Prometheus Burning ([info]pr0_burn) wrote,
@ 2009-05-26 07:26:00
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Two new reviews of PCH, and a question for you
Ben of Crunch Pod notified us of two new reviews of Plague called huMANity floating around out there on teh interbutts.

The first is from Re:Gen Magazine, viewable here.

The second is from DarkTwinCities, viewable here.

Both are fairly positive, which we are thankful for. We are curious though... how many people rely on reviews such as these to determine if they will purchase an album or not?

It seems like labels send out so many free "promo" albums to reviewers all the time, only to have maybe half of them actually come through with a review. And it seems like those that do come through, most of them don't publish the reviews until months after the album is already released. It seems like by the time these reviews start popping up, most people will have already had plenty of time to create their own opinion based on sound samples, downloaded versions, etc, and determine weather or not they will be buying the album.

Just curious how many actually wait around for the reviews these days, and if not, what helps you to determine if you are going to buy an album or not? Judging by how many unpaid for downloaded copies of Plague we saw the numbers for, it seems like most simply "try before buy" these days, often times before the album is even officially released, like what happened with our nBoyde raRepi remix album. If this is the case, then everyone with a blog is essentially taking on the role of being their own "reviewer", and would make the standard slow reviews from the zines pretty much obsolete for the most part, yes?

Please share your thoughts if any.

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[info]jdecay
2009-05-26 01:00 pm UTC (link)
I'll agree that the value of reviews diminishes when you can listen to just about anything before buying.

That being said, a good review still matters in that it can point a person to check something out that they wouldn't otherwise. I don't think that many people just randomly surf through bands on myspace or some such, but I could be wrong.

I wouldn't have bought the new Revco album, except I read a review (at Wrapped in Wire, maybe?) that said it was actually good.

Plus, I think there's still value in having your name out there as much as possible with information as to what you're about.

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[info]pr0_burn
2009-05-26 01:24 pm UTC (link)
Good points man, thanks for sharing. I definitely agree that getting your name out as much as possible is definitely valuable... as long as the reviews are positive ;)

I know that all of the positive reviews and exposure we had with Beyond Repiar made a huge difference for a lot of people that previously never heard of us. But it seems like things are changing. Labels, Distro's, and Music Review sites all seem to have far less significance now then they did back then, and many are going under because of this... and that was a mere 3-4 years ago.

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[info]terrorfirmasky
2009-05-26 01:14 pm UTC (link)
I usually don't trust mag reviews since most of the time they are either written by frustrated writers who use so many flowery words and metaphors that they aren't even descriptive of the music or they're written by frustrated musicians that that slam a good album out of jealousy. What usually sparks my interest is recommendations from people I think have good taste or by hearing clips or preview tracks like you mentioned.

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[info]pr0_burn
2009-05-26 01:28 pm UTC (link)
Trust is definitely a huge factor... and like you mention, it seems like most reviews within this scene are hugely biased. Finding well written and truthful write ups are few and far between. We always say we don't mind getting a bad review... as long as its an "honest", well written, and thought-out review.

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[info]twiin
2009-05-26 01:26 pm UTC (link)
The only time a review influences a purchase is if it's for an album that I never would've listened to otherwise.

I base my purchases on which downloaded music I like. But if I don't download it first, there is a near-zero chance that I'm going to buy it, so for me the role of a good review is that I add it to my download list.

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[info]pr0_burn
2009-05-26 01:35 pm UTC (link)
Thank you for the honesty. This is pretty much how most people we know are doing things these days it seems, ourselves included. Like Terrorfirmasky mentioned above, we've found it hard to trust reviewers over the years... nothing is more trust worthy than your own ears though.

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[info]negumi
2009-05-26 01:55 pm UTC (link)
I equate professional reviewers of all kinds with used-car salesmen, I don't trust them. For music, a friends recommendation carries more weight than any review, if my friends have no recommendations I'll hit up youtube or pandora or the music genome project if I'm looking for a new band.

If I like a band and I hear they are putting out a new album I will pretty much automatically buy it when it comes out or when they are next in town, unless the previous album sucked and than I wait until I can hear samples.

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[info]amusia
2009-05-26 03:13 pm UTC (link)
full previews mean more to me than reviews

imagine describing the color blue to a blind person. some of these reviewers write so bad, you'd think that that was exactly what you were reading

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[info]amusia
2009-05-26 03:15 pm UTC (link)
plus it almost feels like a contest of opinions. sometimes i think people need reviews to validate their own feelings about certain albums. previews all the way ;)

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[info]tonyyoung
2009-05-26 03:29 pm UTC (link)
I actually wait for reviews of some albums wondering what they will be like...they have worked for me too with my music

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[info]tonyyoung
2009-05-26 03:31 pm UTC (link)
also with me reviewing I know some have bought some CD's I reviewed personally so yeah it does work...a sale is better than no sale

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[info]connexion
2009-05-26 09:10 pm UTC (link)
Which reminds me, check out the promo list. Things are more or less stabilized by now and I've updated it. Also, the other 2 discs that you had requested turned up (under a stack of DVDs, gah...) and after I gave them a quick listen, I have my doubts that they should be covered @ C.B. but maybe for TheyFell?

