Bluesbunny Review Policy (Updated)
The Bluesbunny Review Policy
Firstly - and most importantly - we do this because we love music. Sadly, it does not bring us great riches or get us free beer. We review most genres except for hiphop/rap/trance/"urban" and jazz (unless there is a scientifically proven link to alcohol). If you are in doubt then ask us. We will take a look at your webpage/Facebook/Reverbnation etc and make a decision. All reviews are published at the editor's discretion so there is no guarantee of a review. Our mailing address is available on our main website and on our Facebook page.
We can review compact discs, vinyl, cassettes, reel to reel, mp3s and other download formats. We prefer a physical format for sound quality reasons but we understand that you might encounter difficulties or excessive expense in sending your music to us especially from the other side of the world. If you want to send mp3s etc then contact us for the correct email address to use. Depending on workload, it can take a while before your review will appear. You must let us know if you need it by a specified date and we will help if it all possible. Note that we receive a huge number of digital submissions and, unfortunately, there is not enough time in the day/week/month/year to listen to even a small percentage of them let alone write a review. To be fair to all concerned, the selection of music for review submitted by this method will be random. PR companies fond of mass mailing mp3s will find their efforts captured by the spam filter for automatic deletion. So now you know.
Where possible, we like to receive a short biography (one sheet is more than enough) with your music. It might seem strange but over half the albums we receive through the post come from bands we have never heard of. It is also useful if you send us a link to where we can download publicity photographs as we can then use them to illustrate articles and reviews.
We do not charge for reviews whether recorded or live. We do not stream your music (or make it available for download) from our website without your permission.
All of our reviewers have faults (some have more than others…) but they are all entitled to their opinions. Any factual errors in reviews will be corrected if you let us know about them. We try to be fair at all times so if you got a good review then you deserved it and if you got a bad review then you deserved it. All reviews are our copyright but you may use the review in your own (or your record label's) publicity, website etc without restriction. We appreciate it if you give us credit however and, if possible, a link back to www.bluesbunny.com or the original review.
Regarding live reviews, please bear in mind that the reviewer will usually be there to review not only the headline act but also the support acts and may not have the time to hold an extended conversation with you. We do not advertise who we are going to review (unless we are sending in a photographer too) but we might contact you if we publish a review of you, provided we have contact details for you so it helps if you have made friends with us via Myspace or Bebo. Should you have a CD/album/single/mp3 that you would like reviewed, then all reviewers can accept them. A smart musician always remembers to bring a short biography and albums to a live gig! We do not necessarily review all bands on a bill either.
We do accept unsolicited reviews of albums or live gigs but there is no guarantee of publication. So, if you think you have got what it takes to write for the Bluesbunny then send an example of a review to the Editor. The email and mailing addresses can be found on our main website.
We also accept unsolicited articles vaguely related to independent music and we may, at our discretion again, publish it on the website. So, if you have an opinion - and Bluesbunny likes opinions - on the independent music business or even an article on influential (or even long forgotten) bands from the past then we want to hear from you. We like originality and free thinking. Again, there is no guarantee of publication and we reserve the right to edit anything you might send in. Contact the Editor in the usual way.
We are also happy to receive photographs from live gigs that we have reviewed. Any photographs that we use may be edited and processed to meet our requirements. By submitting the photograph, you are consenting to allow us to reproduce it on our website and other related locations. You retain copyright and you will be credited wherever the photo is used. Email all photos to the Editor and remember to include contact details.
Finally, and this has been added through regrettable necessity, if you feel the need to threaten, intmidate or even assault any of the reviewers by whatever means, you should be aware that, as a matter of policy, all communications including tracking information will be retained by us and will be forwarded to the police to aid them in their investigations. In the UK and many other countries, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are required to keep extensive logs of all activity through their networks. With the tracking information that we will provide, it will be possible to track you down.
Author: Bluesbunny Editor
March 21, 2012
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