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: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxyon6mBXfU (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. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-11/amazon-really-wants-japanese-music-fans-to-stop-buying-cds (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.