If you’re an artist, record label, or publicist, and you’re interested in having your releases covered in CD HotList: New Releases for Libraries, feel free to send review copies to this address:
Rick Anderson
CD HotList: New Releases for Libraries
914 Daniels Dr.
Centerville, UT 84014
USA
While I prefer physical copies, I will also consider downloads for coverage; links can be sent to me at rick_anderson [at] byu.edu.
A few things you should keep in mind:
1. Physical promos get first dibs on my listening time; downloads get second priority. There are two reasons for this policy: first, I feel a greater sense of obligation to those labels and publicists that go to the trouble and expense of a physical mailing. Second, I receive literally dozens of promo download invitations every week, and I can’t possibly keep up with them all.
2. I do not review from streams. This is mostly a simple matter of bandwidth–I don’t have time to keep up with all the physical promos and downloads I get already. If I can’t at least load the promo onto my phone and listen to it while I’m out running or on a plane, then it doesn’t get my attention.
3. Since CD HotList is intended for use by music buyers in libraries, it’s not a conventional review outlet; it’s really a recommendation service. Thus, the reviews will almost invariably be positive. If I can’t recommend it, I’m not going to review it here. My intended readers are people looking for things to buy for their library collections.
4. That being said, CD HotList is freely available to all, and anyone who wishes to is welcome to read it.
5. CD HotList has had many different incarnations since its inception in 1999. Currently, it is the product of one person, and thus–although I try to range as broadly as I can and make it useful to as broad a range of libraries as possible–it inevitably reflects my personal biases and preferences to some degree. Those who read CD HotList regularly will quickly figure out that I really like Renaissance choral music and roots reggae and straight-ahead jazz, and they may notice that I hardly ever review tango music or big bands or 19th-century Russian piano concertos. I feel like my tastes and my range of musical expertise are both pretty broad, but they certainly aren’t limitless. And I don’t feel any particular obligation to review music that I really hate to listen to–not when there’s so much stuff worth recommending that I actually do like. (That said, I will often give strong recommendations to releases that don’t particularly turn my personal crank, if I feel that their objective qualities are sufficient to justify it.)
If you have comments or questions, please feel free to reach out to me anytime at the email address given above.
CD HotList 