Smooth Jazz News

What Smooth Jazz News does

Smooth Jazz News is an independent, advertising-supported magazine and digital publication founded in 1999 and headquartered in San Diego, California. The company produces five print editions annually covering contemporary smooth jazz music alongside lifestyle, travel, festival, and cruise content, complemented by a digital online edition accessible via its website and Issuu archive (dating back to 2005), an e-commerce merchandise store for jazz-themed apparel, and an active social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. Its core audience consists of smooth jazz enthusiasts seeking concert, festival, and travel information, while its primary revenue customers are artists, festival organizers, cruise operators, radio stations, and related businesses targeting that demographic.

The business operates primarily on an advertising-funded model, supplemented by direct-to-consumer print subscriptions priced at $25 per year for five issues delivered via U.S.P.S. first-class mail. Distribution channels include direct subscription fulfillment (Advantage Inc.), self-serve digital reading, social media, and an email newsletter. The publication is led by Publisher Melanie Maxwell with Craig Collier handling distribution and operations, supported by a very small team of 1-10 employees. The technology stack is a standard WordPress CMS with email marketing and social media integration, and the company maintains no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, no external funding, and no parent company.

The publication monetizes its niche audience through recurring annual editorial coverage aligned with flagship U.S. festivals (Jazz Fest Pompano Beach, Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest, Seabreeze Jazz Festival, San Diego Smooth Jazz Festival, Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival) and through dedicated sponsor relationships such as Payne Pest Management. The company also hosts annual Anniversary Brunch Parties & Jam Sessions as a customer-retention and advertiser-engagement channel. Overall, the business model is that of a vertically specialized, lifestyle niche-media property with deep community ties but a small scale, limited geographic footprint (concentrated in a handful of U.S. cities), and no disclosed institutional backing or growth-stage capital.

Name

Smooth Jazz News

Legal name

Smooth Jazz News

Website

https://smoothjazznews.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smooth Jazz News is a privately held, San Diego-based independent magazine and digital publication founded in 1999 that covers contemporary smooth jazz music, festivals, lifestyle, and travel for enthusiast readers and industry advertisers across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Diego

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Advertising Revenue: Primary revenue stream funded entirely by advertising revenues. Advertisers include artists, event producers, festivals, cruises, destinations, and related businesses targeting smooth jazz enthusiasts nationwide.
2. Print Magazine Subscriptions: Print publication subscription model generating revenue through annual subscriptions. Five issues published per year (February-March, April-May, June-July, August-September, October-November-December) distributed by U.S.P.S. first-class mail.
3. Digital Content Access: Digital online version of the magazine available alongside print subscriptions. Online archive access through platforms like Issuu for past issues.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Smooth Jazz News publishes a print magazine five times per year (February-March through October-November-December) covering smooth jazz artists, festivals, concerts, cruises, and jazz-themed travel destinations, distributed via U.S.P.S. first-class mail to subscribers at $25 annually. The publication also operates a digital online edition, a content website, a jazz-themed merchandise store, and a direct-sold advertising platform connecting artists, festivals, cruises, and destinations with smooth jazz enthusiasts nationwide. The publication is supported primarily by advertising revenue with subscription fees as a secondary stream.

