How NOT to send me music to review

I haven't been reviewing albums for that long -- just a couple of years, with Alternative Press and Bust -- but I've part of the delivery format progression from physical media (usually CD's) to digital downloads. And while I'm a big physical media guy (as one would expect from a guy with 5000+ CD's at home), I appreciate the rapidity and mobility that digital downloads offer, as a listen in the car might provide a different experience than a listen on a walking track.

What I detest, however, is the trend of some releases to be promoted with more obstruction than is warranted. Years ago, there was a pretty famous rumor about a Pearl Jam advance cassette that was glued into a Walkman to avoid copying and further dissemination, and while those days are largely gone, there are still ultra-secretive listening parties held in NYC offices for high-profile releases (The Killers, for one) to eliminate file-sharing. Anything to disrupt the piracy of tunage, I suppose.

Now, I'm not a writer of enough skill or reputation that I could ever be in one of these quasi-cloak-and-dagger situations with high-profile releases. However, I'm currently in the process of reviewing a forthcoming album for AP where the only music I "received" was in the form of links to MySpace sites that had a few tracks for streaming, which means that I'm effectively chained to my computer in order to listen. And when the press release hypes up featured tracks that they oddly neglect to include for streaming, can you see why reviewer frustration might mount pretty quickly? And if you're an artist, do you think your music will ever receive fair consideration in this fashion?

--sigh--

I'd write more, but I have to go; the stream is currently buffering for the next faceless track, and I want to be ready when it blasts through my Logitech desk speakers.

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