My Favourite Ways to Discover New Music

Radio used to be the prime way to discover new music, but the mainstream radio has slowly become more and more… mainstream. I feel like I’ve heard Chappel Roan’s “Hot To Go” dozens of times at this point on the radio alone. It’s time to use different ways to discover the newest underground tunes to spice up your playlists. As a show host who tries to focus on underground music, this is some of the streams that I go to to find some new music from artists who might not have the following to get radio play.

A good way to find some smaller artists is YouTube recommendations. Once you go down the YouTube music rabbithole, it usually starts recommending some new music from smaller artists, with typically under 100 views on the songs. However, low view count doesn’t mean bad. A lot of artists and songs that I enjoy have been found through my YouTube recommendations.

Social Media is another great way to discover new artists. Whether this be through the musicians account, or through new music pages, there are plenty of music-themed pages for each genre of music. For example, one of the most popular Instagram accounts out there is the raptv account. This account focuses on posting news about hip-hop music, as well as general news regarding rap music fans and information regarding a more general artist.

There are accounts like these for virtually every genre. I follow a few different ones, with one of them being a wider EDM focused account, and another being solely focused on French electronic and electro-pop artists. The point I’m trying to make is that, regardless of what genre or style of music you’re into, there’s other people into it and willing to make accounts focused on helping individuals exactly in your situation.

Another great place social media platform for this purpose is Reddit. Reddit’s vast selection of subsets, known as subreddits, mean that there’s a community for every genre. If there isn’t then you can just as easily create one and start the discussion yourself. Most subreddits are full of people who are willing to give you a list of artists or albums to listen to and expand your tastes. A lot of places are dedicated to artists trying to promote their new works. Why not give them a listen?

Finally, my favourite place to find new music is the site Every Noise at Once. Now, contrary to what the name says, it doesn’t actually play every song at once. Rather, you can type the name of an artist that you like into the search bar, and it’ll pull up some new musicians that match that artists vibe and genre. As well, the home page lists every genre that it knows, relative in sound to every other genre.

Every Noise at Once is my favourite way of discovering new artists, because you know the exact vibe that you’re getting. Just look up an artist that you enjoy, and you’ll most likely enjoy the artists that it recommends.

Gone are the days of having to rely on reviews from critics to judge whether or not to buy a CD. The ability to create art is at anyone’s fingertips and, more essentially, the ability to listen to that art is at your fingertips. So take an hour and listen to a new album. Appreciate that person’s art. Regardless of the genre.

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