OK, so no one really enjoys hearing criticism, especially in regards to their art. However, you’re not going to get ahead in the music business if you don’t get better at playing, and most of the time, constructive criticism is going to be one of the best sources for fine tuning your skills.

After all, you can usually tell when critics are being truly mean-spirited, and when they’re just trying to help. Most of the time, when someone comes up to you and says, “Hey, you guys were pretty good, but…” it means they’re interested enough in your act to want to try and help you out.

This is a good thing! 

It means you’re engaging your audience.  They are invested enough to comment and offer advice. Anything that inspires people to be helpful is ultimately good for building your band and your name in the music business.

You may not always get good advice – we’re not saying to take every comment you receive to heart – but it’s virtually always worth listening to what the fans want and at least considering it.

Your fans and your critics are going to have more distance from your work than you do, and like a manager coaching a boxer, they can help you spot the little flaws in your performance that you don’t notice at the time. Being able to self-evaluate during a performance is one of the hardest skills for a musician to learn, and it takes many years to develop.

In the meantime, if you want to get better, someone’s going to have to point out your flaws.

So, next time you get some criticism, give it a thought. It doesn’t mean you have to act on it, but give it fair consideration. You might be surprised at how quickly it helps you improve!