smoothfm celebrates its fifth birthday, as the number one FM radio station in Sydney and Melbourne, on Sunday.
And to celebrate smoothfm has released a special song today, featuring the vocals of Australian rock and pop singer Rick Price.
smoothfm launched in May 2012 with a “unique music position” and the mantra to create an easy place to relax.
Launching with a 4.1%* share in both Sydney and Melbourne, both stations are now number one FM with a 9.9%+ share and have increased by over 1.1 million listeners, to their current combined audience of 1.7* million.
NOVA Entertainment Group Program Director, Paul Jackson said, “We are so proud of smoothfm and the passion our listeners and team have for the station. smoothfm’s success can be attributed to the music and easy-listening format which has resonated with listeners of all ages. A carefully crafted playlist featuring some of the greatest songs and most respected artists from a range of eras, is complemented by our talented presenters who have been handpicked to reflect smoothfm’s music position.”
To celebrate this milestone, smoothfm has partnered with Sony to record an original song inspired by Tony Power’s hit, Keith 98.6, featuring the vocals of Rick Price.
Price has worked with numerous artists including smoothfm favourite, Tina Arena. His debut single reached No. 3 on the ARIA charts, produced two top ten singles and won Song of the Year at the APRA Music Awards. His second album ‘Tamborine Mountain’ reached number 11 on the charts and achieved gold status.
Jackson said, “When I first heard Keith 98.6 I knew it was the perfect song for smoothfm and Rick Price was the best artist to adapt and personalise this special tune. The song has never been covered before for commercial release so we were delighted that the publishers loved the format and sound of the station and as a result allowed us to adapt the song with both station’s frequency and Rick’s special instrumental treatment to create an unexpected surprise for listeners.
smoothfm’s success over the past five years has seen strong growth in breakfast in both states, with Bogart Torelli and Mike Perso in Sydney and Melbourne respectively joined by news journalists Glenn Daniel and Jennifer Hansen.
Both smoothfm stations are number one FM across the day with Ty Frost and Simon Diaz and in evenings with Cameron Daddo, while weekends featuring Melissa Doyle, Richard Wilkins and David Campbell, are the number one choices for the weekend.
Byron Webb is also number one overall in drive Sydney, overtaking all the AM and FM commercial stations.
smoothfm is now a multi-platform entertainment brand with a national footprint on DAB+, the first Australian radio station to extend on TV with smooth on Foxtel and the release of 13 compilation albums in partnership with Sony Music. smoothfm has also extended into the experiential space with the smoothfm Festival of Chocolate returning for a fourth year in 2017, and the launch of the lifestyle destination www.smooth.com.au last year.
You can download Keith 98.6 from iTunes.
Other recent coverage of Smooth:
Mike Person on smooth: “It’s good to be better but it’s better to be different
Smooth – a text book example of research driven strategy, tactics, execution
We have a proud story to tell about smooth fm
We will have more coverage of smooth’s 5th birthday in coming days.
* Nielsen Radio Data, survey 4, 2012 – smoothfm 95.3 – 10+ 4.1% share and cumulative audience 275,000, smoothfm 91.5 – 4.1% share and 337,000 listeners
* GfK Radio report survey 2, 2017 – smoothfm 95.3 – 10+ share 9.9% 876,000 cumulative listeners, smoothfm 91.5 10+ 9.9% share – 878,000 listeners with combined cumulative audience Sydney & Melbourne 1,754,000