Ripple Effect - Submissions Policy

Submission Policy

The Ripple Effect receives stacks of CD’s and gazillabytes of digital files every day. Trust us, we want to hear your music. We aim to post our reviews in a timely manner, usually 6 to 8 weeks from the time of submission, but there are only so many of us. That means it's impossible to get to every disc that comes our way. To increase your chances of getting exposure on The Ripple Effect, understand these guidelines:

* Not all submissions will be reviewed. We have to totally love what a band is doing, feel it in our souls, to write a review. The goal of The Ripple Effect is to spread the word on the music we love, not every CD that comes to us. We're not critics, but music lovers. If the CD is mediocre or generic, if we don’t feel it, we won’t review it. The upside to you is we won’t publish a negative review. The upside to us is that we save our souls.

*Repeat.  Not all submissions will be reviewed.  We're not a review site, we're a music loving site.  Don't bitch at us if we don't review your album.  It means it didn't strike our hearts.  That's our prerogative.

* No Digital Files lacking information. Please be professional.  Send professionally completed, produced, finished products or exceptional demos.  MAKE SURE YOUR DIGITAL FILES HAVE BAND NAME AND SONG TITLES.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard a great song on my "to review" playlist only to find that it is "Song 1" from an un-named band.  We can't review an album if we don't know the band name or song titles, now can we?  I've thrown out tons of good music because of this mistake.

* We love vinyl, so feel free to send it in. Full albums, EP's or singles, it's all good. Did we say we love vinyl?

*Just to clarify: we place emphasis on the submissions that demonstrate a significant effort and quality. In order, we will always review vinyl first, then CD, then digital submissions. D.I.Y. efforts are always appreciated and taken seriously here at the Ripple.

* Under no circumstances will we ever review a streaming audio file. We don't work that way. We can't be relegated to listening to your song at our computers. We need finished, portable product.  Do not ask us to review from a stream or youTube video.  It won't happen.  Get us a download.

* Write us when you submit, introduce yourself and tell us a bit about you. People we like tend to get their CD's placed on the top of the stack.


So why put up with these guidelines? Quite simply, The Ripple Effect is growing exponentially. We're over 3,000,000 individual readers.  We’re listed as one of the top 10 Music Sites in the world, ranked as one of the Top 5 music sites by GuitarWorld Magazine, and the number one ranked music site by Jemsite, home of Ibanez Guitars! When we get behind a band, we get behind them 100% and cross-reference the reviews like crazy in many different forums to help spread the word. Our posts are syndicated across the web on such major sites as Guitar World, USA Today, en Blog, paperblog, and the MOG Network. Also, getting reviewed in The Ripple Effect nearly guarantees your music to be played on the vastly popular Ripple Radio Show, one of the featured music shows at Blogtalkradio.

We don’t wish to discourage you, but we all need to understand the limitations of what we can do. If you’d like to send us your music, drop us an email first. Tell us a little about your musical style so we can assign the best reviewer for you. Be nice, make us laugh, and we'll love you.

Peace and best success for your music. – The Ripple Effect



Comments

Bufftbone said…
My cousin's band is right up your alley. They are called "Low of the Low" and are from the south side of Chicago. I'll turn them onto your site to submit their new CD for review. Meanwhile they can be found at www.myspace.com/lowofthelow
Thanks, man. We're more than happy to spin the disc and give it a go.
Anonymous said…
cool site- I will have to send a CD in soon.

www.myspace.com/lsdnd
Anonymous said…
This you should check out:
www.myspace.com/wraptors
It's a new Swedish trio mixing a lot of different rock influences. Really nice!
I am super excited about the opportunity but dont have a demo yet- except for one from when i was in high school lol- i look forward to putting one together- in the meantime i wish you were able to go to my youtube page where i have all my music covers and some originals thanks for the help! http://www.youtube.com/ChristinaMcDaniel
Lani Ford said…
Digging your blog. Rock on,
Lani Ford/STARK
www.starknyc.com
www.myspace.com/stark
www.youtube.com/starkband
mevs said…
hey guys
i'm really digging the site and i think you might like my band. we're an ambient/electronic/spoken word duo. we released 3 albums and 1 single last year. we broke up for a little while but we're back together for good and we're working on our 4th album. all of our stuff is available for free download on our myspace. i hope you will check it out and maybe we can have the honor of being reviewed. thanks so much for your time. take care!

www.myspace.com/finneyerkes

matt
Phil Chill Hill said…
Hey Ripples are what laps at my (sail)boat and what floats it is my hard working ass & a can of varnish...dig da fumes oooh I'm feeling all comfortably numb, Yikes that title's taken....but if it sank I'd grab the insurance and do another CD and press a vinyl release of The League of Notions debut because the killer artwork wakes you up...ahh yes but I digress, Yes, Oui, Si, good chappies and chappettes at Ripple...you have now given me a fresh breath of unvarnished air and I plan to send you :The League Of Notions CD with killer artwork throughout...Absolutely the Quirkiest band from Toronto since those BRRRR Nakid Lads doffed their pop top and which mixes our take of the humour and satire of Zappa, with Marley whiffs, Who riffs and Rock Opera Spliffs....each of the 17 Tracks a completely different Notion...so I'm sending it out today and you sure won't miss the Killer cover...think the artist who drew those cartoons in the borders of MAD magazine....Hell let's start a ripple effect and sail this League out to conquer the flat earth with a Tsunami.....The Chill Drummer for The League of Notions
Unknown said…
Love Ripple Effect and going to shout it from ever social media site I can think . I am a personal manager, promoter, PR, Publicist, Radio Promoter and Social media consultant.

I found you threw Charlie Levey's manager Mark Levey. I help all people and businesses I feel are good for a better stronger music scene. I am managing 5 bands at the moment. Sinate (Thrash/Speed) who will be sharing the stage with Dark Funeral, Taake, 1349 to name just a few this Sept 25-26. The Heathen Collective (Heavy Groove Metal), Uncle Fester (Progressive Metal al la Tool), Caravan Fuzz(Motown inspired Rock)and Blackwater (Dark Evil Metal fronted by a woman). All bands have outstanding musicians. I do not need to hype any of them. Sinate has full endorsement deal from PAISTE cymbals, LANEY amps,TAMA drums, EVANS skins, SCHECTER guitars, DEAN MARKLEY strings, and PRO-MARK signature sticks.

They tour every year in Europe and the Sinate brothers were in 8 Foot Stevia and recorded 2 albums with them on Roadrunner Records. I will be looking on your facebook page to get posts to promote the hell out of you.
Kudos for a job well done.
Unknown said…
I am a personal manager and much more to five bands currently and I just love Ripple. I will be shouting that from ever social media outlet I know of.

Sinate (Thrash/Death) are endorsed by PAISTE cymbals, LANEY amps,TAMA drums, EVANS skins, SCHECTER guitars, DEAN MARKLEY strings, and PRO-MARK signature sticks.They will be taking the stage on Sept 25 with Dark Funneral, Taake, 1349 and other great black metal bands. The Heathen Collective (Groove Metal) Blackwater (Dark Metal fronted by a lady), Uncle Fester (Progressive Metal al la Tool)and Carnaval Fuzz (Mootown-touched Rock).

I'll get posts and ads from your facebook page. Fell free to inbox me with ads any time I love love love everything you are doing. Kudos guys.
Love this blog. It's real. got good juju. I never see that anymore