What is your opinion of the “Pay for Critique” services?

Seems like there are no shortage of business/site/individuals who are willing to give you a precise, honest critique of your material for a price. (I have found the range between 15$ to 30$ per song.) BUT I question the validity of such services. (Which for me answers my original question.)

What makes these individuals “experts” on song writing? (I am not questioning their own personal history or experience.) AND is this really the route the “professionals” take when they go about honing their craft to get their material to the point where it MIGHT interest a possible publisher, et al?

Is the difference between the “Pay for Service” and sites like JPF really that extreme? The latter claim that “for a fee” they will give you an honest assessment and might even point you to a collaborator. Is this not what occurs on sites like JPF? Is this not what publishers do? (I might be wrong but believe this is how it once worked?) Can we, the writers, only expect an improvement in our craft, in our writing, only if we pay for it?

Once upon a time the writer created a song and once satisfied demoed it and began the next step. (Finding a publisher or maybe an agent.) Maybe the writer would purchase the latest Song Market Book and use it to research those that might be interested in what he/she had to offer. The writer would contact said person/business to see if they were accepting submissions and if they were the writer would package the demo up and send it out. Maybe there would be a connection maybe not. Sometimes you received a critique, sometimes not and sometimes the writer might be directed into a whole other direction. AND that was free. (Well except postage et al.)

If the House took an interest in your material they would take it from there with the understanding that they owed part of the writers creation. If they believed in what you had then they would cover the expense. (Again it was understood that they now ‘owned’ your material for a set period of time.) The bottom line is you did not have to pay for them to critique it.

Years ago, when I was going the route described above, a ‘shark’ got a hold of my address and mailed me a response. The letter contained everything one wanted to hear and my wife, who had opened the letter and read it to me, was very excited. She read down a little further and read out that a price was involved. I stopped her there and explained what I still believe is true today, “If ‘they’ think it is good for ‘them’ they pay you.”

So. What do you think?

Douglas

"Is this a practice? They are all practices." John Denver

www.soundclick.com/dougmurphy