Product overview

Smooth Jazz News is a lifestyle and travel magazine publication centered around smooth jazz artists and events, established in 1999. The company operates a multi-channel portfolio consisting of a print magazine published five times annually (February-March, April-May, June-July, August-September, and October-November-December), a digital online edition accessible via web platform, the SmoothJazzNews.com website serving as the primary digital hub, an e-commerce concert clothing store, and an advertising/marketing platform connecting jazz industry stakeholders with the publication's dedicated audience. The print and digital magazines serve as the core products, while the website functions as the content delivery and community engagement platform, supplemented by merchandise sales and advertising services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Smooth Jazz News Print Magazine A lifestyle and travel print magazine centered around smooth jazz artists and events, published five times per year. Subscriptions are available for $25 per year for five print issues delivered by U.S.P.S. first-class mail.
• Smooth Jazz News Digital Online Edition Digital online version of the magazine accessible through the website, featuring the same editorial content as the print edition in a read-online format.
• Smooth Jazz News Website The company's primary web platform providing access to breaking news, concert and festival coverage, artist features, jazz-themed travel content, radio station directories, and archives dating back to 2005.
• Concert Clothing/Merchandise Store An e-commerce section selling jazz-themed merchandise and concert clothing items for smooth jazz enthusiasts.
• Advertising and Marketing Platform A targeted marketing and advertising platform connecting artists, events, festivals, cruises, destinations, and related businesses with dedicated smooth jazz enthusiasts nationwide, offering digital marketing programs, website banners, email promotions, social media posts, and event calendar listings.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Catalina ExpressminorOthersCatalina Express serves as a transportation sponsor for Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival content, providing ferry services to Catalina Island for festival attendees.
• Payne Pest ManagementcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMajor sponsor of smooth jazz events and festivals. Founded by Willie Payne Jr. and Kathy Payne, they have been key supporters of the smooth jazz community for years, sponsoring festivals, cruises, and community events. Sponsored stage at KIFM's San Diego Gaslamp Festival and Lites-Out Jazz at the Beach.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Relix Magazine: Relix covers jam band, jazz, and live music with festival coverage and lifestyle content. While it focuses on jam and rock adjacent genres, its festival-first coverage and lifestyle-adjacent advertising model are comparable to Smooth Jazz News's festival-driven editorial calendar.

Broad incumbents

• Billboard: Billboard is the dominant music industry trade publication covering charts, festivals, and artist news. It is a broad incumbent in the music publishing space that competes for artist and festival advertising budgets at a national scale, although it does not specialize in smooth jazz.
• Rolling Stone: Rolling Stone is a major music and lifestyle magazine covering broad genres, festivals, and culture. While it does not focus on smooth jazz, it competes for the same branded advertising categories (lifestyle, travel, festivals) and is the gold standard for music/lifestyle magazine publishing.

Others

• Catalina Island JazzTrax Festival: JazzTrax is a long-running smooth jazz festival and a major recurring advertiser/editorial focus of Smooth Jazz News. It is not a publishing peer but an ecosystem partner that consumes advertising inventory and generates editorial coverage, serving as a proxy for the live smooth jazz economy.

Regional players

• Jazz FM (UK): Jazz FM is a UK-based smooth jazz and jazz radio station with associated digital content and events. It is comparable in audience targeting (smooth jazz enthusiasts) and commercial model (events, sponsorships, digital content) but operates in a different geography.

Direct peers

• Jazziz Magazine: Jazziz is a print and digital jazz magazine featuring artist profiles, reviews, and lifestyle content. It serves the same audience of jazz enthusiasts and competes for artist and festival advertising, making it a closely comparable niche peer.
• DownBeat Magazine: DownBeat is a long-running print and digital magazine covering jazz, the most direct competitor in the jazz-media category. It targets jazz enthusiasts and runs advertising sold to artists, festivals, and venues, mirroring Smooth Jazz News's core GTM motion on a broader jazz scope.
• JazzTimes: JazzTimes is a print and online magazine covering jazz artists, festivals, and lifestyle. It competes for the same advertising dollars from artists, festivals, and lifestyle brands and serves a similar enthusiast audience, making it a direct peer in product and customer base.
• All About Jazz: All About Jazz is a leading online jazz publication with reviews, news, and festival coverage. It overlaps with Smooth Jazz News's digital content and advertising platform and is a primary destination for the same enthusiast readers, with a broader jazz focus but similar business model.
• Smooth Jazz Network: Smooth Jazz Network is a digital-first smooth jazz media platform with streaming radio and editorial content. It directly competes for the same niche audience and advertising sponsorships from smooth jazz festivals and artists.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SmoothJazzNews
• Facebookfacebook.com/Smooth-Jazz-News-123513291125001
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smooth-jazz-news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Smooth Jazz News