources that used to be taken for granted, so they are throwing themselves into the fray of zillions of new releases and trying to stand out enough to sell some copies. The fragmented foundations of brick and mortar retail totally crumbled, with even the biggies like Tower finally closing their doors. Airplay dried up when a syndicated network replaced local programming in the most critical time periods on most of the major smooth jazz radio stations. The format itself took a false-step off the path when they ventured into chill, then decided to reinvent itself entirely by moving toward Smooth Adult Contemporary - a mix of lite pop vocal crossover hits, oldies from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and instrumental versions of those same oldies. Like Adult Contemporary in the early 90s, it also has become the last gasp before oblivion for singers trying to resuscitate careers, and a few newbies that couldn't crack the code to get on the "real" A/C or Top 40 airwaves. The satellite service that provided at least a small amount of innovation is about to merge with the one that sounds just like the corporate radio format. Concert attendance is down as people decide to stay home and watch HD instead of dealing with ticket prices, outrageous service charges, parking, surly security staffers, and rude people in the audience who talk on their cell phones, or eat and chat loudly among themselves. In some locations where radio stations bring in artists for free concerts and showcases, the audience becomes hesitant to pay for concerts when there is so much free stuff available so promoters throw their hands up in frustration and give up.

The artists don't know how to find their audience or get their music heard. The fans don't know how to find their music, and traditional resources don't give them a chance to hear what is available. Musicians put their hearts, souls, and creative spark into songs, then hand them to the record company and wait for the depleted promotional staff to make it happen. After all, that worked in the 90s, and even the early 2000s. Sadly, it doesn't work now, and some are still wary of becoming more proactive, interactive, or building a following from the grassroots up. The star system only works for the few prefab hit-makers that record companies can sell to Top 40,  That is transient, and only applies to extremely young performers, not the seasoned musicians that appeal to adults. Fans who make their way to the Internet are overwhelmed by promotional hype, information overload, and the blessing or curse of too many choices.

It sounds like a litany of woes, but it's really just change knocking on the door then kicking it in. Does change come too fast? Yeah. Can it be stopped? No. So the best thing to do is shake off the shock, look it straight in the eye and figure out how to adapt and use it advantageously. The technology that has shaken up our careers is also a new playground full of ways to get the music heard. The state of independence gives an artist the ability to give the audience what they want instead of second-guessing a small group of people who grade seven-second clips of songs on a scale of 1-5. The infiltration of so-called "non professionals," as bloggers, website owners, and even publicists and managers brings passion, authenticity, and a lack of cynicism into the game. After the initial shock of having your traditional structure ripped out from under you, there is the freedom to rise from the ashes. Freelancing is scary, but you can promote and work with the artists you really care about instead of the ones that are deemed "priority" in a given week. It's a shock for a lot of the old-school musicians to have to get out and shake hands and kiss babies like politicians on a stump, but starting with a smaller rabid following that spreads the word and creates a ripple effect, evokes more trust than a prefab publicity campaign. A lot of artists are releasing CDs that sound truer to their original spirit than anything they have done for years, and the amount of blogs, websites and Internet radio stations that are supporting the music is growing daily. Plus, you can impulse buy any CD or song you want from an online music retailer without even having to put on shoes and get in the car. All we have to do now is find more ways to make the fans aware of all these resources, and support them as they learn how to use them.

Seeing Acoustic Alchemy in concert the other night was a stunning reminder of the bottom line: through all of this, there is one thing that is lasting and true. That's the music. That song that you hear that leaves you breathless, the performance that shifts time and space, and the experience of sharing that feeling with a room full of people. The music industry may lag behind, stick too close to the beaten path, or veer in directions that do not have the audience or the artists in mind, but the music is the constant - the experience of creating it, hearing it and sometimes living inside it. That is the starting point. Spend time in that place, and the ideas we need to create the new business models will come, as well as the necessity of doing the work that it entails. That's why we are here, and that is why we applaud and support all the other musicians, independent record companies, writers, bloggers, Internet radio programmers, website owners, freelance publicists, and everyone else who is stepping out of their financial safety zone, because the music matters enough to keep the candle burning till we can collectively create the light at the end of the tunnel.

-Shannon West