Making Albums, Expectations, Demo Recordings, Distribution

Making a jazz album, from demo to distribution to performance, is a game of expectations. Whether artistic, financial, or personal, expectations keep you on track and help you remember why you're in the game.

Topics:

• First question: How to release a jazz album (01:17),
• What are realistic financial expectations for making an album? Taking entrepreneurial risk, investing up-front in production, and building a music career over time (11:44),
• Cory takes an honest look at the growth of Rhythm Changes and of his radio show, Condition Blue (17:41),
• Next question: How to get gigs by sending demo recordings to booking agents (25:54),
• Choosing the right live music venues for your band (29:45),
• Making a personal connection with venue booking agents (36:16),
• Storytime: the early-2000s distribution deals that established Cellar Music (39:47),
• New Cellar Music releases by Sheila Jordan & Brian Charette on July 15, 2022 (48:06).

Links:

• YouTube - All Things Must Pass (Tower Records documentary) - Cory said he enjoyed this movie about the famous record store business so much, he watched it three times.
• Bloomberg - CD sales in Japan (2020) - CD sales have still been a huge part (over 70%) of the recorded music market in Japan, even as recently as 2020.