How music reviews differ from videogame reviews
As I examine music reviews of The Slip, one thing became quickly apparent: a score of 9/10 or higher seems less important in the music industry than the videogame industry. Is that really the case?
I don’t know as much about the music industry, because I don’t read about it as compulsively. It’s easy to spend more time reading about videogames than playing them, but I think it’s very difficult to do the same with music.
Videogame reviews are to games as radio is to music – they both institutionally flirt with payola
What I do know about videogames is reviews sell games, because the “hardcore” gaming audience pays attention to reviews. If a game gets mediocre reviews, a lot of gamers give the game the brush-off.
As a result, videogame publishers pay promoters to manipulate the gaming press, in the hopes of obtaining as high a review score as possible. Not only that, but game developers are promised a bonus if review scores are above a certain range.
It honestly sounds a whole lot like payola, where labels and promoters pay DJs to play and promote certain artists on the radio. And there, at least the line is blurry – a raving fan can also call in to the station every hour to request the same song. DJs aren’t paid to be objective critics; they just keep the airwaves from going silent. Or at least, that’s my understanding of it.
The solution: consumers with independent opinions
I don’t know how relevant music reviews are to the music industry. Perhaps they are very relevant, but I get the impression they aren’t as vital as videogame reviews are. I hate to sound libertarian here, but it’s entirely possible that if anyone is to blame for the problems of videogame reviews, it’s the videogame consumer, who depends on reviews to form an opinion, instead of forming an opinion by themselves.
At least people can listen to a song or two and decide whether or not I want to buy an album based on their own personal taste. I, for one, know that I don’t need Rolling Stone to tell me what music I like.