As your career unfolds, getting a second or even third opinion on your sound and career strategies can be a huge benefit and potentially lead you to make connections in the industry that can help guide you for years to come. Mentorship is one of the best ways to expand knowledge and make it actionable.

What’s so great about feedback?

The main reason why feedback is so important: 

It’s immensely difficult to listen to your own music in an objective way,

and you may not be aware of your strengths and weaknesses.

You spend countless hours producing a track, listening to the same sections over and over again, and inevitably over time, you lose all objectivity. You start to fall in love with your rhythm section or the melody, or on the contrary, start to hate the hook that everyone else might find great in your song.

With enough feedback, you might be made aware of a production habit of yours if multiple people point out your bridge section and think it could use some tweaks – it’s all important insight. Who can you trust to provide an honest opinion, and what kind of feedback will be most valuable to you?

One of the greatest instances of an amateur artist getting life-changing feedback from an industry professional is Pharrell Williams’ response to then-student Maggie Rogers’ song “Alaska“:

Types of Feedback

1. Getting Feedback from Industry Professionals on your Sound and Brand

What is your long term goal? If it’s to get a record deal, for example, it would help your chances immensely by having someone from a label listen to your music and give you constructive feedback on it.

This will help you align yourself with what labels are looking for and better understand what needs to be adjusted in order to be signed. Of course, every individual and every label have their own preferences, but if a universal need such as the mixing and mastering of your demos can be improved, it’s great to know!

2. Getting Notes from Other Artists on Techniques and Tools

Those around you can help you find new creative ideas. This feedback is valuable because other artists understand how personal the process of making music is, and won’t be as critical of your creative choices when they listen to your work.

Instead, they might pick up on something technical that could be improved, like the use of a specific plugin to add more saturation to the vocals, or suggest a drum kit they have to add a punchier kick. Other musicians are great soundboards to help improve the artistic execution of your songs.

3. Learning from your Audience and Following 

Though you should be making music for yourself, at the end of the day, it’s good to get feedback from those who will actually be listening to and supporting your music. With the internet so accessible to everyone, this type of feedback will come whether you like it or not, but keeping an eye on the general response to your music can help you know whether you’re on the right track and can continue trusting your gut regarding what sounds and feels good.

See as well: 5 MIXING TIPS AND TRICKS: HOW TO MAKE YOUR MUSIC SOUND GOOD

So, how and where do you actually ask for feedback?

All you have to do is ask! The truth is that there is no extravagant strategy to be put in place here, it’s just a matter of asking. There are a couple different ways you can reach out depending on who you’re targeting.

1. Where You Get Feedback from Industry Players

Given how many emails label executives get from artists per day, it’s likely that a message may get lost in their inbox and never be seen. Shoot for people or platforms who want to interact with artists on a personal level to up your chances of building a connection and getting an honest opinion.

• Music submission platforms are designed to receive music from emerging artists and give feedback, so make use of them!
  • Some sites accept or decline to provide press write ups for the artists that submit, while others focus on connecting them with people in the industry to answer questions they have.
• Labels and managers specialize in an artist’s growth, so getting feedback from them could give you the guidance necessary to move forward and also potentially lead you to working together in the future!
  • The best way to send a message to a label or manager is through a submission platform they are partnered with, and thus, trust. You can also do a little internet digging and find the reps of smaller artists who make music in your genre.
  • Reach out by email
    • If you only have their social media, DM them asking for their email for professional inquiries and exchanges.

The platform Groover is partnered with labels, managers, mentors, bloggers, journalists, radio stations and more that you can contact directly through the website. It is the most affordable submission platform with the most extensive network, so it’s an all around score. 

Keeping it formal will increase your chances of a response. From there, ask them what they think about a couple tracks of yours and what they think could take your career further.

2. How to Exchange with Other Artists

Given how collaborative music is, it’s likely that you know a bunch of people in your field.

• Sharing unreleased music with each other is an extremely common practice, so don’t hesitate to send a private link of your new song to a colleague whose opinion you trust and ask for feedback
  • Offer to listen to their new stuff in return.
• Join online music forums to connect with a larger community if you don’t know anyone personally yet!
  • Take advantage of the sites that are designed to bring people together, such as Reddit, for example.
• Attending camps and artist residencies is also an excellent way to work with others and expand your network in music.
  • The purpose of songwriting camps or production residencies is to collaborate, share, and provide feedback along the way. This is one of the most up close and personal ways to get an opinion on your work, and is the most hands-on way to apply those changes and get continuous feedback as you go.

The feedback other musicians will provide you will be more in-depth than anyone else’s because they’ve been in your shoes. Given that they also understand the process of liking something, making a change, not liking it anymore, going back to the drawing board, and generally being unsure of your choices, they can give you the straightforward clarity you need to make a final decision.

This exchange works best with people who are more or less at the same level as you, though having a connect who’s a little higher up in the food chain is valuable as well. They may have insight on techniques, equipment, or tools that you’ve never heard of before.

