InternetDJ Guide to Rating and Writing Song Reviews

Posted by Michael Bordash on 2005-10-31 17:11:37

The art of review rating takes a minute to comprehend, however, to truly become a master of the process you'll need to practice and thoroughly understand the subject matter under scrutiny. If you are not schooled in the subject, it is more difficult to accurately write a review or provide a rating, however, taste is subjective and judging the overall effectiveness of a song is possible regardless of the reviewer's experience.

When asked to rate a track (from 1-10) and provide a review based on your rating, take the following notions into consideration:

Relevance: How well does the track relate to other tracks within the genre? Does the overall sound measure up when compared with others? Is it memorable?

Presentation: How well is the song mastered? Is this a final product? Or on its way to finality? Do all the parts work together to present a finished piece? You may want to hold off on a final rating if the author is just putting up a work-in-progress song. More times than not, the artist just wants to get some information on a specific phrase or level-check.

Originality: Does the song use old samples, with no customization? Are the phrases "borrowed" from other tracks or have they been created from scratch? Many young producers get caught up in the technique of using electronic music tools, rather than the theory behind creating a song. As most composers would agree, a course on music theory will be the most helpful in developing a unique structure for a song. The old saying fits here, "you have to know the rules, in order to break them." When reviewing a track for originality, take note if the song fits into a known structure or if the author has taken formal ideas and expounded on them to develop something truly unique.

Correctness: Yes, there's something to say for whether a song has been constructed correctly. Specifically, if the songwriter intends the song to follow a consistent beat, does it keep the tempo throughout the song? Do the parts fit in time with each other? If the artist builds a chord progression, does it hit all the right keys? In some instances this is relative to the originality of the song, but the listener knows when something is just not right with the chords, the phrasing or the tempo.

Overall: Finally, the first-impression subjectivity of a group of listeners is generally correct. You just know if a song is "good" or if it doesn't cut the mustard. Like on those quizzes back in high school, does the track pass or fail. Think like a consumer. Thousands of songs are released each month only 10 make true hits. Is this track one of them? This answer should play into your rating, but should not totally dictate it.

When providing a rating for a track, take all of these points into consideration, and think about what a track should receive. Remember, reserve 9s and 10s to those tracks that TRULY DESERVE it, that should be played on radios throughout the world. Same goes for 1s and 2s. A "7" is a GOOD score.

When you write your review, you don't have to write a book for it to be effective; touch on the answers the above points might question. Most people would be thrilled that their track was considered GOOD by fellow producers. Giving everyone 9s and 10s is kind of embarassing, as it means your standards are pretty low and you really haven't taken the time to place the track in a firm spot given the entire spectrum of songs that are out there. Save your best ratings for the best tracks.

Examples of Strong Reviewers
This list is merely a tiny sample of the hundreds of great reviewers on this site. I can't include all of you, but you know who you are. Look to these examples to help in your review writing.

� Farace - Not only is he the #1 reviewer in quantity on InternetDJ, each review is thoughtful, to the point and very accurate. A master composer in his own right, Farace's commentary is welcome to many artists.

� Twelve652 - Twelve652 is another long-standing member with a wealth of composition and production experience along with critical mention under his belt. Look to Twelve652 for insight that others may miss.

� DJStino - Stino is a professional trance producer and is a wizard with music production. Stino is highly critical and highly accurate. Stino will tell you everything that's wrong with your piece with the purpose of extracting perfection from artists.

� Oceanseeker - Widely regarded as the most critical reviewer on InternetDJ, Oceanseeker will stop at nothing to tell you what you are doing wrong. If left unchecked, he will disassemble every second of your track and demand you fix it before re-uploading.

� Morningstar - Contrary to some of our other reviewers, M* concentrates on providing feedback and assistance for the strong aspects of a song, ensuring that the best is exemplfied in all. Many composers need to know that what they are producing actually works. M* is also a wizard of technology, he can debug any production problems artists may have.

For our new visitors, our huge independent music archive needs your input. Start browsing and listening to music right now. Click here to begin.

Article Comments

Comment by chakky on 2008-06-30 11:06:20
the best
Comment by trialsin808 on 2007-08-19 07:43:27
I have read this guide and found it to be extremely useful. Im new to uploading here, and would welcome any help into making internetdj the place to host our music.
Comment by tomas_smart on 2007-04-20 21:22:31
yeah that's right! As a newcomer I just screwed up on my 2nd review : ( . weeeeeeeeeeeeeee snif snif. Lesson learned, people learn from my mistake! Read the article!!!
Comment by iffi on 2006-08-30 15:23:06
nice for new comers like me its very fruitfull thx forthe artical :)
Comment by trus1te on 2005-11-08 11:56:02
aWe hell, Jowie I'm with you :-p
Comment by Concrete on 2005-11-07 17:45:33
you broke his heart.. :-P.. well I think it's important for people to read this because we are here to get better, and not worse..
Comment by Jowie on 2005-11-05 07:39:00
Comments (risda):
Jowie, did not mean to leave you out!!!!!!! Just picked 5 of the best reviewers at random.