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[info]saintmatthew
2009-05-26 05:09 pm UTC (link)
It's rare I use a review as a final decision point, say if I'm on the fence about whether or not to pick something up. Sometimes if I read a really good review about something it never occurred to me to check out, it'll at least get me to check it out. That kinda leads to the next problem though that I started to notice, being that the preview model that itunes uses is sometimes not conducive to properly evaluating an album. I still seem to get the best luck with word of mouth although I've gotten a few stinkers that way too.....


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[info]connexion
2009-05-26 09:05 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for opening a can of worms that I've been brooding on for a few years now since I started you-know-what...

So, webzine related parts first and bear in mind that I'm speaking from personal experience here, I can't speak about how other 'zines and 'blogs do things. At C.B. I used to try to make sure that everything we received was reviewed. Unfortunately, good and reliable writers are extremely hard to find and work on their free time, with the inevitable possibility of 'real life' happening and causing review delays (though I try to work around this). Add to that that promos arrive in increasing quantities and adding new writers is a rare occasion. I could do a triage of promo offers but between real life and the main C.B. activities I already barely have time for a life.
In the end, stuff that hasn't been picked up in over a year and which, upon listening, I find to be sub-quality, will find itself deleted from the list of promos and added to the so-called 'leftovers box'. I don't like doing this but there is no other practical way.
Also, perhaps reviews published long after something has been released may help to re-spark interest in a release that might have been overlooked when it came out (I know that as a music buyer this has happened to me a couple of times).

From a music consumer's point of view, reviews were quite useful in the past, especially when one couldn't find streaming and downloads everywhere. In a way, they still could be as reading a review (good or bad) might make me check out something and then perhaps buy it (as no local shop in this corner of the woods stocks 'our' kinds of music).
However, given my particular situation, it's obvious that a lot of the promos I receive end up being my pre-buy listens ("Plague Called HuMANity" being a recent example).

While I don't have a label's point of view, I did help a friend release his debut album a couple of years ago and had some hand in the sending of promos. It is true that some labels may send out stuff indiscriminately to magazines, webzines, blogs, radios and DJs but a systematic approach may well be needed - checking out what is active, how frequently they update, ask for playlists, etc. Depends on how much stuff one puts out but there are tools that can be creatively used to monitor these things (mailing lists come to mind as a first option) and, inevitably, an artist/label-head should be able to optimize his promo sending options.

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[info]noetic_echoes
2009-05-29 01:25 am UTC (link)
When I worked in a radio station, we got so many shitty (or shitty-looking) promo CDs that it overwhelmed our reviewers, and we just started this thing called the "Ass Bin" to take care of it. I think part of the problem is that some labels just have droves of talentless hacks and eventually it's just not worth our time to look at their releases, especially since they send us 10-15 CDs a week (Tinderbox Records, I'm looking at you). What's worse is that on the station's end, if reviews/plays fall behind then the bigger and usually better labels stop mailing promos altogether and you're left with just crap that no one wants in the first place. It's really a vicious cycle, and it just speaks to how far behind the current distribution model is.

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[info]divineaudio
2009-05-26 11:42 pm UTC (link)
i base all of my music purchasing decisions on these factors:

- friend recommendations. usually, but not always, accompanied by an mp3 cd or a website where i can preview the tracks.

- live shows. the thinking here is that if they are good live, the recorded music will also be good. works pretty well, but i have been burned a few times.

- short(A.D.D.!)descriptions on mailorder/label sites. i quite often take a chance on things i have never heard based on these descriptions/bios/comparisons. good examples - am kha astrie by halo manash ordered through malignant and the fall of nature by sutcliffe jugend ordered through alien8.

i almost never read album reviews in magazines or blogs, i would much rather read artist interviews. especially if it's a band/artist that i'm not familiar with.

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[info]obsequious
2009-05-27 06:31 pm UTC (link)
My experience is that blog reviews are more valuable for direct sales, but magazine reviews are valuable for on going name recognition. Both are valuable, of course.

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[info]noetic_echoes
2009-05-28 12:46 pm UTC (link)
I view things systematically: if there is free audio, I check it first, and then buy. If there is no free audio, I check reviews. If there is neither, I wait for a friend to buy it and tell me how it is, or I stay on the fence until I have enough disposable income to take a gamble. But for bands I know enough (like you), I just buy it first and ask questions later, because I know I'm getting a quality product.

But seriously, the zine reviews aren't that important for me. As long as the distro has a juicy press release, that's just as good, since most of the zine reviews are so... er, "special."

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[info]sesha
2009-05-28 04:54 pm UTC (link)
I've actually had better luck buying based on cover art and band/album names than I have based on reviews.

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