Taking a critical view of your artistic work is vital to improving and growing as a musician. When taking advantage of online music marketing techniques, there will be listeners that are critical of your work. When somebody gives a reason for not liking your song, it can be easy to take the criticism to heart.

Here are a few guidelines and tips to remember when receiving feedback about your music:

Music is subjective

You cannot please everyone with your music. The Internet is an open platform for several types of consumers with varying taste in music. Finding the right place and target audience to market your music will increase the probability that your feedback can be used in a positive way.

Don’t take criticism personally

Online music marketing breaks down the barriers between your product and the consumers. Everyone with access to the Internet can feasibly find your track and make a comment. Feedback in this forum is generally absolute (i.e. “I love this song!” or “This band is horrible”). This criticism is not constructive, but if you don’t take it to heart, then it can be useful.

Look for patterns

Once you start to receive a good amount of discussion and response to your music, you will be able to find patterns within the feedback. Look for specific details to find out what people like and dislike about your songs. You may want to change the hook, add a bridge or find another way to change the dynamics of the song to keep it interesting.

Decide how to respond

If you receive primarily negative response to your music, there are a few options to choose from when moving forward. You can change the music to make it more appealing to a certain demographic. This may require changing the dynamics of your songs or starting from scratch. A second option is to find the right demographic for your existing music. Negative feedback may be a result of marketing your music to the wrong audience. A third option is to continue playing music that you enjoy, regardless of the reaction.

You are the primary audience

Making it in the music industry is not an easy task. You can write music with the purpose of appealing to a certain audience. More than anything else, you need to enjoy your music and be proud of your contributions and collaborations. If you are not passionate about your music, that will resonate with the listeners. An artist is his or her own worst critic. The first step is to hook yourself into the music, and then you will determine who else is likely to enjoy your music as much as you do.

You will continuously learn from feedback regarding your music. If a person makes a comment about their dislike for your song, it is not a statement about the artist. It is a statement about the product. You can pour your heart and soul into every painstaking detail of your music. This will not prevent consumers from missing the point altogether. Listeners have different musical and lyrical hooks that make music a captivating and enriching experience.