The central aim of this thesis is to address the research question: In what ways are digital media affecting the dissemination of jazz in Britain? Within this are four sub-questions:\ud
1.	Has the changing position of jazz in British culture since 1980 affected its audience?\ud
2.	Has digital media had the same impact on the dissemination of jazz as it has on mainstream popular music?\ud
3.	How is digital technology affecting jazz scenes in the UK?\ud
4.	Is there an ‘online community’ of jazz enthusiasts in Britain?\ud
The term ‘digital media’ suggests that geographical boundaries are irrelevant, but basing this project in the UK provides a focus for the research, both in terms of jazz as an established cultural form in Britain and in order to investigate British jazz audiences. Theoretical approaches from several disciplines are drawn upon, including cultural studies, new media studies, ethnomusicology, popular music studies and jazz studies. Research methods include surveys of audiences at selected jazz festivals in Britain using questionnaires along with interviews with the festival directors, online surveys, and interviews with jazz enthusiasts. The broad findings indicate that while jazz is one of many types of music available to contemporary audiences who may also listen to other genres, there are fans of particular styles choosing to attend certain live events – increasingly making use of digital media to find information and facilitate their decisions. Sites such as YouTube are popular with jazz audiences, and there are independent jazz record labels that use digital media effectively, unlike, according to some respondents, certain jazz musicians. Audiences (which include a significant proportion of musicians) are now using social networking sites to create online groups with shared musical interests, but this activity has not prevented jazz being essentially a music of live performance – and indeed may be helping to keep it live