Posted on: 2005-11-01 23:59:59

was a joke man:);)...this is a good step to get beter reviewers around here.
Comment by RoBiN on 2005-11-03 13:36:52
true!!! absolutely agree with u guys, but it's nice to give ratings asthey will help the artist getting higher on the chart. I always give rating too... The artist likes that too. (at east that's what i think cuz i like to get ratings for my tracks...)
Comment by whiz on 2005-11-03 02:36:16
I am with u Star ;-) I have stopped giving ratings to anyone in idj. Ratings don't make ppl better but reviewes do.
Comment by Morningstar on 2005-11-02 21:42:12
I feel realy good about my new policy regarding reviewing tracks but not giving out a number review!!! another excellent choice here at IDJ!!! (option to review with out giving out a # review)
Comment by rogerbond007 on 2005-11-02 17:36:18
this is amazing world of ddjj'ss so buddies can download and share misc with the buddues around.....
Comment by RoBiN on 2005-11-02 04:03:58
i think people should review while listening the track... when you hear something good,say that, when you hear something worse, say that... i usually try to tell what i think is good in a track but also what i don't like. If there is something wrong about a track or if i don't like something, i mostly say what i would have done or how i think it could be better. But i guess everyone has is own way of reviewing... som,etimes i get reviews like:I like the melody and i got a 10, but i rather have a 8.5 or something with a good review... ofcourse the 10 is much better to reveive, but in fact its all about the review.... i think we are all aiming to get better... thats why we upload our tracks to iDJ right? But anyway, when somone give me reviews so short, i don't care. Its always nice when people say: good melody, or i like the beats... but eh... that's also nice to hear you know...
Comment by michael on 2005-11-01 23:59:59
Jowie, did not mean to leave you out!!!!!!! Just picked 5 of the best reviewers at random.
Comment by Jowie on 2005-11-01 20:40:02
LOL where am I in the list of examples ?!:P;) jk
Comment by Christianos on 2005-11-01 14:44:04
good start....nice drum....bit short...good
Comment by statique on 2005-11-01 12:28:21
Nice article,i Could see this coming a mile off due to the forum subjects and other peoples opinions about reviewing.

Its a nice article though,very to the point,i do hope that more peole read this as i hope to get better reviews to help me learn and correct mistakes that i will probaly continue making until someone says wat im doing wrong.

So guys and Gals read this and learn!!! LOL
Comment by Guest on 2005-11-01 11:14:13
I usually try to write more than two lines, but remain concise. I find those people that use short phrases unhelpful "good start....nice drum....bit short...good" that's not a review that's a nervous chap with a stammer. I think people should stick to reviewing tracks from genres that they are most familiar with, and enjoy, because often people will review tracks from genres they aren't so keen on and that will bias them against the song and they'll give an unhelpful rating. Good guide though, I just hope more people take the time to read it, alot of the very new (i'm quite new myself) artists on the site review badly and in the worst english imaginable, barely legible :D
Comment by Oceanseeker on 2005-11-01 09:14:48
Great article, I took some pointers from it :)

Now I can support my criticism in a big way, look out IDJ.
Comment by whiz on 2005-11-01 08:24:06
Nice article Ris ;-) I think all of us should be strict in reviewing others so that we can grow as a community. Agree with the good reviewers you wrote (Twelve is my favorite in here) and I crown Stino as the Simon Kewell of idj. :-D
Comment by farace on 2005-11-01 06:02:38
very good advice. ive been trying to be much more strict on reviews myself. work here should be compared to proffesional and commercial releases and even alot of those are 5 and unders!!
Comment by vago on 2005-11-01 01:14:42
great article, i'm sure it will help people to make better reviews, i include myself. Thanks Risda.
Comment by Firebrand on 2005-11-01 00:15:50
really hope I'm helpin with any of my reviews.
Comment by Guest on 2005-10-31 21:08:16
cool at last, hope some people start giving reviews now instead of comments:)
Comment by Puritain on 2005-10-31 20:02:24
nice read
Comment by Adrenaline on 2005-10-31 18:36:11
interesting article there risda. hope people read it and comprehend it and listen to the advice it tells.