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6Moons

T

Tenson

Trade: AudioSmile
I contacted the publisher of 6Moons to ask if they would like to review my MKII supertweeters.

The reply was that since the middle of last year they will only give reviews to those who spend a minimum of €400 advertising (per month ideally). This is their official position.

I think it excludes small manufacturers.

Discuss?
 
That's very crap. But then it's been rumoured that some of the bigger UK magazines work the same way albeit with larger sums.
 
I've never taken any 6loons reviews seriously, explains why they seem to praise everything they review.
 
hifi_dave said:
The mags have done similar for decades.
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Not to me they haven't. Hi-Fi Plus, Hi-Fi Choice, Hi-Fi World have been very good to me.

They charged me to purchase the review for publishing on my own website, that's all. I've always dealt with the reviewers, advertising is a different department.
 
I'm not remotely surprised by 6moons; it - like some or most other online reviewer/'magazines' - are actually in the taste-making/marketing bracket, but 6moons drives it home. As such I think there's an honesty about saying 'pay for it' up front but it rather confirms what we suspected all along about agency.

The articles and prosody on 6moons is usually a great source of unintentional levity. I wouldn't pay to read it...
 
So - anybody want to play with some supertweeters? lol. I won't pay you to write your experience here though!
 
In truth, this makes me a bit sad. There is so much gear about, and so few dealers able to stock and demo it. So we need reliable reviewers who we can trust. We need them more than ever, and we seem to get them less and less. However, I doubt that UK magazines would demand heavy advertising commitments in exchange for reviews.
But then I thought the Daily Telegraph maintained proper boundaries between editorial and advertising...
 
I was aware that six moons had been running a pay per review policy for some time now - hence you don't read any bad reviews - just very oblique ones.
 
I've reviewed for HFN, HFW DIY Supplement and currently for enjoythemusic. My reviews have never been predicated by advertising. I can't read 6moons anyway....I find them totally turgid.
 
Clive, I've attempted to get in touch with Hi-Fi News (HFN?) a couple of times about a review of the Kensai but have never had a reply. Can you lend me any advice on how to go about it successfully?
 
I'm no legal eagle but paying for advertising so you can get a review ? I wonder how that fits with the UK bribery act. Perhaps hifi is too invaluable a market for the authorities to spend any time investigating.
 
Tenson said:
Clive, I've attempted to get in touch with Hi-Fi News (HFN?) a couple of times about a review of the Kensai but have never had a reply. Can you lend me any advice on how to go about it successfully?
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I can't advise unfortunately, I only dealt with the then editor - Steve Harris. I'm sure it's all changed since those days.
 
Stemcor said:
I'm no legal eagle but paying for advertising so you can get a review ? I wonder how that fits with the UK bribery act. Perhaps hifi is too invaluable a market for the authorities to spend any time investigating.
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I suspect this is correct for UK publications. I used to write for an Automotive magazine, we did advertise sometimes but our legal people were at pains to ensure there was no quid pro quo. Indeed both sides were paranoid about this.
 
Tenson said:
I contacted the publisher of 6Moons to ask if they would like to review my MKII supertweeters.

The reply was that since the middle of last year they will only give reviews to those who spend a minimum of €400 advertising (per month ideally). This is their official position.

I think it excludes small manufacturers.

Discuss?
Click to expand...

6moons review policy has been listed on their website since last July

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/why/why.html

Also I dont think it is as much as you say. See here:

So here's the upshot. From mid July 2014 on, our review policy changed from what it was until then. From that point forward manufacturers who want a review from us commit upfront to at least a small one-month toekn ad. Here we're not talking about a full-page print ad for a costly one-time insertion rate. We're talking about a commitment 1/10th of that. Less than monthly health insurance. It's a very small fee. It is a demonstration of professional respect and courtesy for the time we spend to properly listen to gear, then write and publish a review on it. It makes it very easy even for brand-new manufacturers to participate in the process without having any large resources. And, it puts an end to the imbalance that the few carry the many. Put plain, it eliminates the freeloaders.
 
I refuse to believe that any section of the audio press takes any form of payment in lieu of a favourable review....
 
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