It's called "conflict of interest" if you get free stuff, accept payment etc. when reviewing products. For example, you have Consumer Reports that purchases all their products they test and refuses any freebes from vendors--business ethics and all! There was a case then went to the Supreme Court, Bose VS Consumer Union and it had to do with a test of the Bose 901... all the audio rags praised Bose at that time but Consumer Reports did not so Bose sued them. Consumer Reports does not accept advertising so they feel no pressure to pander to their advertisers. They also have the money to take it to the Supreme Court and they did win their case. You should look it up, gain a bit of knowledge on that front.
On this site, they make every effort to avoid any conflict of interest and that is why is has become so popular. Ya see, the audio review business is for the most part BS (except Consumer Reports) as the magazines, Youtube channels accept free stuff, get all sort of advertising and so on to sell mystical audiophile gear. So yeah, it is critically important to know if you get free stuff, accept money for your "time" and so on. I tend towards tests/measurements and no conflict of interest while other people don't care. One good test is worth a million opinions and avoiding conflict of interest is what gains you respect--not how much time it takes to put together a video.
Something to think about...
I disclose everything required by FTC on my videos and then some. I'm happy to post when a video is sponsored. I usually check the option to say that a video is, even if it isn't just to play it safe. I have disclaimers set by default on every video since I do get affiliate ad revenue and MOST companies do send products free for review.
I openly charged exhibitors and attendees for my event, The Hi-Fi Summit, and got some pushback
here from
@amirm for doing so. I talk very openly about business relationships with companies on our podcast Daily HiFi. I just don't feel the need to do disclose something just because Amir asks me.
I will disclose that I have purchased numerous ELAC speakers from ELAC. Thousands worth. They've asked me to send back review samples and I have. I've done paid videography work for them to film and edit their videos at previous trade shows (not a review.) I have NOT been paid by them to do a review. I have charged them to exhibit at The Hi-Fi Summit and to be a sponsor of the event. I do get to talk to Andrew Jones on the phone when I have a technical question even if it isn't about his speakers.
Having said ALL of that...I don't love these speakers for the reason I stated in an earlier post as well as my video review.
My review was far from glowing in my opinion. You tell me what you think. Something about the treble that I don't like. I don't know what it is. I was hoping Amir's measurements might shed some light on that. I don't like the build for the price. I still feel like the old UB5's present a better value for most people who don't mind a speaker with recessed highs. I placed the Wharfedale Diamond 12.1's ($399) above these at nearly twice the price. ELAC can pay me and that still would be my conclusion.
What people should understand is that as a reviewer, I have good relationships with MANY companies, not just one. Many of them consider each other as their competition, but that's not my business. My job is to call it how I see it. If a company wants to pay me to say their speaker sucks, then that's up to them. I would most likely decline that offer because it's a lose lose situation. It hurts their business and it's a waste of my time to make that video. I would rather not shed light on crappy products because even negative publicity is good publicity as this review here on ASR is proving.
My boss is not the company, it's my audience. My audience pays me through views and when they buy products using affiliate links on my videos. Once in a while, we do have companies that want paid sponsored mentions in our videos, but we make that obvious by saying it's a sponsored ad and having a notification on the bottom of the video stating the video is sponsored. We also don't do sponsored ads on a review of that companies product. We strategically place ads on complementary products from other companies.
We are totally off-topic here, but I hope that clarifies who I am and what I stand for.
