PARIS — For more than a decade, Jean-Baptiste Tuzet has been building Crooner Radio as a deliberately alternative radio project, combining musical elegance, technological innovation and editorial independence. Launched in France, Crooner Radio is a niche, premium music broadcaster built around jazz, swing and crooner-style repertoire, distributed via DAB+, online streaming and visual-enhanced digital channels. The station positions itself as a curated editorial brand rather than a mass-market music service.
From early investment in DAB+ to producing branded podcasts for major luxury houses, Tuzet believes audio’s future lies in a more focused, value-driven model.
Tuzet describes Crooner Radio not simply as a music station but as a cultural proposition with a clearly defined identity and an international outlook. He points to the station’s recent launch in Luxembourg as evidence that the brand is traveling beyond France. Behind the vintage name, he says, is a deliberate ambition to develop.
After more than 10 years of advocating for DAB+, Tuzet says the technology has finally become a credible driver of modernization and reach. With the majority of new cars in Europe now equipped with DAB+ receivers, he argues that the platform allows Crooner Radio to reach a mobile, high-value audience. Its musical universe spans classic crooners such as Frank Sinatra alongside contemporary jazz voices and international pop artists adopting what he calls a “crooner attitude” for live performances.
Crooner Radio’s resilience, Tuzet argues, comes from rejecting the traditional advertising-heavy radio model. He says it is no longer viable to rely on long commercial breaks and mass promotion. Instead, Crooner positions itself as a premium niche medium, where carefully aligned partnerships replace advertising.
A different economic model
Tuzet prefers to speak of collaboration rather than advertising, with branded content designed to fit the station’s editorial universe. This approach, he says, reflects what he calls a “new radio economy,” built on lighter structures, editorial craftsmanship and higher added value. He cites examples such as Live Nation France launching its own DAB+ station without intrusive advertising as evidence that alternative models are emerging.
Podcasting, for Tuzet, is not an add-on but a natural extension of Crooner’s editorial approach. Trained in French public service radio, including France Musique, France Culture and France Inter, he argues that podcasting has long been part of radio’s DNA. Crooner International now produces narrative podcast formats for major brands, including Champagne house Krug and the Monnaie de Paris.
One example, titled “De la monnaie et des hommes” (Of Money and Men), explores the history of exchange. Tuzet says these productions are built through in-depth editorial work, deliberately distancing themselves from fast-turnaround podcast formats in favor of storytelling with substance, rhythm and style.
Despite the dominance of platforms and social networks, Tuzet remains committed to audio. He draws a clear distinction between listening and watching, arguing that radio’s strength lies in its ability to accompany everyday life without demanding visual attention. In his view, audio is experiencing a discreet but powerful renaissance.
Audio’s quiet renaissance
He believes podcasting is now eclipsing the music video culture of the 1980s and 1990s. In contrast to algorithm-driven streaming platforms, where users effectively become their own programmers, Crooner Radio offers a curated editorial universe built on musical culture and artistic direction. Tuzet argues that audiences do not want to program themselves indefinitely; they also seek coherence, atmosphere and meaning.
While DAB+ is central to Crooner Radio’s strategy, Tuzet sees it as more than a distribution tool. The station also offers a visual-enhanced stream using an in-house system called Climax, supported by Bpifrance, France’s public investment bank. The system combines audio with imagery while maintaining editorial coherence.
Tuzet acknowledges that DAB+ still lacks strong national promotion in France and says he would like to see larger broadcast groups more actively supporting the platform they now benefit from.
Ultimately, he describes Crooner Radio as an attitude as much as a station — a lifestyle brand built around elegance, identity and freedom. For Tuzet, it is not a nostalgic project but a forward-looking vision of radio in which sound regains its full cultural value.
This article originally appeared in RedTech’s French sister publication La Lettre Pro.
This article first appeared in the January/February 2026 edition of RedTech Magazine. You can read or download this edition for free here. You can access past editions of RedTech Magazine, also for free, here.
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