Indie Bible - zankMusic.com

who still listens to Barry Manilow and the Carpenters occasionally – I have
ZERO credibility when it comes to rap and hip- hop.”
Q. What do you most enjoy about reviewing indie music?
A . Erik Deckers: “ I t ’s not the same old schlock I hear on commercial
radio. In most cases, it’s better.
A . Heidi Dro k e l m a n : I’m still amazed, after all these years, at the quality
and talent that’s out there. The best thing about reviewing indie music is
the sheer unpredictability of it all.”
A . Jennifer Layton: “I know this sounds dramatic, but writing about indie
music for the past three years has changed my life. I’m a lot more openminded
about so many things because I’ve learned to be more openminded
about the music I listen to. I’ve met several of the artists I’ve
reviewed and am so happy that I’ve been able to encourage them by
contributing positive reviews to their press kits. I’ve become such a fan of
indie music that I flew up to NYC for my birthday last year to see
performances by some of the artists I’d written about.”
A . Les Reynolds: “The fact that there’s an unlimited amount of real talent
out there and it keeps coming and won’t ever stop. I’ve heard stuff I would
have never heard otherwise, met musicians I’d never even dreamed
existed. And the cream is when a real connection is made... that’s worth
e v e r y t h i n g . ”
Q. What most irritates you in writing reviews?
A . Erik Deckers: “Getting unsolicited reviews. I’m pretty busy to begin
with, and so I have to be selective about whose reviews I undertake. W h e n
I get one that I didn’t ask for, I don’t look favorably upon that artist. If I do
manage to get around to doing their review, they’ve got a bigger hurdle to
clear in that I’m already annoyed with them.”
A . Heidi Dro k e l m a n : “The only thing that ever gets me is the volume of
the mailings that I get. Making the commitment to give advice,
constructive criticism, and deliver it in a way that isn’t cruel, disconcerting,
or rude is never easy. I may have harped a little about bands realizing that
the reviewers are human, but remembering how personal the work is to
others keeps me in check when delivering my honest opinion about their
w o r k . ”
A . Jennifer Layton: “What drives me NUTS is when artists or labels put
me on their mailing lists when I didn’t ask them to. Some artists have even
put me on their lists before they’ve even sent me the CD for review. T h e
worst was after I wrote a positive review of one band, and then their label
put me on the mailing list of every single artist on their roster. T h a t ’s one of
the reasons I don’t deal with labels or PR people anymore. If I love an
a r t i s t ’s work, I’ll ask to be put on the mailing list. And I have done that
many times.”
A . Les Reynolds: “Bad (inaccurate/incomplete) information on liner notes
(it happens) or if the info is not legible — that stuff is very helpful and
often necessary (in my opinion) in writing reviews. That, and wishing I had
nothing to do but write, because most of these artists deserve a timely
r e v i e w. ”
Review check list
1. Communicate professionally - Use standard grammar and
punctuation, proofread, and use a spell checker. You don’t have to
write a business letter like you learned in 8th Grade Grammar class,
the letter could be creative, but make sure it is identifiable as a
business communication and not junk mail. Make sure to directly state
you are looking for a review. Don’t send mass mailings, it’s obvious
to the recipient. On the phone, leave useful messages designed to
make it easy to call you back (spell your name, and repeat your phone
number twice to make copying easy for the listener).
2. Follow submission guidelines - Guidelines exist for a reason, which is
to help an organization handle a large flow of music submissions in an
e fficient manner. Each publication does it diff e r e n t l y, but if you
choose not to follow the guidelines, expect your submission to be late,
lost, or worse.
3. Send a cohesive promo pack - Writers have differing preferences on
what they like to receive as part of a promo pack. Most writers,
though, like to read a band biography and a few press clips (it helps in
writing a review to know more about an artist), and many also like to
see a band photo. If you are unsure what a writer requires, err on the
side of sending too MUCH rather than not enough. If you choose not
to include photos and graphics, make sure they are easily available on
your website, in case the reviewer plans to publish your review with
p i c t u r e s .
4. Give contact information - When your review goes up, nothing would
be dumber than to make your CD hard to find. Many artists, though,
f o rget to include full contact information including mailing address,
phone, email, and website URL.
5. Identify your genre - When people read reviews, they want to know,
upfront, whether it’s their “style” or not. So even if you simply say “a
cross of rock, folk, and punk”, that is much better than saying “we
cannot be categorized”. Better to categorize yourself than let a writer
do it for you. Many writers are not musicians, and do not know
precisely how to describe your genre just by listening. Help them.
6. Write a meaningful bio - Drop the lines that say you are “incredible”,
“changing the face of music”, or “talented beyond belief etc.,
7. Make the writer’s job easy - Since writers are, at the basic level, just
people doing their job, it only makes sense that if you can make their
job easier, they will like you and try to return the favor. T h a t ’s just
human nature. Include everything the writer needs, be sensitive to
their schedule, and provide graphics or answers to any questions
p r o m p t l y.
8. Follow up courteously - Writers vary greatly in how they respond to
follow-ups. Some people will respond promptly, keeping you up to
date at each step of the process. Other writers ignore follow- ups
c o m p l e t e l y. Your best bet is learning each writer personally. As a
general rule, follow up about 2-4 weeks after your submission should
have arrived with a short note. If you hear nothing, try again in
another two weeks. If you again hear nothing, try waiting a month.
D o n ’t threaten or chastise the writers, just ask if a decision has been
made about your review yet.
9. D o n ’t argue with the reviewer - You can’t win. If you don’t like the
r e v i e w, you can pass on that reviewer with your next CD. Or you can
submit again and see if their opinion has changed. Either way picking
a fight about something the reviewer wrote is a waste of your time. If
there is a factual error, fine, ask the writer to correct it. But don’t
a rgue, “Our choruses are NOT boring! They are complex and
emotive”. Since the characterization of your choruses as “boring” is
only the reviewer’s opinion, you are not going to change it. Yo u
might, however, piss off the writer for life.
10. Keep the connection - You need to cultivate your relationships with
writers. Check in with them periodically between CDs, read their
other work, let them know if you have news, and send thank-you
notes - even if you did not get reviewed. Your goal is to build a
relationship. You never know when that relationship may help you out
- but you can be sure it will work in your favor if you present yourself
as nice, interested, and understanding.
Suzanne Glass is the founder of Indie-Music.com, All the re v i e w e r s
f e a t u red in this piece write for Indie-music. For more information please
contact: www. i n d i e - m u s i c . c o m .
W H Y MOST DEMO RECORDINGS ARE REJECTED
by Christopher Knab author of “Music Is Your Business”
© 2008 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
“Getting a deal” has long been the goal of many would-be artists and
bands. For mostly naive reasons, most new talent feel that by securing a
recording contract with a significant major or independent label, success
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