[sdiy] Stricly commercial

[David Hughes]

Hello,

jdm at synthcom.com said :

> Since my product is a hardware/software upgrade to the Roland Jupiter 6, I
> can't really afford to send every magazine a completed, working unit.  So
> it sounds like it's not so super easy in my case.
> 
> I guess I'll write some nice letters asking if they can have one of their
> JP6-owning reviewers contact us for a free upgrade.  

That's the way to do it. Speaking as a freelance journalist, the best way to get
access to the magazines is to do some homework, figure out who the sub editors
are and write to them or call them directly. (The editors themselves are too
busy and will pass the work over to the sub-editors anyway). 

After that, put together a working system and *full* instructions on how to
install the hardware and software. Then test it on someone else's system. Make
sure it works. From experience, reviewers *hate* systems that are hard to
install or crash or don't have enough documentation to get the thing running
reliably. They're often working to very tight deadlines and won't thank you for
something that's only 50% there. Besides, it looks bad in print. Anyone remember
the first reviews of the Waldorf Q? Damned fine synth but the first software cut
made a poor impression on most of the reviewers and consequently sales suffered.

Regards
   David

-- 
Infection Music
http://www.infectionmusic.co.uk
http://www.mp3.com/tbassuk