The Value Of A Negative Review

Many musicians find themselves apprehensive about the review process, and for good reason, people can be mean. They send their music out into the world with a hope that everyone will love their music, but I will save you the field trip; some people are going to dislike your sound, and there is nothing you can do about it; and when it comes to the bigger music promotion picture, that’s just fine by me. I subscribe to the belief that all publicity is good publicity, well maybe not all, but most. The reasoning behind this thought process is quite simple, it only matters that you get people talking; because silence is never a good sign.

Of course you want, and deserve, credit for what you have created, since many artists take a considerable amount of time to make even one song, it can be truly disheartening to hear any negative criticism, and for some musicians this can be enough to seriously halt progress on the next single. It makes complete sense, since music and the creative process in general is tied so closely to the ego, whether we like it or not; but a proper perspective can see the silver lining in a bad review, and a humble personal outlook can weather the emotional storm.
So what does a negative review tell us? Well for starters it tells us that your music is effective enough to warrant an opinion. Secondly, it is proof that people are talking about you, and that means your promotional efforts are succeeding on some level of relevance. Lastly, and probably the most important, it will give you a better idea of who your audience is, and who your people are.

 

A bad review is nowhere near the end of the world, because we all know that we all have opinions, and we are curious creatures at the core of it, so if we hear a bad review, we want to go check that song out for ourselves, because who knows, maybe we might actually like it? Inevitably all reviews, both good and bad, draw traffic to your music, and that’s what it is all about at the very heart of it. That being said, one consideration that needs your full attention is many negative reviews that highlight something that is consistently showing up as problematic for the listener. No I am not talking about changing your music to suit the listeners taste in order to capture a wider audience, because that is the exact opposite of what the freedom of art means; however, if the comments are technically based, as in the recording was terrible, the singer could not hit any of the notes they intended to, and other such things, then this is a great chance (as long as you have an open mind that is) to see what areas of your craft can be worked on more.
All music worth listening to is going to have polarizing opinions. People are going to love your music as much as they hate it, and you can’t win them all over, but as long as you get them talking, then you are killing it in the Music Promotion game! Just remember, there is no one that has the power to offer an opinion that can stop great music from being heard, so take it all with a smile, and continue on reaching out to your fans.

Empire Music Promotions (www.empiremusicpromotions.com) offers result based campaigns aimed at helping you build your own musical empire. Submit your music today!

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