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Is EMPTY a good way of having my stuff promoted?

Well, yes and no. Yes because even if we only release 200 copies of the newsletter, people can copy them freely and it ends up with a lot more. Yes because the people we send them love music and quite a few also run labels and/or do zines. Yes because there's a website, quite visited. No because the website isn't fancy, there are no ads, no flashy banners, no animated gifs, even not a single picture as I write this -EMPTY is about music, that's all there is to it. No because our reviews aren't written with monosyllabic words and hold no reference to no kind of easy-listening pop, no matter how well disguised (nu-metal, industrial-strength techno, etc.) No because we don't review stuff from majors (and our definition of a major is quite wide). If promoting your stuff is really what you're after, why don't you send it to a regular asswipe?


What may I send?

Everything. We currently mostly review music because that's what we're mostly sent. Fanzine were reviewed, movies often are, and poetry, litterature, drawings, etc. would be if people sent them and we liked them.


Which formats are accepted?

ALL: except for DATs because we have no player. CD, CDR, DVD, MD, VCD, SVCD, DivX, floppies, tapes, vinyl (we especially like 10" and coloured 7"), and any kind of paper, etc.


How do I send stuff?

Just the regular way: with an envelope, stamped and sent to the address you may find in the contact section. If you email us to listen to an mp3, we'll probably tell you to get lost. If you want to send a promo copy, that's fine. If you want to send a regular copy with the regular cover, that's fine. Just keep in mind promo copies can't be traded and don't travel if we don't like them enough to review them -yes in that case they end up in the trashcan. If you want to send a three track demo, that's old fashioned. Something you should know: your press-kit, press-book, biography, grandparents' history don't interest us. Contact info is mandatory and enough. If we want more, we'll ask.


If I send stuff, are you going to review it?

As said elsewhere, we get a lot more stuff than we could possibly dream of listening to. So getting a listen is some kind of random event, which nor me or you can predict -although not sending a press release, having a nice-but-simple artwork and adding a few words to your record might help. So the question before 'are you going to review my works' is 'are you going to listen to it and consider it worth the time you spent listening'. Because if we if we like your stuff, we'll review it. If we don't, we won't -negative reviews do no one a favour, as my dear friend Jimmy says. See: although life is kinda simple there's a lot of luck/hazard/RandomGodWill® in it. Don't bother to ask for a review, if you think you deserve one, you'll have one. And you'll probably get a personal email with the review in it. If you insist on hearing our negative comments on your stuff, you'll get them; be prepared to be thick-skinned, though.


Can I ask you to send my stuff back if you don't like it?

You can. And if you don't send money for the stamp or an international SASE, we'll say no -but you asked.


What do you do with the tons of stuff you're sent?

We keep what we like -our house is big. Stuff we have mixed feelings about we'll probably trade if someone's interested -we've been around a long time so we know a lot of people and we feel not-too-bad-stuff must keep moving till it finds a lovely home or another reviewer that might like it. We sometimes sell records we're sent but that's a rare event -and that's certainly not the reason why we run EMPTY. If we really don't like your stuff, we'll throw it away -our house isn't that big. You mean you THROW records AWAY? Yes, that's what we mean. A lot of them, actually.


What do you like?

Usually: sincerity, good music of all kinds including but not limited to electronics, noise, free jazz, post rock, industrial, weird pop, psyche, kraut, grind, sludge, hardcore, emo, stoner, surf-rock, contemporary classical, experimental, improvised music,tribal/ethnic, minimal, etc., people who do their thing seriously without being to serious about themselves, etc.


What do you dislike?

Usually: the corporate music business (especially the major-owned/distributed labels with the 'independent' sticker on the front of their stinking jewel boxes), jewel boxes since we're speaking about them, television, goth related or influenced music (and just about anything with a 'I'm very dark and all sad and miserable' 14-year-old attitude), all forms of discrimination (so maybe we don't dislike goths that much after all), EBM and all kinds of dancefloor music (and if you're like goth-EBM, ahem), nu-metal, porn and all kinds of exploitation of living organisms.