Who is Simon Sargsyan

Simon Sargsyan is a self-proclaimed Jazz critic and editor-in-chief of JazzBluesNews.com. He states on LinkedIn that he attended Berklee College of Music from 1993 -1998 but there is no proof of this online that we could find. It is strange that he went to Berklee for 5 years but got no diploma.  He is not listed on the Berklee College notable alumni page. LinkedIn also states that he resides in Boston, Massachusetts. English does not seem to be his 1st language.

He does have legitimate news on the site but seems to be running a scam on up-and-coming independent jazz and blues musicians. He solicits a request for an interview via email. Once you have completed the questionnaire Simon asks if you would be interested in an ad that runs for the lifetime of the site for $120. If you ask any questions he will become more and more erratic and irritated. I was shocked at how many emails/correspondents this guy sent about the $120. I received a total of 30 emails from Simon. If Simon is claiming to be such a music industry success it is shocking he would spend so much time for $120.

I have had many discussions with other musicians about Simon Sargyan, and the consensus is that he is not mentally stable. It saddens me that someone that is supposed to be fostering the love for music is nothing more than an agitated scam artist.

With some simple calculations one can speculate that Simon has made around $151,200 based on the current website. If he has 1,260+ “interviews” and charges $120 per “interview” ad he should end up with $151,200. That is from the musicians that bellied up $120 to not get a bad review. Clever scam.

I pulled some quick stats for his site below: