May 18, 2009: SoulandJazz.com launched its unique, legal and commercial free podcasting service. Over three years and eleven months on and we’re listened to and read in 164 countries and play host to 960 podcasts and 35 label Showcases featuring music across the spectrum of Soul and Jazz from the last 80 years. Around 30 new, free to download, HD quality, DJ-led podcasts are posted each month along with a further 15 original record label Showcases. We’d like to think there’s something for everyone.
All podcasts are currently available to download as an MP3 (320 kbps) and since March 1, also as a M-PEG 4 (HE-AAC @ 80kbps) as well, for faster downloading and streaming. Our label Showcases are available to stream only and are free to all online or on mobile as a M-PEG 4 (HE-AAC @ 32kbps). HD versions of these Showcases are also available via the Members Lounge.
Subscribers to our RSS feed are notified of each new programme or posting on the website. A playlist is also provided with each programme and contains full artist details, track and album title, along with the original year of release.
Originally, SoulandJazz.com was conceived as a streaming internet radio station. It was only during the research and development stage that it was felt that both the convenience and portability of podcasting outweighed the restraints at that time of our initial idea. This has certainly since, provided a solid platform to introduce our programming ideas to the world.
Early in 2011 we launched our Be Heard! service – our affordable US, UK & European promotional and testing service for both CD and digital album/EP releases and have already worked alongside such fantastic artists as Avery*Sunshine, Gregory Porter and Debórah Bond. This service is currently being revised and readied for a broader offering from May.
SoulandJazz.com Records also premiered in April 2011 with our very first, twelve track release: The Hurst Selection 1. A KILLER 12″ single from Gregory Porter, Room56 and Jazz Collective hit the streets in 2012 as did The Hurst Selection 2 – terrific stuff. Please feel free to click on the link which will take you to a preview page with details of all the good stuff.
We’ve recently launched our It’s Showtime! iPhone App – bringing to life the soul and jazz back-catalogue of record labels, both big & small, from across the decades. For soul, think Stax, Motown, Atlantic, Capitol, Warner Bros, Tabu, Expansion, and Freestyle. For jazz – iconic greats such as Prestige, Fantasy, Pablo, Milestone, GRP, Blue Note and newer standard bearers such as Schema and Mack Avenue. The Showcases, presented as one-hour streamed ‘radio shows’, less the commercials of course, allow Mike Chadwick, Chris Philips and Brian Hurst to bring you some of the greatest music that’s not coming to a radio near you anytime soon. An Android version will also be ready for mid-May. #happyears
As we move further into 2013, we continue to look to broaden our audience, which grows month-on-month. Currently our podcasts and Showcases are downloaded, streamed and listened to over 60,000 hours per week; incredible.
We’re getting ready to test launch SoulandJazz.com LIVE! which from May 18 will initially provide FREE, 24/7, back-to-back music featuring some incredible soul and jazz flavours from around the world, including our growing repertoire of record label Showcases. There’ll be selected ads within the schedule allowing us to provide you with a music offering that’s optimised especially for online and mobile usage. More details are on the way early next month.
World over, everything does of course come at a price. Our new Subscription packages are ready for inspection; just click on the link for details. These may well be of interest to you as from March 1, we were no longer able to offer our entire range of programming and HD streaming for free. It’s just under four years since we began providing all of this good stuff gratis, and our necessary on-going development and running costs cannot be funded from a personal perspective anymore. We’re quite sure you’ll understand. Our Showcases will remain free to stream and content delivered via the Apps also. It’s a big change we know, but one that should help us maintain and grow our position as one of the most trusted platforms for soul and jazz music worldwide. We know we’ve much more work to do.
We hope all of this gets you thinking. For further information please contact Brian Hurst: info@soulandjazz.com
Thanks for listening. Thanks for your support.
Stereo, not stereotypical®
SoulandJazz.com is affiliated with PRS for Music: Licence No: LE-0004556
