hi!
i have recently published a mini-cd:
http://matteobosi.bandcamp.com/album/note-di-viaggio

can you suggest me some online webzine or some other sort of website which can do a review of my work?

for now i'm not interested in distribution or label, just a review!

thanks!

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Listen to my music at
www.alchemystudio.it

Quote Alchemy Studio:

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hi!
i have recently published a mini-cd:
http://matteobosi.bandcamp.com/album/note-di-viaggio

can you suggest me some online webzine or some other sort of website which can do a review of my work?

for now i'm not interested in distribution or label, just a review!

thanks!

---

Without distribution or a label or a band you won't be taken seriously unless your songs are stunningly good. Its all far too demoish. People don't do demos anymore. Nobody wants to know what sample bank you created your strings on ..

Quote Alchemy Studio:

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hi!
i have recently published a mini-cd:
http://matteobosi.bandcamp.com/album/note-di-viaggio

can you suggest me some online webzine or some other sort of website which can do a review of my work?

for now i'm not interested in distribution or label, just a review!

thanks!

---

I've released three of my brothers albums, and the last two had a proper attempt to do a DIY press campaign.

In order to be taken seriously, I had to have them pressed up on CD, book/organise a tour with dates from London to Stornoway, build a public facing website, a separate press website, create biogs, photographs and graphics, press releases, find a UK distributor and agree a release date, stick to a totally rigid timetable, and send out a slick well put together press pack to specific target personnel at specific target publications allowing for specific publication dates..... it was a huge amount of work.

All this resulted in about 8 or so reviews - including a 4 star in Q - for around 70 press packs sent out. I made a point of gently but persistently following up, and where folks like reviews editors were willing to talk, one of the things they all said - from niche to national - was that they are totally, utterly inundated with music. So, in short, you have absolutely no chance unless as minimum you are willing to do something like I've described above.

Your best chance might be grassroots music blogs, but they are often a fickle, fashionable and hip bunch, and with respect your work is likely to be too MOR to be of interest.

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http://soundcloud.com/piet-haag

great!
so nowadays there are no online music magazines that review demos or productions not made by pro or "aggressive" musicians who want to enter in the businnes?

i make music just as hobby.i do not live and do not want to live out of my music... i would like to have some judge on my work, i do not expect to to go on tour or to sell hundreds of copies of my songs/cd.
just some objective review somewhere, along with the link to my website to spread my work and, hopefully, get some (more) satisfaction...

and, btw, my music IS stunningly good!

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Listen to my music at
www.alchemystudio.it

Edited by Alchemy Studio (30/09/11 01:36 PM)

Quote Alchemy Studio:

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great!
so nowadays there are no online music magazines that review demos or productions not made by pro or "aggressive" musicians who want to enter in the businnes?

i make music just as hobby.i do not live and do not want to live out of my music... i would like to have some judge on my work, i do not expect to to go on tour or to sell hundreds of copies of my songs/cd.
just some objective review somewhere, along with the link to my website to spread my work and, hopefully, get some (more) satisfaction...

and, btw, my music IS stunningly good!

---

If its a hobby, that's great, but don't expect people to take your music seriously if you don't. Its hard enough to listen to all the real music in the world, recorded in studios by professionals with good cover art and attention to detail. There are hundreds of thousands of people at your level right now.

and what is real music?

I am not sure that if you are properly recorded and managed your music is more real that somebody that made music just for the pleasure of making music.

And in today world, is there any label that will press a LP like White light/ White Heat from the VU?? And I love this record, I play it thousand times even if the cover art as nothing special and the recording quality is not up to today standard and even standard of the time.

I listen to music because it "speaks" to me and not because it is well recorded or the cover art is nice or because somebody from the marketing tell me I have to buy it...

Just my opinion...

Quote vegadec:

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and what is real music?

I am not sure that if you are properly recorded and managed your music is more real that somebody that made music just for the pleasure of making music.

