Last month Everette Harp asked for feedback on the downward trend in smooth jazz CD sales.

“This enquiry is not just in regards to me as an artist, but the genre as a whole. I am interested in honest feedback... If you think the artists and music sound too similar and is not worth buying let me know this as well... Just be honest. Any information or dialogue started here might go a long way in helping us improve the smooth jazz artists' relationship with its radio audience, and hopefully spur the record sales we absolutely need to continue to provide you with the music we think you would love.”

Thanks for asking!

Let's talk about the music itself first. Everyone who has been to a live concert knows that smooth jazz CDs are not even close to being as exciting as live shows.  I know they can't be as exciting, but it should at least sound like the same artist playing!

Contrary to smooth jazz marketing campaigns, not everyone listens to or buys smooth jazz for the express purpose of making love to. And contrary to what the smooth jazz radio consultants convince the stations, a lot of us buy CDs because we want to listen to the music, not put it on as background at a dinner party or at the office. The 35-55 age bracket grew up listening to music with character - rock and R&B. We were rowdy, smoked pot, got drunk, danced and liked to party (and some of us probably still do)!  We'd prefer music that reflects that background, as opposed to a background where your main exposure to music was at the dentist office, on an elevator, or listening to EZ Radio.  And unlike 20 years ago, people who are 50 do not consider themselves to be "old" or "getting old."  We still live very active lifestyles, and we'd prefer our music reflects that.

No matter how good or exciting an individual CD might be, or how great an individual artist is, it's really very hard to get excited about the 10th all-covers CD about to be released. And similarly, no matter how good the song might actually be in the raw, it's impossible to get worked up over the 50th soprano sax player who sounds like Kenny G, or the 15th guitar player who sounds like George Benson. Why buy another CD that sounds so similar to ten others I have in my collection?

But there are great smooth jazz artists and great smooth jazz CDs that are worth buying. We wouldn't publish this site every month if we didn't believe that. I'm not a marketing expert, I'm just a person who buys the CDs. But let's talk about actually buying CDs. You can't buy what you don't know about, and it's difficult to buy what you can't easily find.

The vast majority of time and money spent on marketing music is directed at teens and very young adults. It's the demographic that buys the most popular music, so that's understandable. But the same strategies don't work on adults. Adults are not likely to rush out and buy a CD on its release date. Most adult music consumers probably aren't even aware of what the release dates are. They hear a song on the radio or in a friend's car or at a friend's house. It might have been out a year before they buy it.

Record labels don't like that process. They like to strike hard and fast and sell lots of copies quickly. They can do that with teens and young adults, so that's where the advertising dollars go. They spend very little promoting “niche music” like smooth jazz… which brings me back to you can't buy what you don't know about, and it's difficult to buy what you can't easily find.

I live in a mid-sized, Mid-Atlantic city. My choices of purchasing CDs in a brick and mortar store are Best Buy (moderate selection of smooth jazz), Circuit City (small selection of smooth jazz), and FYE (moderate selection at full suggested retail prices).  In this part of the country you can count Target, Wal-Mart and Kmart out of the picture. With the exception of Kenny G, they don't carry any smooth jazz.

That leaves the internet, and the internet is a great source of music for the adult consumer. But while some of us are pretty internet savvy and don't hesitate to buy online, but there are a lot of 40-and-up adults who would never buy anything online.  Remember that “you can't buy what you don't know about, and it's difficult to buy what you can't easily find” thing?

But give us interesting, exciting music and time to discover it. Play that on the radio instead of musical Zanex and oldies from the 70s and 80s. We'll find a way to buy it.

- Elizabeth Ware