Slicethepie Guide to Writing Reviews

A few days back, I introduced all of you to Slicethepie, the site that pays you for your reviews on songs by new, undiscovered artists. I've heard some great tunes on that site while reviewing them, and I hope some of those guys make it into the mainstream market!

Of course, I also promised you a guide that will help you earn more money for each review that you write. If you've already checked out the site, you'll probably have been prompted before that your review is "too short", or you find yourself only earning $0.20 in bonus payments, which is kinda low.

Now, I'll be giving you a simple guide to follow along for writing reviews, so that you can increase your review speed and make more money from them!

Without further ado, it's time to introduce the Official Guide to Writing Reviews on Slicethepie!

First of all, your technique must be correct. What do I mean?

How many of you listen to the song for 90 seconds, then rack your brains to come up with a review for it, while it continues playing?

Chances are, you found it hard to remember what you heard in the first 30-60 seconds of the song, and that means you've missed out on one point to write: the introduction of the song. Even worse, you could have gone on to the next song after 90 seconds, but now you're stuck here for probably another 60 seconds while you think of what to write for the review. In the end, you spend almost 2 minutes per song, and because you can't remember the entire song, you submit a subpar review and get a lousy bonus payment.

Instead of doing that, adopt a simple "type-as-you-listen" technique. It sounds so simple, yet many people don't do it! Typing your review as you listen to the song will allow you to simultaneously finish your review as the 90 seconds are up, thereby allowing you to quickly move on to the next song. More songs = more profits!

Some people might find it hard to type out a review while they're listening to the song. Hence, here is a simple guide on some points that should be included in each of your reviews. Think of it as a template that you can follow for each song that you review. By following a template, it makes it easier for you to finish your review on time.

Introduction: All songs have introductions, so don't miss out on this! What kind of introduction does the song have? Does it start slowly and then lead into the song? Is it purely melody and without lyrics for a while? Or perhaps the singer starts singing almost right at the beginning? Then, give your opinion on it. Did you like the introduction? Does it flow smoothly into the rest of the song? How did it make you feel?

Lyrics: Most songs will have lyrics, although occasionally I have reviewed songs that were purely melodies, but that's only around 1-2% of the songs that I've reviewed, and I've reviewed quite a number! Give some comments on the lyrics of the song - meaningful? Nonsensical? Funny? Is there a good rhyme going on, or is the singer just trying to mash them all together?

Melody: Don't forget to cover the background music of the song. How is the rhythm of the song? Does it have a catchy beat that sticks with you? How does it make you feel? Talk about some instruments if you can tell what they are. Some easy ones to make out are the guitar and drums. Are they used well in the melody? Instruments may sound awkward in the melody if they are out of place.

Commercial Potential: These artists want to break into the music industry, and in order to do that, they need to be releasing good songs with the potential to go commercial. This is your chance to tell them whether you hear (pun intended!) them going commercial with their song. Don't forget to add in a reason on why you think they can or cannot make it!

Always remember, you should be sharing your personal opinion and thoughts in your review! Tell them how their song makes you feel. Here are some descriptive words that you can consider using:

• interesting
• memorable
• unique
• original
• expressive
• strong
• clear
• impressive
• inspiring
• meaningful
• boring
• simple
• unoriginal
• weak
• out of pitch
• repetitive
• uninspiring

Feel free to add your own descriptive words to your review!

One last point to note: Your reviews might get flagged if you always use the same sentences to describe the song. Don't be afraid to try out new words in your review, or experiment with mixing up the order of your reviews. Sometimes, there might be a very unique part in the song, so feel free to use 1 or 2 sentences to talk about that too.

Enjoy the tunes on Slicethepie!