And in today world, is there any label that will press a LP like White light/ White Heat from the VU?? And I love this record, I play it thousand times even if the cover art as nothing special and the recording quality is not up to today standard and even standard of the time.

I listen to music because it "speaks" to me and not because it is well recorded or the cover art is nice or because somebody from the marketing tell me I have to buy it...

Just my opinion...

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Yes a label would press an album that good today. Finding the musicians and budget to record the album is the problem.

If it's purely an opinion on your music that you seek (rather than promo), then there are any number of sites that will provide a critique for a fee. Sure you might not want to pay but it may work out cheaper than a decent PR campaign.

P

Quote Phil O:

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If it's purely an opinion on your music that you seek (rather than promo), then there are any number of sites that will provide a critique for a fee. Sure you might not want to pay but it may work out cheaper than a decent PR campaign.

P

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that's EXACTLY what i'm looking for, opinion, critics and review for my music. NOT promo...
where can i look??

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Listen to my music at
www.alchemystudio.it

If it's just a hobby and you don't plan on selling it it, you could make it available at, say, SoundCloud and link to it here for people to comment. There are lots of industry pros here who might give you feedback on both the musical and technical level.

You could link to it on Facebook and Twitter too for comments.

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Website / Music Lab Machines / Blog

Quote Alchemy Studio:

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Quote Phil O:

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If it's purely an opinion on your music that you seek (rather than promo), then there are any number of sites that will provide a critique for a fee. Sure you might not want to pay but it may work out cheaper than a decent PR campaign.

P

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that's EXACTLY what i'm looking for, opinion, critics and review for my music. NOT promo...
where can i look??

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http://www.musicxray.com has some industry people. I am not necessarily endorsing it. I am sure there are others.

P

SOS Playback?

Quote monkfish:

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SOS Playback?

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Just what I was thinking! I had a few tracks reviewed a couple of years ago. I had no commercial aspirations but just wanted to know what the 'experts' thought. I felt that they were bang on with the review ( and also quite funny). Much respect!

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He who can does........

Hi there

why don't you just submit it to SOS for the readers music review section and do the same for the other mags depending on style.

Don't pay a fee. Track down some blogs where you like the music they review and the style/type of review. Send them an email, ask if they would be interested in listening to some tracks, send some MP3's, follow up in a month etc.

Send copies of the CD with a one pager and send to your local papers. I would use papers for your home town and surrounding areas and you could probably stretch into the neighbouring counties. Place emphasis on the local boy/talent angle.

Finally, if you really must pay some money, then sign up for a service such as PromoNetPro by IODA. For am fee they make your content available for review to interested 3rd parties such as blogs etc.

Love the comment about 'real music'. Would love to hear a definition of what this would be. I could imagine it's played with 'real' instruments and none of your virtual libraries and is mixed on proper mixing desks using hardware as opposed to software etc.

Finally, to the original poster, I would just say keep doing it. You like it and you probably love it, even on the days when things are not so great. You keep doing it as much as you want to.

Regards
Hussein

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Hussein Boon: http://www.husseinboon.co.uk
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/hussein-boon

Edited by Hussein (01/10/11 02:28 PM)

Quote Hussein:

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Finally, if you really must pay some money, then sign up for a service such as PromoNetPro by IODA. For am fee they make your content available for review to interested 3rd parties such as blogs etc.

Love the comment about 'real music'. Would love to hear a definition of what this would be. I could imagine it's played with 'real' instruments and none of your virtual libraries and is mixed on proper mixing desks using hardware as opposed to software etc.

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No, I'd say that's a pretty poor definition. Instruments aren't any more real than computers which produce music; they are both man made devices which produce sound.

Music which has been released on a label has (or should) a small amount of quality control and hence people are more willing to give it a listen. There are really too many free mp3s to get through.

Hi. You might find this page useful (and the res of the site)

Good luck!

