[Dixielandjazz] Number of OKOM Fans

[Stephen Barbone]

Commercial statistics indicate that Jazz records, sell about 4% of the
total record market. How much of that is OKOM is anybody's guess, but
perhaps OKOM record sales account for 1% of the annual record sales in
the USA.

The Concert market is also pretty clear. Look at the "Arts" sections of
any newspaper and see that Eminem, Rappers, and other music genres are
the most successful. E.g.. Paul McCartney draws 50,000 people at major
stadiums, Eminem, at least that many. No jazz gets these results.

MTV is another category where Jazz gets virtually no exposure. Current
Pop stars, Rap, etc., gather huge exposure here. Tony Bennett claims
that his successful comeback to relative popularity started when at his
son's suggestion, he got involved with MTV and music videos.

OKOM is wonderful, casual listeners love it. If promoted properly, you
can draw a crowd. But, it is a very small audience compared to POP, RAP,
ROCK, etc.

And when you look at it in the past, Jazz was never America's popular
music. A watered down "sweet" version of jazz (Lombardo, Whiteman et al)
was America's popular music. Real jazz was played when the musos from
these bands got together and jammed after hours, or occasionally by
small band groups led by hard heads like Red Norvo who played what they
wanted to play, not what the "public" wanted.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone