A lot of people have been contacting me asking if I could write a review of their recent release on my blog. And so far I have been turning down those requests, mostly because of two things. First, I'm already really short on free time and this would mean yet another amount of extra work to squeeze into my tight schedule, and second, it just feels a bit unfair to be helping out only one artist, sacrificing my precious time just because he asked me to do it, while I could otherwise spend that time creating content that could potentially help masses, curating my playlists and reviewing submissions - or even better, I could spend that time working on that goddamn music :)

However, this has just changed and from now on, I will be open to review requests. Maybe you're asking why did I change my mind, but the answer is actually quite simple - I've come up with a way that will actually help both me and the reviewed artist at the same time, leveraging the so-far unused potential of my website's traffic. But unlike most of the content on my website (or submissions to my playlists), those reviews won't be for free. (Ba-dum-tss)

How does it work?

It's easy. First, you get in touch with me via my contact form, and I will listen to your release. Obviously, I won't review everything - I strive to hold on to a certain level of quality the content on my website, so only quality releases I deem worthy of sharing will be accepted (and of course, only lofi hip hop and chillhop releases are permitted). Another thing for me to consider will be my actual time options - basically, I don't want to be reviewing more than one release per month, as, to be honest, I really wouldn't have time for more than that and there would also be danger of the blog getting cluttered with those.

Anyway, once I confirm that I am up for the review, I will require you to send a payment to my PayPal. As soon as it lands there, the deal will be sealed and during the next two weeks, I'll get back to you with the finished draft of the review for you to check out and approve. 

Also, when the payment is completed, I'll ask you to write up a few details about your background for me, so I could also include a few words about you in my review (which generally makes people happen to connect with the artist more easily). 

Then, once the review's finished and approved, we'll think up of a release date for the review that fits us both, and when the day finally comes, the review will automatically pop up on the blog, and I will also share the review on my social channels and include it in the contents of my monthly newsletter. Plus, a little cherry on top, I will also choose the beats I like the most and add them to my Spotify playlists.

What will the review be like?

It will be beautiful, trust me ^^ I'll look up some nice images on your Instagram (or use those you'll send me along with that background information) and put them into the review to make it more eye-catching and more personal. Obviously, the Spotify (or Soundcloud) embed player with your release will be included, too, so people can listen to it conveniently, and at the very bottom of the review, there will be links to all the streaming services and digital music shops where is your release available, as well as links to your social channels. 

The minimal length of the review will depend on the release type - for singles, it will be one standard page (1800 characters), for bigger releases like EPs and albums it's gonna be more, up to two standard pages of text (3600 characters). 

And as I have been reviewing releases before for quite some time (yet drum and bass ones, tho) and also writing PR articles for the mighty Let It Roll (the biggest drum and bass festival in the world), I have the confidence that you won't be disappointed in my work.

So, what's the price?

After some thinking, I have settled on $15 for a review of a single and $29 for a review of EP or album, as I feel that it adequately balances the time I have to invest in listening to your release and writing the review along with the added value of my website's traffic I have spent a lot of time building up. And no, I am not trying to be unnecessarily greedy here - I just know the value of my time very well. (Also, setting the price a bit higher can actually also work as a good filter, so only people who really want the review will make it through).

Can you once again sum up all the benefits for me?

Sure thing, here they go:

• You can potentially catch the ears of more than 5000 monthly visitors of my website
• Your release review will be shared across my social channels once it's out
• A link to your release review will be also included in my monthly newsletter
• I'll add selected tracks from your release to some of my Spotify playlists as a bonus
• And if you're not satisfied with the review after all, I'll send you your $$$ back

Sounds good?

Then don't wait for too long so the queue doesn't get too full. First come - first serve. To request a review, reach out to me via this form (or you can use the classic contact form on my website anytime if you decide to reach out later and will be too lazy to find this article).

Request a release review