One of the toughest things to face as an individual and not just as an artiste , and often one of the biggest barriers to people trying to make their mark in the industry, is the prospect of your work being judged and criticized by other people. For some the fear of criticism terrifies them to the extent they never attempt to get on stage or achieve their full potential. I won't give any assurances that criticism won't happen. The reality is that not everyone will like what you do and some people will feel the need to tell you that, whether they're professional reviewers, bloggers, OAPs, twitter groupies or people in the audience at shows. it will hurt you and, even when you get used to it after a while, it will never really stop smarting. What you need to remember is that it's just someone's opinion.
The fact that one person doesn't like your music doesn't mean that nobody else does either. Like I usually say, it's not possible for everyone to be your fan. some will love what you do, some will not. it's important you don't let negative comments distract you from your focus on making good music. You also need to remember that everybody gets criticized – just visit some popular music sites and see the kind of hateful comments on some good songs, and then you will realize that most times, people just go hard on artistes for the sake of going hard.
However, this doesn't necessarily mean you should ignore all negative comments about your music. Some might just be telling you what you need to know. so don't dismiss all comments you don't like, and if people are constantly making the same points about your music , then you should consider if there are things you should change or improve on. Sometimes people will give you suggestions or criticisms that might actually be worth considering and using, so it's good to be open minded about criticism.
CHECK OUT THESE POINTERS FROM PAUL HAWKINS AND THE AWKWARD SILENCES
1) Just because one aspect of what you do could improve, it doesn't mean everything you do is terrible.
2) You don't have to agree with them and you don't have to change what you do just because one person doesn't like it. You should never let anyone convince you to change your music into something you don't feel comfortable with.
One of the most important things to do is to consider who's criticising you and why. Ultimately if someone sees music completely differently to you, and wants your music to be something you don't want it to be then it would be folly to change what you do to try to please them – the likely result is a compromise that neither of you are really happy with and doesn't represent what you want to do. Criticism hurts at the best of times but it's far harder when you know yourself your music is no longer the thing you really wanted to present to people.
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH CRITICISM AND BAD REVIEWS?
1 ) The best reaction is to refuse to publicly react at all. If it's on the internet read it and move on or if it's in person, nod politely to the person and then go and talk to someone else.
2) Don't dwell on it. Don't continually re-read it, don't link to it on your website and don't send out an email to friends or your mailing list drawing attention to it.
3) Remind yourself of positive reviews you've had in the past – try to keep in mind the review is only one person and others may not agree with them.
4) If you are going to react, I'd strongly advise not doing it in public (either by commenting on the review on your blog or mailing list or posting on the site where the review first appeared). Very few people are able to stay calm in the face of criticism and not take it personally and there is a real danger that you'll be provoked into saying something that makes you look a bit silly – one of the huge problems with the internet is the possibility for these things to go viral and I can think of several examples where a musician or writer has reacted to a small review on an obscure website and suddenly has thousands of people thinking he or she is an idiot. It's not always true that all publicity is a good thing.
5) Furthermore reacting with humor is always a tricky one – if you take the mickey out of the reviewer you look bitter and twisted but if you're self-deprecating you look like you agree your music's crap and don't place any worth on what you do. Unless you're sure you can judge how to respond perfectly its best avoided.
6) If there are factual inaccuracies which you really feel must be corrected then do so but try to stick entirely to those and avoid commenting on the reviewer's opinions.
7) Never under any circumstances pretend to be a passing "fan" who happened to read the review and want to defend the band. You will get caught out and you will look like both an idiot and a liar.
8) Above all, use it as a spur to improve and push yourself further, both in terms of the music you're making and how you're approaching it. Think about what (if anything) you can learn from the review.
9) Always try to have an idea of the music you want to make in the future and how you want the band to develop. If you're pinning all your hopes on your current material criticism can be extremely hard to deal with but if you're excited about what the band will do in the future, it helps keep you upbeat and focused in the face of criticism of your current material.
Remember – no matter how unperturbed other musicians may appear – nobody likes being criticized and it's completely normal to feelangry, upset or despondent when it happens. Hopefully this advice will help you deal with those feelings a little better but they never go away entirely. It's just important to remember all the positives of being in a band and not let negativity drag you down.
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| 4lah |
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