I made this but I need help with it. It looks messy, and the text doesn't quite 'pop' as much as I would like it to. How can I improve this? Be brutal!
I would think that you need to really lighten up on all the special effects. You've some interesting ones, but a few looks like they make it a bit messy. 1)There's the lines that are used for the notes. I know it's meant to be kinda like sheet music, but for me it almost seems like you can do without. 2)Maybe lighten up a bit on those white specks. They seem like they take up a little bit too much. 3)The words look pretty good, but it might not pop as much because you've only got 1 "special" word while the others are just normal.
I don't know if I'll be able to help you very well, sorry if I cannot. The picture itself seems a bit overcrowded really, if I'm honest it hurts my eyes a little.Is it meant to be musical sheet? If so, you can barely make out the musical notes. As for the text I'm unsure how to make it 'pop' like you want, sorry. I do however like the colors you've used but you could possibly lighten it a little?
I think the reason for the lettering not standing out is there is too much white on the tag. I would change the whites in the background to a grey or black and keep the lettering white.
If you're looking for the words to pop more, you should fix the background lighting, they go together too much. Overall, it's a bit bright, so for the subjects of the image (such as the notes/words) make all the stuff behind it a bit darker.