3. How You Can Learn from the Public

As an artist, having music out in the world subjects you to the opinions of the public no matter what. Though some people may be unhelpful, your inner community of supporters, namely those who have followed you for a while, want to see you flourish and can be great soundboards when you’re unsure about how your music is being received.

• Playing live shows is perfect for gauging how unreleased music might be received if it were to be released.
  • In the same way that comedians test out jokes with small crowds before adding them to their set or scrapping them entirely, musicians perform new songs during shows to see how their audience responds.
  • Read the body language of your audience and the general energy of the room when you test out a new song. Did the song do what you intended?
• Going live on social media allows you to engage with the supporters of yours that may not be able to attend shows.
  • Having access to your following from the comfort of your own homes means a far greater reach than live gigs, so hop on a live stream once in a while!
  • You have free reign here and can tease new songs, perform them, host a Q&A, and generally ask what everyone thinks of your projects or what they’d like to see more of.

This type of feedback is far more valuable than the comments you see on TikTok or YouTube – they don’t know you, so pay negative comments no mind.

Conclusion

Getting an outside opinion and receiving feedback on your work can be what takes you from a rough demo to an official release. Just remember that everyone has different influences and tastes, so don’t feel forced to change something if you don’t want to. Not all criticism is constructive, so only absorb what you think is genuinely relevant to your situation. It’s your own work after all, and no one understands your choices and the reasoning behind them the way you do!

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Contact curators and pros on Groover, feedback guaranteed in less than 7 days 👇

L’article How to Get Feedback on my Music est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Want to get listened to, feedback guaranteed and sharing opportunities from the top music curators & pros of your choice ? ⬇️

The Ultimate Guide: Our best tips to optimize your experience with Groover

1. What is the goal of Groover and how does it help artists?

Groover’s goal is to help artists get their music heard and receive guaranteed feedback on their music. The curators and pros who like the track will also share it: add it to a playlist, write a review about the song, share it on social media or play it on their radio for instance. You can also reach out to labels, publishers, and managers to build your professional entourage.

Groover helps artists by providing an effective and affordable way to promote their music by contacting pros and curators among more than 1600 around the world.

2. How to determine if a song is marketable and worth spending money on promotion for?

It’s also good to ask yourself this question. If you’re not sure about the marketability of your song, it’s better to focus on this aspect before looking into music promotion. You can always reach out to mentors and sound specialists on Groover to get constructive feedback on the track. It’s a way for you to understand where you stand before you start planning your promotion strategy. Mentors can also give you advice on your music career and other related topics.

3. When should you start promoting a track? Is it useful to promote a track after the release?

A release can be promoted at any time on Groover. You can start to contact labels, managers but also media and radio outlets before the release date.

Concerning playlists, we advise you to wait until the release date so you can add your Spotify link to your campaign on Groover, it will make it easier for curators to share the song.

It’s also very interesting to promote your track after the release to continue to build momentum and increase its visibility. By the way, you can also promote older tracks as most curators don’t care about the release date. Pros who only want to receive unreleased tracks will indicate it on their profile to prevent misleading you. It’s a good way to continue boosting streams and can bring you fans who will listen to your future releases.

4. As an up and coming artist, what should I spend the most money on?

Of course, it’s important to spend your money on instruments, recording material, etc. to be able to make high-quality music. It’s probably going to be your biggest spending area. Then when you have put lots of effort into creating music, you want people to hear it and that’s when promotion is important. We advise you to use a platform like Groover to send your song to playlist curators, radio outlets, blogs, … and get coverage. You can also allocate a part of your promotion budget to ads on social media to help you grow your fanbase but they can be quite tricky to master.

5. Can I use Groover for music which is meant to be a support for movies/video games.. and who should I target?

You can absolutely use Groover if you make music for films or as a support for other media. There are lots of cool playlist curators who like film music and ambient music who could definitely be interested in placing your track.

You can also reach out to publishers and sync pros on Groover who are responsible for finding music for audiovisual content. If you’re the right fit for one of their clients, they could get your music in an advertisement or movie!

6. How much to invest in a Groover campaign? 

It really depends on your budget! With Groover, it’s up to you to choose how many contacts you want to add to your campaign. We recommend investing at least €50 (about 25 contacts) to get interesting results. The strength of Groover lies in the fact that it can bring you many opportunities in one campaign. 

We did a study on artists who had the best results on the platform and it’s confirmed that the more contacts you select on Groover, the better results you get!

Do you have questions to ask us? We’ll be doing these live Q&As regularly so follow us on social media and you won’t miss it (we also post lots of cool content about our events, music promotion advice for artists, …)

You can also watch the full replay here ⬇️

Send your track to pros and curators with guaranteed listen and feedback within a week and coverage opportunities with the pros who like your music

Use our code YOUARETHEBEST at your campaign recap for 10% off ⬇️

L’article How to use Groover for music promotion? Our live Q&A recap est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

What’s the point of finding contacts from professionals in the music industry?

