Indie artist or on/from a small/indie label looking for reviews of soon to be or just released music?

I might be able to help.

About my approach to reviews:

I’m not adverse to any genre, though won’t write reviews for music I don’t like. This is a reflection of my taste, not anybody else’s ability. If the music doesn’t motivate me, I can’t write about it. Instead, I’ll let the artist know, thank them for thinking of me as a potential reviewer and wish them luck finding someone more suited to their particular style/genre/idiom/parlance.

I don’t follow any particular pattern when writing reviews; simply listen to the music and see where it takes me. Examples of previous can be found here.

The contact form below is for me to establish whether I can do a review. If feeling one can be done, I’ll reply via email re the release pack etc.

When I reply there will not be mention of a fee or charge.

However I will need the following from the the artist/band: 

• MUST have an active Facebook page (see why beneath form)
• the music to be reviewed is/will be available on platforms OTHER THAN Spotify (it can be on Spotify but must be elsewhere too)
• the release to be reviewed must be at least three tracks

Press/Release pack/epk must haves:

• a copy of the release in digital format (files a minimum of mp3 320 format)
• images of album artwork
• artist/band names and roles
• links to social media/points of sale etc (preferably in the form of a Linktree)

Optional:

• transcript of the lyrics (I’d much prefer one than not) 
• promotional images of the band or a pointing in the right direction to find them (such as Insta/Facebook)
• band bio
• technical information (names of who did what on the release, when and where, including any label info, etc)
• any additional information such as an album concept

If able to do a review files can be transferred via the likes of dropbox, mega or Google Drive; a bandcamp code is also fine (for more general information on how best to present your music/information for reviews please read the article by Heather McDonald here).

I look forward to hearing you.

Why Facebook is a Must-Have:

My writing a review alone will not be the milkshake bringing everyone to your yard. The purpose is to provide an asset that the artist/band/label can use to engage an existing or potential online audience.

While I will share it via my social media, in the bigger picture that will do little for your cause as my subscribers/followers do so for a number of reasons, most completely unrelated to music. It’s when the artist (and label) takes the time to share it via their own pages, focused groups and private profiles that hits go through the roof.

The site analytics show time and time again that the vast majority of engagement comes via Facebook when the band also has a page there. And when I say ‘vast majority’ I mean literally all; so much so that without the Facebook engagement the readership would be so small the review wouldn’t be worth the time and effort to write.

On which note: the idea of being able to self-promote online for free is for all intents a fallacy. This can be simply demonstrated by the fact the likes of Facebook have a paid option to promote/boost posts; given this, the platforms are hardly going to give anything like the same exposure and reach to non-paid-for posts.

In theory it needn’t be like that, but that theory hinges wholly on the idea of pretty much everyone who sees the post re-sharing it via their feed too. Simply put, people don’t. In fact, even bands can seem reluctant, only sharing reviews once; something that will barely reach a fraction of its followers, never mind anyone new.

To get the best out of anything singing the praises of your work, post, post and post again, while asking everyone you can to also share the post; and at least consider spending a few quid for that extra boost – I’m told by bands having done so that it’s more than worthwhile!

Cheers,

N. P. Ryan

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