💡✍️ADN #168: The Song Circle System

ADN Thought of the Week:

“Don’t aim to impress others. Aim to impress yourself.”

The Song Circle System

What: Get honest feedback that improves your songs

Most artists ask friends for feedback.

Friends say “it’s great.”

Songs don’t improve.

You need a system for honest feedback that makes your music better.

The song circle structure:

Find 3–5 artists/songwriters/producers who:

• Make music (they understand the craft)
• Aren’t your best friends (honest, not nice)
• Are slightly ahead of you in some area, like you are in another area (they’ve solved problems you’re facing/you’ve solved problems they’re facing)
• Make different music than you (fresh perspective)

The execution:

Invite your song circle to weekly/monthly virtual sessions.

Share demos 24 hours before so everyone can listen.

Keep sessions to 60 minutes max.

The feedback format:

• Share demo (audio, lyrics, producer, and co-writers)
• Everyone listens before the call
• Each person shares: 1 thing that works, 1 thing that doesn’t, 1 specific suggestion
• You take notes, be open-minded
• Repeat for each person’s demo

The questions that get useful answers:

Bad question: “Do you like it?”

Good question: “Where did you lose interest?”

Bad question: “What do you think?”

Good question: “What’s the song about based on what you heard?”

Bad question: “Is the mix done?”

Good question: “What’s stuck out to you in the mix?”

Why this works:

Specific questions get specific answers.

Multiple perspectives reveal patterns.

When 3 people say the same thing, it’s probably true.

The rule:

You’re not obligated to implement every suggestion.

You should consider every suggestion.

The best feedback tells you what isn’t working.

It’s your job to figure out how to fix it.

Let other artist’s feedback help you impress yourself.

Build your song circle this week.

Your songs will get better faster.

See you next Sunday,

Neil

Ps — We are building a trusted community of artists at Done With You MGMT. If the DIY indie-artist grind is getting to you, DWYM is a great next step in your artist development (and a great place to create a song circle).