In the age of streaming, people are all about discovering new music. The thing is, these algorithms are chronologically limited. No shit, she was in the band! Start with an artist you like, and find out who their influences were. Then keep working your way backward. An algorithm that only half of the time suggests music you enjoy will be considered a failure. Including, I must add, Stravinsky. Often, this journey turns into a delightful choose-your-own-adventure. Tupac is complicated.

Find New Music Using These 4 Methods


Michael Rivera
The Internet has mutated the way we hear about new artists and songs. There are reviews, a plethora of apps, and algorithms upon algorithms—meaning that discovering your favorite new bop is as overwhelming as ever. So we asked the people who know best about their strategies: people who write about music for a living, music execs, and of course, high schoolers. Discovering music does not frustrate me or cause me to have takes. I don't listen to Pandora, which might make that happen. I like it when SoundCloud drops into autoplay mode and delivers a sequence of songs tagged as related.
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A great way to start is to discover new music is think about what you already listen to, and find music that is similar. Find an artist you like on Wikipedia, and then find out what other bands some of the members are in. So I go to the Peeping Tom Wikipedia page. I see that Mike Patton is a member of this band, so I click on his name. Here it shows me all of the bands that he is involved in. I now know bands that Mike Patton not only likes, but was willing to be a part of or even start himself.
In the pre-internet dark ages, finding a new band or singer to obsess over required time and effort. But as streaming and other technological gifts have disrupted everything in our culture, the way we discover new music and artists has become easier. Streaming For artists, playlists are paramount. Tei Shi recommends checking out playlists on Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal created by musicians you like, since, chances are, your tastes will align. That way your friend could potentially introduce you to a new song or artist on your own playlist. And when all else fails, falling down a YouTube or SoundCloud rabbit hole is still foolproof. Social Media Streaming platforms often source playlists from artists that originally broke on social media. Or you could be more proactive and find the buzzworthy songs yourself, like singer-songwriter Bibi Bourelly.