As in any environment, as an artist, it is important to develop your network and to have a maximum of useful professional contacts. Having contacts in the music industry can facilitate a lot of things like, for example, the media coverage of your next release, the creation of your video or the organization of your next tour … If you are preparing for your next release, here is an article to keep in mind: 7 things to avoid in order to succeed in music

A diversified book of contacts is a very good asset in the music business, which works hand in hand with a professional network.

How not to feel alone with your music?

When you’re an independent artist, you can feel a bit alone with your art. It’s important that you find ways to share your music with others, whether it’s with your friends, other artists or professionals in the music industry.

We advise you to talk about your musical project with the people around you to build a loyal support. Your entourage supports you in your projects, shares your news, talks about it to their acquaintances, etc … It is a support system not to be neglected and constitutes a first fan base around your music.

It’s also a very good idea to exchange with other artists at different points of their career as soon as you have the opportunity. Don’t hesitate to join Facebook groups dedicated to artists, to participate in music workshops or trainings, … to meet a maximum of artists. These people can understand your situation, be interested in your releases and possibly, give you advice. It’s also an opportunity to find potential collaborators.

You may also feel the need to surround yourself professionally at some point in your career. At this point you can approach managers and labels when you feel you have enough experience to show them your potential. This can, for example, be characterized by a substantial press kit with references, press articles and stage experience.

| Check out : How to find a booker?

How do I find professional contacts in the music industry?

On social networks: you can always try to send messages to pros through social media or via email and develop relationships with them! Many music industry pros are online and you can learn a little bit about them, understand their expectations, and better approach them when the time is right. LinkedIn works well for this, and our guide explains how to use LinkedIn as a musician to follow and contact pros before you pitch anything.

Concerts are also great places to network, whether at your own concerts or at other peoples’ events! Don’t hesitate to talk about your music to as many artists and professionals in the music industry as possible.

By uploading your music to Groover you will receive feedback within 7 days and you can start building professional relationships with the contacts who appreciate your music the most!

On Groover, artists and managers have the possibility to contact all kinds of music industry professionals, with a guaranteed response within 7 days (labels, raiods, media, playlists, etc.)

Who can give constructive feedback on my music?

It’s not only music industry professionals who can give you feedback. We advise you to build a panel of people around you who can give you feedback on your next release. You should ask as many people as possible who appreciate the music genre you are in and who are aware of the trends within the genre. You should also remind them to give constructive feedback by pointing out the positive points and the aspects to improve upon. 

You can also ask for feedback from your subscribers by asking them to be as objective as possible. This feedback should be taken with a grain of salt because some of it can be either too brutal or too nice. However, you can potentially receive a significant amount of feedback. Plus, your fans will always be happy to be involved in your music making process. You can, for example, post a sample on Instagram and offer them to respond with constructive comments!

 | Check out : Instagram for Musicians: How to gain new followers in 2021

But the best way is to professionals in the music industry directly. You can do this through Groover, where you’ll find all the contacts you need at every stage of your career. Each one can give you different feedback and opportunities:

• Mentors are very useful to guide you and give you constructive feedback on your music but also to give you advice on your career. It is very useful to contact them if you are just starting out in music, if you are searching for your musical identity or if you are at a turning point in your career!
• The media allow you to increase your visibility and your audience through different channels (radios, blogs, influencers on social networks, journalists for magazines, …). Their feedbacks are oriented towards the quality of your music, its potential, the adequacy with the media in question. This can help you to constantly improve your approach and target your interlocutors more precisely. Their feedback also gives you an insight into their point of view as a medium. Keep this in mind when soliciting media and promoting your music project on social networks.
• Playlists are an essential asset to develop your presence on streaming platforms, which are becoming more and more important in the music landscape in recent years! Playlisters certainly have a different approach than traditional media and you’ll be able to see this with their feedback. The songs you send to media won’t necessarily be the same ones that will work best in a playlist.
• The pros allow you to develop your entourage (labels, managers, editors, sync pros, …). Building your team is a step that can become essential for some artists at different levels of their musical career. These professionals usually appreciate receiving unreleased tracks and being able to bring their expertise to the table.

How to build your network and your entourage in music with Groover?

Groover allows you to get in touch with professionals and media. For 2€ per contact, you can send your track to the  1000+ professionals available on the platform. You are guaranteed to get written feedback on your track within a week and your tracks may potentially be shared, labels may want to meet with you, your track may enter rotation on a radio station, etc. With Groover, you get the email addresses of the pros who enjoyed your music and you can continue to interact with them and build those relationships. This way, you can develop your network as your campaigns progress and fill your professional book of contacts.

– Translated by Betty Gonzalez Gray – 

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L’article How to contact professionals in the music industry? est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.