A couple of weeks ago I entered a few of my old songs into an online contest on garage band.com. I have entered these songs in contests on the same site three or four years ago and some actually did very well. It doesn’t seem to matter what category I put the songs in, at least a few reviewers will say that they are in the wrong category but no one seems to know what category they should be put in… LOL… So this time I put them in the experimental rock category and of course I still get a few reviews with people saying that I put the songs in the wrong category.
As you may or may not be aware I’m a very honest person and as such, my review and rating strategy is fair and non-bias. At garage band.com you can choose to review other songs as a way to earn credits, so that you can enter your own songs into contests instead of paying an entry fee. For obvious reasons, I have been reviewing music from the same category that I entered my music in. Unfortunately for me, a few of the bands that I gave bad reviews to (very well-deserved) got very upset with me for not liking their music and they turned around and gave my music a very bad rating (unfair and not at all deserved). Almost half of the reviews that I’ve received have been bad reviews from people who are just upset with the fact that a real musician is entering real music into the experimental rock category. I have gotten some very good reviews and my songs are moving up the charts but I do not feel that the rating for my position in the charts is what it should be. I will most likely have to reenter each of these songs as a way to counteract a few very biased reviews.
Don’t get me wrong here, I am well aware of the fact that my music needs a lot of work. Hell, I wrote and recorded these songs almost 4 years ago. I just got some new equipment from my computer so that I can use it without using my hands which means that I’m finally going to be able to use reason again. I wanted to throw some songs onto garage band.com to get an idea of what people like and what people don’t like about my music. Just as I imagined, this is turning out to be a great idea, as a way to receive good honest criticism and even a little inspiration.
Something that I always find very amusing is receiving e-mails from musicians with a bruised ego after reading my review of their music. Something about this process is very enjoyable and I even enjoy the odd battle. I am also very happy to report that in most cases, those who oppose me, usually back down while admitting fault at some point.
Although garage band.com has not been able to effectively remove all bias from their voting process, I still believe that it is an effective tool and definitely a great idea for any band looking to evolve and grow.
I’m also very happy to report that my review rating has gotten a lot better in the last two years and is going up. My review rating for the last 10 reviews is currently at 101%. Maybe I could work for a magazine.
