Big youtuber Glenn usually reviews music gear, does tutorials on how to record guitars, drums etc, but just lately has been reviewing people's bands.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IFjVdzVyWs
The issue however is that he asks up to $50 to "consider a review" with still no guarantee of said review. These streams seem to now rake it in, with onscreen "donations" popping up from bands every couple of minutes. You can imagine lots of small and struggling bands clamouring to get the money to get their chance.
However is this exploitation for exposure?
I think that it’s a little dodgy not guaranteeing a review. That’s probably why it’s not considered a payment for services and instead a “donation”. Ultimately it comes down to what you value your time and platform at, but still not providing a service for the fee is scummy.
The guy is so big I cant see him getting to everyone. He says on one of these that he had 50 bands lined up! 😨