Music Reviewing is Dead

Today I was planning to write something about how the relevence of music reviews is decreasing as the ability to listen to any song you want for free increases. While I was doing research searching Google for articles to back up my point I found that I already wrote about this almost a year ago. I don't agree with (or even understand) everything I wrote in that post, but I think one line sums up what I think now:

"Television is like what music will become- too available to need a review."

I can't remeber the last time I read a review for music. Listening to mixtapes is how I discover new songs and artists now.

I think hip-hop concert reviews are the future. Why? Because:

1. There's a lot more touring going on in rap, yet not enough people covering it.
2. Reviewing live shows are more fun. It's the last free meal in hip-hop.
3. Going to a show can cost anywhere from $15 for a local act to 30 beans minimum for a major. I'm sure fans would like to know if they're going to get their money's worth beforehand.
4. Um, that's it.

So, concerts are what music used to be- not easily available, so it needs a review.

Comments

[noixe]

nah homey, I entirely disagree. your assertion works on the premise that you're gonna buy everything that's good *and* that there's a small enough amount of music to hear it all. you need music reviews as a filter.

[hashim]

"you need music reviews as a filter."

Mixtapes and radio are my filter

[milo]

agreed.

only because reviewers today have some code of speach that REFUSES to talk about whether or not i should buy the album. o-dub told me to talk about the "importance" of an album.

i'm like... k, but personally, who gives a fuck? i want to know whether it is good or not, right?

[Hashim]

Wow, O-dub said that? I guess it has some validity, but that's the non-opinionated style that frustrates me.

I was taught to play nice with important publicists. If I diss their new artist I can't get to interview the big artist. How is that journalism?

[Milo]

Yeah, exactly!! It's become way too political, much like everything else.

You can't really be truthful anymore unless you're only reviewing from behind the veil. Once you start dealing with labels, publicists, agents, etc, it's like "well, you ragged on my artist so uh, fuck you." And that's that.

It's CRAZY frustrating.

[Christopher Kendalls]

You're missing the point with this one. Reviewing lives because readers need an opinion to base their experiences off of. I still review, and I still read other reviews, because it is interesting to understand why some listeners do not like an album.

Reviewers are the industry professional somewhere inbetween artists and consumers. Reviewers can break down and wade through some of the inaccessibility of most artists' projects, and lead you away from a sophisticated project, if you're not a sophisticated listener yourself. Or steer you away from a hardcore project if you're more of a mainstream, contemporary listener.

A good review will keep me from buying a record that I won't like. Then i'll take the next step of previewing the album on the net or listening to it in the record store before I make that final purchase. But without the review, I'd never know what to expect, to begin with.