Entertainment industry press - Yawn

Ok, enough about me and what I've been doing, it's time to ruffle some feathers. I'm sure that anyone reading this blog has read at least one of the industry magazines either online or in paper form (PSN, LS&I, AMI, Installation, etc). Let me summarise the content of the next issue:

1. Here is a review of a show, wasn't it epic?!
2. Look at this brand new product, it's going to revolutionise the industry.
3. Here is an interview with a person saying the same stuff as the person before them.
4. etc.....

What's the pattern?
They can't criticize. The industry press is sponsored by the industry, their income comes from advertising. That means that they can't give negative reviews for fear of loosing revenue. I don't know about you, but I'm bored! Not every product to be released is the next amazing thing. Some of them are, to put it mildly, rather disappointing. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a product review that was honest? Whilst it could damage a companies reputation, yes (and so it should if they keep releasing bad products), it could also give them great feedback and help drive innovation in the industry.

This is true for show reviews too: imagine a review of a show saying "this felt just like the last 4 shows I've been to, the only difference was a new person stood on stage" or, "it sounded awful, I couldn't understand a word the lead singer was saying". If I were working on either of those shows I would welcome the feedback, learn from it, and invite the reviewer to my next show to see if I got better.

Press isn't supposed to be nice and keep everyone happy but whilst it's funded by the very people it's reviewing I don't think anything is likely to change.