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UK Jazz News — formerly LondonJazz News — was started as a blog by Sebastian Scotney in 2009, and has gone on growing ever since. It now involves a substantial team of contributors and helpers.
The website publishes a daily flow of news, previews, reviews and interviews, with occasionally up to 80 new pieces per month during peak seasons and a record of 11 on a single day. The unmediated voice of the musician is a feature. One commentator wrote: “LJN has given musicians a voice in the jazz press.” The site provides what has been called “the most in-depth local jazz coverage on the planet” — The Jazz Line (May 2013).
The team has editorial control; up to 20% of the content forms part of advertising packages and is discreetly marked as such. UKJN also covers jazz and jazz-related news from way beyond the UK (just as the London Review of Books is not restricted to books on, from or about London).
UK JazzNews starts from a genuine enthusiasm for jazz and related music, for the energy, range and diversity of the scene all around us, and for the people who make it happen. It is a not-for-profit venture – we know the jokes about that too.
Our weekly newsletter – subtitled Wednesday Breakfast Headlines – has become an industry must-read since launching in 2010. You can sign up on this site and join our currently 7,500 active subscribers. The emails feature a prominently displayed prize draw, normally part of an advertising package. The newsletter exclusively connects to a “Read Elsewhere” section, a very popular aggregator of news and comment from other sources.
Our Facebook page has grown organically to 10k+ followers (status: Sep 2024) just ahead of Instagram with 7.5k followers. We are actively increasing engagement focussed activities on both platforms and prioritise our advertisers’ content for additional visibility. We’re always exploring additional channels to connect with the jazz community and increase visibility of the genre and the UK scene specifically.
UKJN has been reaching over 50k followers on the X (formerly Twitter), but is currently winding down engagement and active posting besides our automatic updates due to platform concerns.
We have competitively priced, scheduled, four-pronged marketing packages based around the site, the newsletter, and our social media presence. Please see our up-to-date rates and tiered packages.
Sebastian is responsible for the running of the site and commissioning written and recorded material. He is the primary contact for general enquiries and subscriptions to the UK Jazz newsletter mailing list. Sebastian founded the site in 2009. He works in the Musicbase at Kings Place in London.
Email: sebastian@ukjazznews.com
Catherine co-ordinates our reviewing activity. She is the first point of contact for CD review requests which are circulated to our reviewer panel.
We offer a strictly limited number of advertising spaces which also include raising social media profile and feature opportunities. Romy deals with advertisers, and co-ordinates and schedules. Romy is an experienced live music marketer, and the timing of our adverts, prize draws and features is discussed with each advertiser to maximise impact. NB the reviewing activity is autonomous and reviews are never offered as part of any advertising package.
Peter joined the team in December 2016, having formerly blogged at thejazzbreakfast.wordpress.com. From 2020 he is restricting his involvement to nattering on the telephone with Sebastian (which he enjoys very much) plus very occasional writing and sub-editing.
Further members of the contributing team are involved with editing: Rob Edgar and Leah Williams.
Leah does a regular sub-editing stint, and Rob is also co-responsible for production of the weekly e-newsletter.
Saxophonist/arranger Charlie Rees is a current student on the B.Mus course at the Royal Academy of Music, writes features, previews and news stories.
Responsible for running the digital backend of the website and email platform to lay out the virtual red carpet for our great writers, contributors, artists and advertisers. The 2024 design and VI of the rebrand to UK Jazz News have also gone through her hands.