If I chose to score all of my music and release it in score format and bypass the recording stage, is that not also 'real' music. I'm afraid your definition is the one that is too narrow. Anything that's released by a label counts as real? Not a strong basis for an argument.

You know, if someone uses their own time, equipment (or pays to hire), uses their own money and gives it away for free then fine. It's their choice. You or I or anyone else may well comment on the fact that there's too much of everything out there but we can't and shouldn't stop them.

I recognise that my album is a complete vanity project. I set up my own label, did everything myself. Most fun I've had. One cannot remove the opportunity to learn from people's lives. They must be allowed to grow and increase their sense of self knowledge. Whether you recognise/realise this or not, this is one of those moments of self knowledge/actualisation. Let them do it if they want to.

Have fun
Regards
Hussein

--------------------
Hussein Boon: http://www.husseinboon.co.uk
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/hussein-boon

Quote Hussein:

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If I chose to score all of my music and release it in score format and bypass the recording stage, is that not also 'real' music. I'm afraid your definition is the one that is too narrow. Anything that's released by a label counts as real? Not a strong basis for an argument.

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The argument is in the context of the thread - how to get reviews. People who review music will only give the time of day to listen to a tiny fraction of the mp3s which are let loose every week. So no, its unlikely music in score format only will receive a review.

Quote:

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You know, if someone uses their own time, equipment (or pays to hire), uses their own money and gives it away for free then fine. It's their choice. You or I or anyone else may well comment on the fact that there's too much of everything out there but we can't and shouldn't stop them.

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I'm not trying to stop anyone having a little fun. I'm simply answering the question.

Quote:

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I recognise that my album is a complete vanity project. I set up my own label, did everything myself. Most fun I've had. One cannot remove the opportunity to learn from people's lives. They must be allowed to grow and increase their sense of self knowledge. Whether you recognise/realise this or not, this is one of those moments of self knowledge/actualisation. Let them do it if they want to.

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Do whatever you want, but if you want reviews you need to jump through a few hoops before people will take you seriously.

Quote johnny h:

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Quote Alchemy Studio:

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hi!
i have recently published a mini-cd:
http://matteobosi.bandcamp.com/album/note-di-viaggio

can you suggest me some online webzine or some other sort of website which can do a review of my work?

for now i'm not interested in distribution or label, just a review!

thanks!

---

Hey man

Get yourself a soundcloud page , I get plenty of feedback from the general public (not some critic but its real feedback)and gives me a good idea of which songs people are liking and not liking. Here is mine for reference

Stickboy on soundcloud

Also maybe look up the harmony central songwriting forum, its a great community (one of the friendliest ive found online) with lots of genuine songwriters (of all abilities) offering help and advice on your music.... there are also places on there to post your finished work.... im sure people will listen and give honest feedback

@ sticky boy - your link didn't work, really accomplished, well produced quirky pop - worth repeating:

http://soundcloud.com/stickboy

And, yup - well worth getting a soundcloud page for OP. Found a lot of good unsigned off radar stuff on it.

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http://piethaag.bandcamp.com

Some useful info here on how to get your music on blogs courtesy of Chris Bracco

Chris Bracco PDF D/L

You could try SoundOut (http://www.soundout.com/). Sound On Sound had this to say about them: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan11/articles/soundout.htm.

I used them because of that article and I liked the results, even though I did some maths to figure out what their error bar would be (once a physicist...) to give me a better grasp on what their values meant. It does cost money, but as usual I was utterly suprised by which tracks of mine random people preferred.

Atila

Magazine-shmagazine, old news!! Times have changed.

Best thing you could have done was to post it here the way you did (indirect strategy). I now want you on my FB, Twitter and Mwitter. You have to interact with people, WE are people, and we know other people, who also know people that know people. Everything these days happen with several clicks; next thing you know you're paying your rent with your hobby.

