Policies on CD Reviews

 

1.    One of the purposes of GrapeVine is to review Catholic music projects and thus give badly needed exposure to worthy projects. Therefore, only projects that promote, reflect, and do not contradict the Catholic faith will be considered for review. All varieties of musical styles are welcome and creativity in lyrical content is encouraged as long as it is in keeping with Catholic teaching as taught by the magisterium and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

2.    Every Catholic artist is welcome to submit a project for consideration. The CD must be the artist's most current project; GrapeVine will not review older projects. There is no guarantee that any project received will be reviewed; this is up to the sole discretion of the reviewer and that decision is final. Every CD will be carefully listened to and every artist contacted via email acknowledging receipt of the CD, and the decision regarding a review. All artists must read and agree in writing (email is fine) to these policies before CDs are considered for review. A website link to these policies will be included in the first email sent back by the editor. 

3.    An artist wishing to have his/her CD reviewed should contact GrapeVine by sending an email to susan@gvonline.net. In that initial email, the artist should briefly describe the project and submit a website with sound samples that the editor can listen to. If there are sufficient sound samples, a decision as to whether to accept the CD for review will be made. There are two reasons for this approach: 1) If the CD is refused for review, it has saved the artist the money and effort to send the CD. 2) GrapeVine targets certain CDs for certain reviewers, depending on musical style. Listening to sound samples beforehand allows the editor to choose the proper reviewer and thus have the CD mailed to that reviewer, rather than to the editor.

If sound samples are not available online, the CD can still be considered for review.  

4.     An artist whose CD has been accepted for review will be emailed an address where the CD ought to be sent. Unsolicited CDs will not be considered for review. It is required that artists provide a press kit or a website that provides biographical information about the artist. CDs that are sent to GrapeVine without that information will not be considered for review. No CDs will be returned. 

5.    Reviews in GrapeVine are intended to be positive in tone, but also honest. There will be times in almost every case where some weakness will be found, but it is the policy of GrapeVine to offer only constructive criticism whereby the artist can improve on their art. The nature of reviews is subjective and artists must understand this when submitting their work. Personal preferences will play a role in any review although it is GrapeVine's policy to be as open minded as possible in all reviews. 

6.    The following criteria are taken into account when considering a CD for review: 

  • vocal ability: technical as well as the ability to move and touch a listener

  • instrumental expertise

  • musical arranging

  • lyrical content and quality

  • production quality

  • intrinsic value with regards to spiritual edification

7.    If a CD is not accepted for review, a brief, one-time explanation will be given to the artist as to why it was not accepted. There will be no back-and-forth dialog with artists regarding rejections. There will be no exceptions.

8.    With regards to CDs that have been reviewed in the magazine, GrapeVine will not engage in back-and-forth dialog with artists regarding acceptance/rejections of reviews. There will be no exceptions.

 Thank you for your cooperation.