In the gig economy, your reputation is your currency. Whether you perform at weddings, teach violin lessons, or produce beats for aspiring artists, potential clients need to trust that you’re worth hiring. That’s where reviews come in.

4 Reasons Why Reviews Matter for Musicians

1. Credibility and Trust

As humans, we are wired to run on social proof. It’s deeply ingrained in us.

Who would you hire? Between two musicians, one has 3 5-star reviews. The other has 347 reviews with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5. It’s a no-brainer.

When it comes to hiring a musician, nothing is better than hiring someone who you already know and trust. But when someone can’t find someone they trust, they ask a friend. They seek out social proof.

If you can’t find someone you trust in your own circle, the next best thing is someone who is trusted by a ton of people online.

That’s where reviews come in. Reviews provide social proof.

2. Visibility in Search Results and AI Recommendations

Search engines and AI platforms prioritize businesses and professionals with strong review histories. The more quality reviews you have, the more likely you are to appear in search results.

If users get bad recommendations from AI-powered tools like Gemini and ChatGPT, they will stop using them or use a competitor. So there is a built-in incentive for these platforms to provide trustworthy recommendations.

A healthy amount of good online reviews is a great indicator of trustworthiness for an AI platform. It tells the AI “this is a real musician, they have real clients or fans, and they have a good reputation.”

Whether or not people should be asking AI who to hire…they will be doing it. Everyone is using AI these days.

That includes talent buyers for live gigs, dads looking for music lessons for their kid, and producers looking for a session guitarist.

Use of AI recommendations is skyrocketing. So it is good to have online indicators of trustworthiness for those AI platforms to find.

3. Differentiation

Reviews are one of the most effective ways to stand out. When you see 300 reviews vs. seeing 3 reviews on a profile, it completely changes your perception. Your brain automatically assumes the one with social proof must be better.

Consider as well that most musicians don’t focus on reviews. It’s much easier to stand out with one hundred reviews as a musician than it would be for a restaurant.

4. Building Relationships

Every review is more than just a rating. It’s an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with a past client.

When you ask for a review, you get a chance to touch base with a client. Every chance to connect is a chance to build your relationship. Even if it’s a transactional one. It’s always good to be top of mind. You might have to ask multiple times, but don’t be discouraged. Most people want to help you out.

When someone takes the time to write about their positive experience working with you, they’re investing in your success. They are now that much more likely to think about you over countless others when they need a musician.

After you get a review, consider acknowledging the person who wrote it on social media. It’s a nice way to nurture your relationship with them and generate some social proof online at the same time.

How To Get Reviews As a Musician

Getting reviews takes some effort but having hundreds of genuine reviews is a very valuable asset.

But how do you get there?

Read How To Get a Ton of Reviews As a Musician to learn all about how to get those review numbers up.

By John Filippone