Btw press-packs are also gay (not homosexual gay but cheesy gay) more so than outdated. Even radio doesnt mean anything anymore, when was the last time you listened to radio? Apart from being locked in your friends banger that ONLY has radio, even then you want to switch it off!!

The shakers came in kind of nicely there in "Il vento di primavera" as I was typing.

I like your music, only thing I would say is that it needs to sound "fatter" with more variety of sounds/instruments creatively panned here and there for a fuller more ripe sound, like the pipe sounds need to be felt, as right now they sound "weak", but that's just me.

Quote Murdoch:

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Magazine-shmagazine, old news!! Times have changed.

Best thing you could have done was to post it here the way you did (indirect strategy). I now want you on my FB, Twitter and Mwitter. You have to interact with people, WE are people, and we know other people, who also know people that know people. Everything these days happen with several clicks; next thing you know you're paying your rent with your hobby.

Btw press-packs are also gay (not homosexual gay but cheesy gay) more so than outdated. Even radio doesnt mean anything anymore, when was the last time you listened to radio? Apart from being locked in your friends banger that ONLY has radio, even then you want to switch it off!!

The shakers came in kind of nicely there in "Il vento di primavera" as I was typing.

I like your music, only thing I would say is that it needs to sound "fatter" with more variety of sounds/instruments creatively panned here and there for a fuller more ripe sound, like the pipe sounds need to be felt, as right now they sound "weak", but that's just me.

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My review of your advice: 3 out of 10.

Radio is still good, as are magazines.

As for the tracks, they are ok but nothing to get excited about. Need a lot more attention to detail and bits of magic.

If you can find another band of similar style and level and google who's reviewed them that'd be a start... otherwise soundcloud, on here, or just canvassing opinions from people you know and whose opinion you respect (i.e. those likely to give it to you straight) would be a good option. Don't pay for reviews, it's only encouraging parasites! (unless of course you need the promo, which you've already said you don't)
C

Quote Murdoch:

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Magazine-shmagazine, old news!! Times have changed.

Best thing you could have done was to post it here the way you did (indirect strategy). I now want you on my FB, Twitter and Mwitter. You have to interact with people, WE are people, and we know other people, who also know people that know people. Everything these days happen with several clicks; next thing you know you're paying your rent with your hobby.

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usually i post my music on other musicians forum, like KRV or Cakewalk in norder to get technical advices... now it's one my first time here... i will consider it more!
thanks for interest in my music, you can connect to my facebook page here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alchemy-Studio/206292809387765

Quote:

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The shakers came in kind of nicely there in "Il vento di primavera" as I was typing.
I like your music, only thing I would say is that it needs to sound "fatter" with more variety of sounds/instruments creatively panned here and there for a fuller more ripe sound, like the pipe sounds need to be felt, as right now they sound "weak", but that's just me.

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ok, thank you a lot for your suggestions!

--------------------
Listen to my music at
www.alchemystudio.it

Quote Soulgreed:

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If you can find another band of similar style and level and google who's reviewed them that'd be a start...

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This is what i was going to suggest. You're not going to get reviewed in Uncut or Mojo etc without a large budget to spend on a PR firm, management, and distribution in place, etc, and/or huge amount of time spent doing the things outlined earlier in the thread.

But there are many web sites, blogs, and even still a few Fanzines who will review independent music providing it's targetted correctly.

We found bands/artists who were 'unsigned' but playing similar venues to us, then looked at where they had been succesful in gaining reviews and sent our stuff to those places.

We're talking of a professional CD product by the way, not MP3s on Soundcloud. Though have noticed recently some places no longer accept physical releases and prefer soundfiles!

Second time around it's easier, as you know who previously liked it and who didn't. But they do tend to come and go as they're enthusiasts, also reviewing for fun not financial reward...so they move on. But they also have no axe to grind and no incentive to praise or scorn, so you get an honest opinion.

Expect about a 1 in 20 hit rate. For every 20 packs you send out...one review.

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