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Smooth jazz: a case study in the relationships between commercial radio formats, audience research and music production

The research for this article derives from my PhD and was my first post-doctoral publication. I substantially rewrote my doctoral research to directly address the relative neglect within radio studies of commercial radio programming music formats, the role of audience research and its relationship to music production. I explore in detail how record companies cater to the needs of radio formats and, therefore, the ways in which radio formats play a key part in the processes used to select music for the record market. This article was the first time either the Los Angeles-based research and consultancy firm Broadcast Architecture or the strictly ordered smooth jazz radio format had been the object of academic analysis, and it provides detail of how radio and music industries are inter-connected. I received help and support from my colleagues in the research centre, particularly radio scholars Professor Tim Wall and Professor Andrew Dubber, to rework my thesis and engage with some key issues within the field. The article was published in the peer-reviewed Radio Journal.