You just released an album and the reviews are coming in, but there it is, your first negative review. Music reviews can be a mixed blessing that you have to deal with, because how you can appreciate someone who deconstructs and dislikes your work. Here are some tips of how to deal with negative reviews:

All publicity is good

Reviewers have to be recognized as an important piece of the marketing puzzle because they will help you spread the word about your band, while actually listening to your music. Whether the review is good, or bad, it doesn’t really matter, more people have been introduced to your music and will make up their own mind about your music, and that’s the most important part. Remember that all publicity is good.

Use it to improve your skills

Whether you like it or not, accept that the critic might have a point. Use the negative criticism to your leverage and learn from it. Listen to your album again with more objective eyes, and try to have some takeaways which you can use to improve your skills for the next album. 

Don’t contact the reviewer or publication

Some artists can’t contain their anger and write the publication an angry letter about the negative review they have received. This doesn’t only show that you can’t take criticism, it also comes across as very unprofessional, and in a worst-case scenario, can be used against you. 

Don’t take it personal

This is perhaps the best way to cope with negative criticism, it’s not you. Music critics have a trained ear and listen to a lot of music (it’s their job after all!) While they appreciate all efforts done by musicians, they end up listening to music on all sorts of levels, and have a lot of material to compare your album to. It’s very important not to take this personal, we’re all professionals here, right?

If you would like to have some more tips about social media, make sure to follow our newsletter, where we often share tips and tricks!