smoothfm celebrates fifth birthday with new song

• smoothfm celebrates its fifth birthday, as the #1 FM radio station in Sydney and Melbourne, on Sunday 21 May

smoothfm has released a special song today, featuring the vocals of Australian rock and pop singer Rick Price.

Nova Entertainment's 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 #1 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 the milestone, smoothfm has partnered with Sony to record an original song inspired by Tony Power’s hit, "Keith 98.6", featuring the vocals of Australian singer Rick Price.

Price has worked with numerous artists including smoothfm favourite Tina Arena. His debut single reached #3 on the ARIA charts, he produced two top 10 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.

Paul Jackson recently spoke to Mediaweek about the ratings success at the Sydney and Melbourne stations.

As part of the executive team that launched smoothfm, getting both stations to #1 in Sydney and Melbourne was as good as it gets. “It was the best day ever,” Jackson confirmed to Mediaweek after a pause to consider how good the news was, “because smoothfm is the dearest thing to my heart.”

Read the interview here.

Photo: smoothfm announcers Richard Wilkins, Melissa Doyle, Cameron Daddo and Byron Webb