Steve: Not necessarily. But Naxos could succeed with "jazz" whatever that means, by following a similiar strategy. We all know of hundreds of small local or national jazz/improvised music labels that put out excellent discs that are never heard in nearby towns, let alone other countries. With its classical inroads Naxos has the store shelf space to sell these discs under a generic label. So if it worked out a deal with some of those little labels, it would have excellent product that it could then sell in those spots. Considering many jazz folks have their own imprints -- Gerry Hemingway and Frank Gratkowski to name two -- these deals may be quite easy to make. Or am I being too naive or simplistic? Ken --- Steve Smith <ssmith36@sprynet.com> wrote> Right now, Naxos is in the process of reevalutating
the possibility of a contemporary jazz line, and assessing just what it would take to make a successful run of it. Meanwhile, it comes as little surprise that their latest non-classical venture is a burgeoning new world-music line, where again, "South Africa" and "Cambodia" are as recognizable as "Bach and "Mozart," perhaps more so, and no further sales push is necessary at that price point.
Personally, I think that with very little extra effort (like a strategic licensing agreement with King, whose excellent World Music Library series seems to be more or less unavailable at present), Naxos could carve a niche in this market as substantial as their classical presence. But as long as jazz is more wedded to the individual artist than to the concept of "repertoire," Naxos is going to have a hard time staking its claim.
===== Ken Waxman mingusaum@yahoo.ca www.jazzword.com - Jazz/improv news, CD reviews and photos ______________________________________________________________________ Post your free ad now! http://personals.yahoo.ca