I have been a feature writer for Radio World for over 30 years. In 2000 I had the pleasure of interviewing JAM Creative Services president Jon Wolfert for an article about his jingle company, the only one that has been in business under the same name and management, for more than 40 years. That is a record that no one will be able to touch.

But before you read this article, please understand that much has changed in the ensuing years. By the turn of the millennium radio had barely begun consolidation, a process that has now run its course. Production equipment increased its march into the fully digital world, although JAM maintains enough analog gear to produce older packages for its clients. And while jingles for the Internet and podcasts are common today, they were a rarity 17 years ago.

But perhaps the biggest change we have seen since this article appeared in 2000 is that today fewer stations in the United States are able to afford musical jingles, and in many cases they have been replaced by announcer liners. Those jingles that remain in contemporary formats at least, bear little resemblance to the big-band flavored packages that were common from the 1960s through the 1980s.

So with all that in mind, I hope you enjoy the article.


Ken Deutsch
Sunday, June 5, 2016

Part 1	Part 2

 Copyright Ken Deutsch, 2016. All rights reserved.