SIGNAL to NOISE material submission F.A.Q.
vers 1.1
Q: Did you receive my music?
A: We honestly don't have the resources or the manpower to log in everything we get, or to search through enormous piles of cds to confirm receipt of specific packages. To do so could be somebody's full-time job, we get so many inquiries!
Q: Will SIGNAL to NOISE review my music?
A: Maybe. STN covers a broad range of experimental music, and we're regularly overwhelmed with submissions. We typically receive several hundred recordings in the course of a month, and with an average of 150 reviews in each quarterly issue, it's inevitable that we can do little more than scratch the surface. Titles that seem appropriate to our readership are offered to our team of volunteer writers, who choose those releases in which they're most interested. We're never quite certain what's really going to be reviewed until the copy is actually in hand shortly before we go to press. Sometimes writers will fail to submit a review of something they've requested, and sometimes a submitted review won't pass quality control, regardless of the quality of the music being reviewed. There's a multitude of factors that determines whether something does or doesn't receive coverage.
Q: How long will it take before my review appears?
A: IF we publish a review, it generally happens within six months of the CD's release date. However, if we don't cover your title, don't automatically assume that we're disinterested in your work, or that we think it's inappropriate to our readership (although sometimes that may be the case). We receive so many discs that there's simply no way to cover all of the worthwhile music that arrives. If you continue to send us quality music, it's probably just a matter of time before we're able to bring your work to the attention of our readers.
Q: Is my CD more likely to be reviewed if I buy an ad?
A: We certainly can't make any promises. As mentioned previously, CDs are selected for review by our longstanding team of writers without regard to whether or not an ad has been purchased. That said, just like our readers, our writers do tend to "get to know" labels and musicians who advertise their wares in the magazine, which frequently kindles interest in their work. In a broader sense, we cover as much music as we can afford to (paper and ink ain't cheap!) and as we sell more ads, we're able to add more pages and make room for more content, and the overall percentage of releases we can cover rises. Buying an ad in STN also helps demonstrate that you're genuinely interested in accessing our readership, instead of just mailing us stuff blindly after finding our webpage on the internet, which we're pretty sure happens a lot (It's a great idea to actually pick up a copy of the magazine first to see if your release really fits into our admittedly eclectic editorial window).
Q: What about a big feature article? My label / band / artist / self is really great!
A: We're sure your music is excellent or you wouldn't be expending your energy spreading the word about it. Regardless, with a volunteer staff, we don't really "assign" articles per se. Rather, we choose between article ideas proposed by a trusted core group of writers. The best thing to do is to look over the magazine carefully and figure out which of our writers might have specific interest in your music. You can approach them directly about writing an article, and if they bite, they in turn can try and sell us the idea. If you need help getting in touch with a specific writer, just ask. Keep in mind, we typically print 4 longer feature articles and a handful of shorter profiles in each quarterly issue, so space is extremely limited and the competition for space is usually pretty stiff. Additionally, keep in mind that as a quarterly magazine, we have a very long lead time for features. If your CD is already available, it's already too late to coordinate an article with it's release. We tend to plan articles in conjunction with releases that are coming out several months down the road, so the piece is as timely as possible when it's finally published.
Q: OK, I get it. So, where do I send my stuff?
A: SIGNAL to NOISE, 1128 Waverly Houston, TX 77008 USA.
Please note: we travel during the winter months and the USPS will only forward our first class mail; keep this in mind if you send promo releases via parcel post. If you send by UPS or FedEx, your package will either be returned or it'll be buried in the snow until we arrive home in the spring!
Q: Did you receive my music?
A: We honestly don't have the resources or the manpower to log in everything we get, or to search through enormous piles of cds to confirm receipt of specific packages. To do so could be somebody's full-time job, we get so many inquiries!
Q: Will SIGNAL to NOISE review my music?
A: Maybe. STN covers a broad range of experimental music, and we're regularly overwhelmed with submissions. We typically receive several hundred recordings in the course of a month, and with an average of 150 reviews in each quarterly issue, it's inevitable that we can do little more than scratch the surface. Titles that seem appropriate to our readership are offered to our team of volunteer writers, who choose those releases in which they're most interested. We're never quite certain what's really going to be reviewed until the copy is actually in hand shortly before we go to press. Sometimes writers will fail to submit a review of something they've requested, and sometimes a submitted review won't pass quality control, regardless of the quality of the music being reviewed. There's a multitude of factors that determines whether something does or doesn't receive coverage.
Q: How long will it take before my review appears?
A: IF we publish a review, it generally happens within six months of the CD's release date. However, if we don't cover your title, don't automatically assume that we're disinterested in your work, or that we think it's inappropriate to our readership (although sometimes that may be the case). We receive so many discs that there's simply no way to cover all of the worthwhile music that arrives. If you continue to send us quality music, it's probably just a matter of time before we're able to bring your work to the attention of our readers.
Q: Is my CD more likely to be reviewed if I buy an ad?
A: We certainly can't make any promises. As mentioned previously, CDs are selected for review by our longstanding team of writers without regard to whether or not an ad has been purchased. That said, just like our readers, our writers do tend to "get to know" labels and musicians who advertise their wares in the magazine, which frequently kindles interest in their work. In a broader sense, we cover as much music as we can afford to (paper and ink ain't cheap!) and as we sell more ads, we're able to add more pages and make room for more content, and the overall percentage of releases we can cover rises. Buying an ad in STN also helps demonstrate that you're genuinely interested in accessing our readership, instead of just mailing us stuff blindly after finding our webpage on the internet, which we're pretty sure happens a lot (It's a great idea to actually pick up a copy of the magazine first to see if your release really fits into our admittedly eclectic editorial window).
Q: What about a big feature article? My label / band / artist / self is really great!
A: We're sure your music is excellent or you wouldn't be expending your energy spreading the word about it. Regardless, with a volunteer staff, we don't really "assign" articles per se. Rather, we choose between article ideas proposed by a trusted core group of writers. The best thing to do is to look over the magazine carefully and figure out which of our writers might have specific interest in your music. You can approach them directly about writing an article, and if they bite, they in turn can try and sell us the idea. If you need help getting in touch with a specific writer, just ask. Keep in mind, we typically print 4 longer feature articles and a handful of shorter profiles in each quarterly issue, so space is extremely limited and the competition for space is usually pretty stiff. Additionally, keep in mind that as a quarterly magazine, we have a very long lead time for features. If your CD is already available, it's already too late to coordinate an article with it's release. We tend to plan articles in conjunction with releases that are coming out several months down the road, so the piece is as timely as possible when it's finally published.
Q: OK, I get it. So, where do I send my stuff?
A: SIGNAL to NOISE, 1128 Waverly Houston, TX 77008 USA.
Please note: we travel during the winter months and the USPS will only forward our first class mail; keep this in mind if you send promo releases via parcel post. If you send by UPS or FedEx, your package will either be returned or it'll be buried in the snow until we arrive home in the spring!