Introducing All About Jazz Media

For more than three decades, All About Jazz has connected audiences with the music, the artists, and the stories that define jazz. With the launch of All About Jazz Media, we're expanding that mission into something much bigger: a new kind of media ecosystem designed not just to showcase jazz—but to sustain it.

All About Jazz Media is a global content and funding platform built on a simple but powerful idea: audience engagement should directly support the artists, educators, and cultural infrastructure that make the music possible. Through original programming—podcasts, radio, video, and more—we'll create compelling content that reaches a worldwide audience. But unlike traditional media platforms, this engagement doesn't stop at consumption. It fuels a transparent, circular model where revenue generated from listening, viewing, and membership is reinvested back into the creative community.

That means supporting artists through compensation and grants, funding new recordings and productions, partnering with educators and institutions, and strengthening the broader jazz ecosystem in a continuous cycle of creation and reinvestment. For creators, it's a platform to produce meaningful work and participate in a sustainable economic model. For audiences, it's an opportunity to go beyond listening—to actively support and shape the future of the music. We believe the future of jazz depends on more than exposure—it depends on sustainability, transparency, and community participation. All About Jazz Media is how we bring those elements together. So stay tuned and watch our introduction video. 

If you have an idea for original programming, pitch it to us at [email protected].

See you at jazzahead 2026!

As we introduced yesterday, All About Jazz Media represents the next evolution of All About Jazz—an ecosystem designed to do more than showcase the music. It's built to support it. Through original programming and global distribution, we're creating a transparent, circular model where creation ?? distribution ?? engagement ?? revenue ?? reinvestment directly benefits artists, educators, and the broader creative community—strengthening the long-term sustainability of improvisational music.

And to kick things off, All About Jazz Media will be present at this year's jazzahead! industry conference in Bremen, Germany, from April 22—24. If you're attending, please visit our booth (Stand #6A41 in Hall 6) and say hello to John March (pictured). John and I have partnered to create AAJ Media, and he'll be on hand to answer questions, explore collaborative opportunities—and gladly accept sushi or Korean barbecue recommendations.

You can reach out to John ahead of the conference to schedule a time to meet at our booth. He's at [email protected].

---

Spotify Crossed the Line

Over time, serious concerns have emerged about how streaming platforms compensate musicians. That issue alone has been widely discussed within the jazz community. More recently, however, additional concerns have surfaced around the attribution and presentation of recordings on the platform—concerns raised publicly by respected artists including Jason Moran and Benny Green. Taken together, these developments have led us to a clear decision: we can no longer support Spotify as part of our editorial ecosystem. As a result, we are discontinuing Spotify playlists from our Song of the Week program.

We originally partnered with Spotify to extend the reach of our Song of the Day selections, using a third-party platform to help bring greater visibility to the music we feature. That goal remains important—but we cannot continue in good conscience under the current circumstances. We also note that Spotify has not provided playlist-level analytics to independent curators in a way that allows for meaningful evaluation of audience engagement—something that has long limited our ability to assess impact. For those who have followed and enjoyed our playlists, we sincerely appreciate your support and regret any inconvenience this change may cause. You can still explore our selections directly on All About Jazz, where our commitment to artists remains unchanged. If you would like to share concerns with Spotify, we encourage you to do so directly.

---

Posted to Publisher's Desk IN THE All About Jazz GROUP
Read more posts by Michael Ricci