THE VALUE IN COLLECTING AS ONE
The music ‘industry’ is in a pivotal place in 2026 – Going into 2027, with Live Nation and Ticketmaster clearing their monopoly; festivals galore that have just become corporate advertising; streaming services taking your hundreds of millions of dollars and buying AI war air droids, the bashing of musicians and artists instead of these corporate millionaires taking responsibility, The AI music flooding the streams while the dam is about to break. With all of that said this is about another issue I see in the music space.
There is no shortage of people willing to tell you what you ought to think about a record. Just spend a few minutes wandering around the internet and you’ll find somebody ready to pass judgment. There are critics, reviewers, YouTubers- however you want to define them- someone is there explaining why the latest album matters—or why it doesn’t. The machinery has been running that way for a long time, and I suppose there is nothing particularly wrong with it.
But I want to put the focus back on the music itself, its discovery, its connection to the listener and let the individual take what they want from it. Listing my opinions or what I hear or how I interpret something isn’t what I want to do here. I’m not a reviewer. I believe self-critical thinking is more important than ever before.
That isn’t meant as a criticism of the people who are reviewers. A good critic can be a useful fellow to have around. But I’ve never been particularly interested in reading or, in deciding for somebody else whether a record is worth exploring. Music is a peculiar business that way. The record one person can’t get through the first song of, may be the record another person carries around for twenty years. The song a critic dismisses on Tuesday may be the song somebody hears on Wednesday and remembers for the rest of thier life.
So I’d rather give you the information and let you discover new music, hear the tunes for yourself and let your mind take you to a new place. I DO think it is important to get feedback and have solid sources, but from a select few?! I wanted to find a way to break down those doors and give artists and bands an honest source of genuine input from a collective voice.
And that’s where the new ‘Hot Off The Press’ star rating system comes in. Take a moment to explore, discover and participate!
Under each single and each album after its release, readers and listeners alike will have the opportunity to leave a simple star rating. The scale is deliberately easy to understand: one star means Not Recommended, while five stars means Best Release. Think as star 5 as 100 – star 4 is 99 and below, The ratings in between give listeners room to make their own judgment.
At least for now, we’re operating on the honor system. There is no need to create an account, sign in, hand over a name, or jump through a series of hoops simply to give your position. Listen to it. Make up your own mind and leave your honest, genuine rating. In which you can take pride in being a part of something that holds prestige – without tampering or negative intentions in a world where we are surrounded by fake biases, corruption, money-driven, high school-like popularity contests. My goal is for these to represent the artists observation and awareness for the artists
What I’m interested in learning is not simply whether one particular record gets four stars instead of three. I’m interested in the larger picture. What are people listening to? What artists are beginning to get people’s attention? What sounds are connecting with an audience? What records are people recommending to their friends? What do listeners want more of? Those answers, are considerably more interesting to me than my own opinion.
It doesn’t mean every artist is going to appeal to every listener. Quite the opposite. The whole point of allowing an audience to participate is that people are going to disagree. And they should.
One listener may hear something and immediately reach for the stars. Somebody else may not bother with the stars at all but will buy the record, go to the show and tell ten friends about the band. That is the part that interests me. Because ultimately, a music scene isn’t built by critics. It is built by people listening.
It is built by somebody hearing a song for the first time and deciding they need to hear it again. It is built by somebody buying a record from a band at the merchandise table. It is built by somebody bringing a friend to a show. It is built by musicians hearing another band and deciding to start something of their own.
Hot Off The Press isn’t intended to be a courtroom where records arrive, receive a sentence and disappear into the archives. I’d rather think of it as a press room with the door open. New records come through. New bands come through. Stories come through. We put them on the wire and send them out to the people who might want to hear them.
The listener gets the final word. Maybe that’s an old-fashioned idea. I’m all right with that.
And if you happen to find a record you can’t live without, there’s a perfectly good solution to that problem. Support the artists. Buy it. Put it on the turntable. Put it in the car. Put it in your headphones. Tell somebody about it. That’s how music moves.
Let the music speak. We will listen, And I want to hear it!
If you’re an artist, band, label, publicist or someone working behind the scenes on a release, send it in. Hot Off The Press is interested in upcoming and recently released singles, EPs and LPs.
