Somebody who was sent a review copy of our album just messaged us with their rates for reviews. I've dealt with this with my TTRPG writing as well, and I have Thoughts (TM).

Incoming, 1 (one) short thread on paid reviews that nobody asked for.

1) If you solicit review copies and then, having received them, turn around and say, "I'll review it but you have to pay me first", you're a thief. You were sent those materials (music, writing, whatever) under false pretences.

2) If you need to charge people to review their work then this tells me you aren't making money from other avenues (ads, affiliate links, Patreon, etc). This tells me you have no traffic and, therefore, that it's not worth having you review it anyway.

3) If you *are* making money from other avenues and you still charge for reviews, you're preying on and exploiting the creators who your business relies on.

4) Do I get a refund if you produce a negative review? If not, why not?

4a) If you don't write negative reviews, and assuming you review everything you're sent (because you're being paid to), your reviews are worthless.

That's about it.

If you're a creator, don't pay for reviews. Take out an ad instead.

If you're a consumer, don't support people who charge creators to review their work.

The end.