Write a review, get a review

Yeah, it's never going to be Rolling Stone or Pitchfork, but 99% of other music reviews are written by some dude who no ones ever heard of, whose probably in some local band, and probably isn't really getting paid anything. As being a consumer base, here in Brooklyn at least, a lot of those people who go out to small rock shows, buy records, downloads etc, are in bands themselves. I'd guess around 35-40%.

Maybe this isn't your experience (I'm not sure what kind of music you're all into, sounds like possibly more mainstream stuff), but given my experiences, it's a somewhat viable concept, as long as reviews stay honest and it doesn't seem like people are writing rosy reviews hoping that they'll receive them in return.

Flaws of course, but I feel like it's worth trying because paying for press is messed up (IMO).
 
Ok, Ok, there's nothing wrong with publicists who work hard to promote an album, tour, etc. But for a lot of small bands it doesn't make sense to pay someone to do that, when you're not going to get very much back in return.
 
I think the point you're maybe missing, or I'm missing, is this: who is going to read these reviews, and how will those people even know where to read them? A fan of Band X already knows about Band X, so reading about Band X on Band X's social media is redundant and unnecessary.

If you can get Band Y to review Band X on Band Y's page, then maybe Band Y's fans will get into Band X. But Band X is competition, so why promote competition? I wouldn't do it.

On the plus side, it's very easy for bands to divide up $0 in sales.
 
Greg_L said:
I think the point you're maybe missing, or I'm missing, is this: who is going to read these reviews, and how will those people even know where to read them? A fan of Band X already knows about Band X, so reading about Band X on Band X's social media is redundant and unnecessary.

If you can get Band Y to review Band X on Band Y's page, then maybe Band Y's fans will get into Band X. But Band X is competition, so why promote competition? I wouldn't do it.

On the plus side, it's very easy for bands to divide up $0 in sales.
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Fine... but I want 51%.
 
BroKen_H said:
I'll have to borrow your fro, Jimmy! :)
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Actually, I had a hair day similar to that last week. A restless night of sleep and my daughter getting sunscreen lotion in my hair made for an interesting sight.

I was more thinking Spector tho. lol



Ok, sorry off topic.
 
This whole thing doesn't seem to be such an awful idea (the apropriateness on this forum might be questionable though - but I'm new here so forgive me if I'm wrong).

Having done a bit of social media/management stuff in general over the last few years, I've seen that the number one way to increase readership of blogs/social media is not the quality of content, its the regularity of posting. Even if the content isn't great/written by anyone special I can't see that free content is a bad thing - it's a lot easier to write when somebody gives you something concrete to write about and it gives people something to talk about (even if it's preching to the choir or pre-existing fans). Something new or different every week is much more interesting than 'here is a picture of my gig', followed by 'here is a picture of another gig' (seems to be a lot of what local/non-pro bands post).

It's certianly not going to shift copies or make anyone (including the OP) rich - most reviews don't anyway.
 
Greg_L said:
Musicians are selfish assholes. That's just how it is.
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:thumbs up:

You should have seen a couple of comments I got recently on a FB gigs/sessions group where I was looking for a sax player to do some quick tracking for me. The kind of guys who give musicians a bad name.

Sorry, back to the subject - like already said, WHO IS going to see these reviews?
 
Jake_JW said:
This whole thing doesn't seem to be such an awful idea (the apropriateness on this forum might be questionable though - but I'm new here so forgive me if I'm wrong).

Having done a bit of social media/management stuff in general over the last few years, I've seen that the number one way to increase readership of blogs/social media is not the quality of content, its the regularity of posting. Even if the content isn't great/written by anyone special I can't see that free content is a bad thing - it's a lot easier to write when somebody gives you something concrete to write about and it gives people something to talk about (even if it's preching to the choir or pre-existing fans). Something new or different every week is much more interesting than 'here is a picture of my gig', followed by 'here is a picture of another gig' (seems to be a lot of what local/non-pro bands post).

It's certianly not going to shift copies or make anyone (including the OP) rich - most reviews don't anyway.
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Yeah, you totally get it. I also think a huge benefit is discovering a band that you really like, and having your name and a link to your music as a signature. That way, when they share the review to their own group (because all bands share everything that's written about them), you'll have a little bit of exposure to their fan base. Make sense. Also, in my scene, we don't look at other musicians as competition, we see the strength of the scene being something that shines a spotlight on all of us. But yeah, I have this community driven punk rock ethos that might be culturally distant from where you guys are coming from.
 
I'm not saying it's a bad idea. Not at all. My comments have all been light humor. Finding other bands in your specific niche that are willing to trade review for review/exposure for exposure is probably going to get you some new fans. Who will listen to your tunes a few times and push your plays/likes up a bit further. If that's what we were after on this site, we'd be playing each others' music on automated systems to keep stacking the plays/likes on each others' pages.

Most of us are here for love of the art. Not for public recognition. For those who are trying to be a somebody or even a semi-somebody, get that "big break", whatever, you're idea has decent merit. Keep pushing and I hope it does well for you!

OTOH, if all you want is to push plays on your songs, try using a different URL and running a playlist 24/7 that repeats your songs. That'll push your plays...more people will listen because you have lots of plays...people will review your music positively because someone with 10,000 plays HAS to be good...creating more plays and more fans, and if you actually have the talent and the ability, like a few here do, you might just become something.
 
I suppose there are a lot of people in it for the recognition - I know a few myself who are out for recognition and have self-belief/massive towering egos. They think their music is the actual gonads (and sometimes they're right, amusingly/annoyingly) and want the world to hear it.
Not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that, either.

If someone believes that they've made something great and want people to hear about it, using social/online media (including community reviews etc) is a legitimate tool and a good starting point in getting the word out. I don't believe many people write music with the aim of only ever listening to it themselves, really...I thought this was not a bad idea, it didn't deserve the negative first reaction.
 
wagonzilla said:
Also, in my scene, we don't look at other musicians as competition, we see the strength of the scene being something that shines a spotlight on all of us. But yeah, I have this community driven punk rock ethos that might be culturally distant from where you guys are coming from.
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That is the naive idealism of punk scenes everywhere now. Your hipster haven of brooklyn is no different from anywhere else. Punk rock has become safe and friendly and inclusive and it's not dangerous at all anymore. It's no coincidence that punk music was much better when people were honest and it was every man for himself.
 
This is nominally useful for building your press kit, actually.

If nobody has written about you yet, having a link to "Joe Schmoe's trade-a-review" saying "these guys don't suck" is probably better than nothing. (Heck, my press kit included some rando from this forum making fun of my "queer-ass mohawk" for a solid year just because I didn't have anything better.)
 
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