I can’t say that I’m terribly surprised by anything that I’ve read in your poll data/analysis – are you? It’s noteworthy (though, again, not shocking) that the digital revolution is not exactly overtaking the jazz criticism world by storm, as you point out. For those of us artists who are chomping at the bit to move forward technologically (selling USB memory sticks of our music, having download stores on our websites, etc.), it’s a little too bad that the majority of reviewers (probably dominated by your 36-45 age bracket, no?) still need cds in order to spread the word about the music.

Although, I can certainly see the benefit of having a physical product in hand as a writer, for organizational purposes and to be able to play on a home stereo (though hooking up a laptop to a receiver is pretty easy).

It would be much easier (read: cheaper) to get quality music out there if making 1,000 cds (and mailing out 200 or 300 of them) wasn’t a prerequisite for the album’s legitimacy. More of the artists’/labels’ money could be spent on the recordings themselves…passing the savings on to the listeners, so to speak…