Getting a song critique can help you at any stage in your career.
For the more seasoned songwriting or producer, you've probably spent months working on your latest single. Before you release your song to the public, why not get some song feedback to get the best chance at maximizing your exposure.
Or perhaps you are a beginner.
You still have a lot to learn and you have a song or two in progress. You need some constructive feedback. Sure, you’ve listened to it over and over again, and you love it. But you're biased and need advice from someone that doesn’t have an emotional attachment to the project.
You are in luck, there are a ton of places to get some feedback for your music. Here are 7 of them.
Where To Get A Song Critique
Online Forums
Search Google for “music critique forums” in your genre. Make an account and get involved in the community. Most forums will have a section dedicated to requesting feedback. Remember to actively contribute to the forum before asking for help.
Other users will want to see that you aren’t simply there to get feedback and then leave. The great thing about forums is that you will have access to hundreds of thousands of other musicians.
The downside is that most of the users are in the same boat as you, and will only want to get feedback rather than giving it. The other downside is you may get unhelpful one-liner feedback.
Reddit is a community of communities. There is a subreddit for everything! Here is a good list of music subreddits. Most of the music subreddits are moderated and will have weekly music feedback threads. Just like forums, you’ll have exposure to a lot of other musicians. Unfortunately, the same cons apply and not everything you receive in return will be great in quality.
( Quick note: so you are ready to distribute your song, download the free music submission checklist by clicking here or on the image below)
Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are a popular spot for musicians to get together and share their music. Most of the public groups are filled with spam. You’ll want to look for private groups with a good amount of users.
Some groups are even hidden so you’ll have to search google for them and find someone to invite you. Keep in mind, the private groups are better at eliminating and banning spam, so don’t show up and immediately start blasting your music.
Music Blogs
Keep an eye out for blogs that feature indie musicians. It can be exhausting sending out your music to hundreds of blogs, but sometimes you’ll get some feedback in return. And if you’re music is great, the blog may even post your music. A site called SubmitHub makes this a little easier by allowing you to pay $1 to guarantee feedback from the blogs.
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a great way to post your music to share with others. It’s also good for networking and listening to other music from indie musicians. I can promise you that just posting your song to SoundCloud is not going to get you feedback in return.
You must also spend time genuinely interacting with other musicians which will eventually draw attention to your music, and in return will get you some feedback in the comments.
Industry Professionals
There are many professional musicians who will spend time listening to your music for a fee. Unfortunately, this can get expensive depending on the experience level of the listener. However, if you have the cash, you’re likely to get a professional song critique on TAXI. TAXI members ($300/year) can submit their music to industry pros and receive specific feedback in return.
Fiverr (Fastest, Most Inexpensive Way IMHO)
Fiverr has a gig that lets you get a song critique for $10. The reviewer worked at a label for years and his feedback is highly rated. Click here to get your song reviewed by him.
How To Ask For A Song Critique
It is one thing to know where to go to ask but to be effective, you need to know how to ask. When asking for feedback, be specific about your request.
- Do you want the user to listen to the entire track or just the intro?
- Are you looking for technical feedback such as mixing and mastering?
- Do you want to know what they think about the energy or vibe of the music?
When receiving feedback, remember to be open to it. Don’t become defensive if someone doesn’t like your music or thinks it needs a lot of work. Instead, find out why they feel that way.
Remember, there are always outliers. If you are getting feedback from multiple sources, look for trends. If 1 person says that your mixing is great, but 9 people say it needs work, it’s safe to say you should disregard that 1 guy and instead consider the feedback from the other 9.These trends will also show you where your weak areas are and what you need to practice.
So there you have it. Pick one or two and go get a song critique. A good one could mean the difference between you get heard by the masses or just your family and Friends.
Guest post: 90% of this post was written by a dude who would like to remain anonymous. He didn't say why BUT I'm thinking he works with one of the sources mentioned in the article above. Either way, the information is helpful.
(P.S. when your song is ready, download the free music submission checklist by clicking here or on the image below)
