Jazz On The Beeb – A Love Supreme Or Kind Of Blue? - Music Tank Event

19th January 2010, Cockpit Theatre, Marylebone

• Details Announced For Latest MusicTank Event
• 2 Jazz Services Reports To Be Launched – On Current Jazz Economics And The Future Of Jazz On Radio
• BBC To Come Under Heavy Criticism

The University of Westminster’s music business network MusicTank continues its series of think tanks with a discussion of the future of UK jazz, focusing in particular on the role to be played by the BBC and other publicly funded bodies.  Leading jazz support network Jazz Services will be launching two significant new reports at the event, and inviting discussion with the reports’ authors.Mykaell Riley (Head of Music Production, University of Westminster) will begin the event by presenting  an overview of the economic standing of jazz in the UK.  This will be followed by a brief  question and answer session from the floor.MusicTank chairman Keith Harris will then introduce the main thrust of the debate: author, lecturer and journalist Professor Stuart Nicholson’s keynote address making the case for greater support for jazz from public sector broadcasting.The event will take place at the Cockpit Theatre, historically the scene of many classic jazz radio broadcasts and live recordings including the eclectic 1970’s “Music In The Round”, and currently the home of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra.Speakers will include Chris Hodgkins (Director, Jazz Services) and report authors Nicholson and Riley.The ReportsThe first report will set the scene with an overview of the economic standing of jazz in the UK.  The second will focus in more depth on the impact of public sector broadcasting policy on jazz, and will examine the needs of jazz – and by extension other niche genres – in a changing digital broadcasting environment.“The Value Of Jazz in Britain Two”(Mykaell Riley and David Laing)Jazz services published the original “The Value Of Jazz in Britain” in December 2006.  The report showed that the annual turnover of the jazz sector of the British music industry was almost £88 million in 2004-05.  This report follows up these findings by comparing the original statistics with those from 2008.  Factors including record sales, funding and other economic indicators will be assessed, and a picture of the changing face of jazz in Britain will be revealed.Mykaell Riley is Head of Music Production at the University of Westminster.  David Laing is the author of several books on popular music and a former editor of Music Week.“The BBC – Jazz, Policy and Structure in The Digital Age”(Stuart Nicholson, Emma Kendon and Chris Hodgkins, foreword by John Fordham)In the eyes of many in the British Jazz economy, the BBC is no longer supporting jazz to the extent that it could, and many feel, should.  This paper examines the specific needs of jazz, with its particular emphasis on live performance, and how these needs are being met by the BBC in comparison to other European public broadcasters. The issues affecting jazz impact upon broadcasting policy for all niche genres, including classical and opera.  The report also suggests a solution that maximises DAB’s potential to deliver targeted, niche digital radio programming to what is claimed to be a hungry yet largely under-served audience and as such, attunes well to the Government’s recent Digital Britain report.Professor Stuart Nicholson is a lecturer, broadcaster, journalist and author of six books on jazz, including Is Jazz Dead: or Has It Moved to a New Address. Chris Hodgkins is director of Jazz Services and Emma Kendon a trustee.Event DetailsDate: 19th JanuaryTime: The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, LondonTravel: Neatest tubes: Marylebone (Bakerloo); Edgware Rd (District, Circle, Hammersmith).  Free on-street parking from 6:30pmCost: Standard – £35 / trade body members – £30 / members – £25-ends-ABOUT MUSICTANKMusicTank is the UK's music business network, an initiative of the University of Westminster, set up with the support of 14 UK music industry organisations.MusicTank aims to foster new collaborations and circulate innovative ideas, best practice and cutting-edge strategies to increase innovation and productivity across the business.  Regular think tanks bring hot topics into sharp focus and help pinpoint the opportunities created by disruptive technologies.MusicTank conferences deal with everything from record production to copyright review while occasional social evenings blend the entertaining recollections of music business virtuosos with the opportunity to develop valuable industry contacts.MusicTank aims to override traditional partitions by providing improved access to expert knowledge via musictank.co.uk, the leading music business web-site, offering free industry discussion on new business techniques alongside useful reports and comments from leading lights.www.musictank.co.uk ABOUT JAZZ SERVICESJazz Services provides a voice for jazz, promoting its growth, accessibility and development in the UK through the provision of services in information, publishing, education, touring, communications and marketing.Jazz Services is a registered charity funded by Arts Council England with financial assistance for the Jazz Promoters Scheme from the Performing Right Society Foundation.Jazz Services was formed as the London Jazz Centre Society Limited on the 20th January 1969 and changed its name to the Jazz Centre Society in November 1969. On the 18th April 1984 the Jazz Centre Society became Jazz Services Limited.