[Q] So you find a new cool track...

[Sebasty]

... what will you do with it next? : )

Basically, on my end the track could see various paths depending how much I like the track, if it's a single or from an album, and a few other aspects.

Sharing the track with others is also something I do.

I'll likely expand on it a little later, but for now:

👀

Cheers!

[AdamDam]

Hi Sebasty, if I find a track that is new to me, and I think it’s “cool,” for me that means that I enjoyed listening to it and I then add it to my “Liked Songs” and “Liked Songs” playlist; that way, I can easily find the track in the future and listen to it again. I usually play the track in Private Session when I first find one that seems promising, and then if I like the track upon the first listen, then I turn Private Session off and listen to it again, such that it scrobbles to Last.fm. From there, I check the genre tags by clicking on the song on my Last.fm page, and if any of the genre tags for the song (or sometimes the artist that recorded it, if genre tags for the song are lacking) are genres that I have made Spotify playlists for, then I also add the track to any of the relevant genre playlists that I have on Spotify. Over the course of the next few days, I listen to the track in my “Liked Songs” playlist multiple times so that I’m sure that I still enjoy it after repeated listens (sometimes this is the case; and sometimes not, in which case I remove the track from my “Liked Songs” and “Liked Songs” playlist, as well as from any genre playlists that I added it to).

If it’s been a few days since I first listened to the track and I still enjoy it, and I think that one of my friends would enjoy it, then sometimes I share it with a friend in a text message conversation; (usually the basis on which I decide if I will share a track, album, or artist with a friend is if I know that they already enjoy listening to a genre that this music is representative of.) I also sometimes share new tracks that I’ve found here on the Spotify Community in a thread that I started called “Share your recent music discoveries”; and sometimes the songs that I share on the “Antakshari” Music Chat thread here are tracks that I recently discovered as well. In addition, I have a couple of collaborative playlists on my Spotify profile that myself and a few of my friends add tracks to sometimes according to the rules of the playlists (one is for the Antakshari letter-matching game, and the other is for a word-matching game); sometimes I add a track that I recently discovered there as well, though usually the tracks that I add there are older favorites from my “Liked Songs.”

I don’t really have a way of deciding where to share new music that I discover; it used to be that I would select all my most favorite tracks that I discovered from the past week or two and then post these in my “Share your recent music discoveries” thread in Music Chat. However, more recently I’ve just been adding tracks to the Antakshari game in Music Chat and in my collaborative playlists instead, I think because I find it to be more fun to share music in the context of a game with rules, however simple they are. I also have been sharing tracks or albums with my friends via text message more often lately, since it’s nice to make sure that they’re well and have a conversation with them, particularly while we’re in quarantine and social interaction for us is otherwise limited.

[Sebasty]

Hey @AdamDam  thank you for the detailed answer 😄

I don't listen to new new releases in private mode myself, so I found that quite interesting you do so.

I have.. like 1830 artists (out of 8000) with more than 5 scrobbles. My result of track hunting.

Here is what I do with the track I find interesting:

1. First it will get 'tagged' - added into Liked Songs. I relisten at a later time to see if the impression I got holds up.

2a. If I really like the track, it will go straight to my main playlist. If applicable, then also a beat-centered playlist of mine. Remove from Liked Songs

2b: If I don't like the track this much, but still appreciate it, then it gets placed in the "I Wiped my Saved Music." Remove from Liked Songs

2c: My impression does not hold up - I remove it.

Liked Songs for me is a vault of new tracks and listen-laters, and if I find a purpose for the track, it will get removed from there.

Sometimes the track is so good I'll want to buy it. If it's a single, then there is not much choice, I'll get the single.

If it's from an album, though, I will go though that to find out if I'll like that.
If there is an available vinyl for the release I really love, then I'm very likely bagging that! Definitely will buy the digital copy.

Other times I might just buy that lovely track off the release.

As of music sharing, I can do that in here, but most often I use the #PromoDay posts in the Amon Tobin group, or various methods in the last.fm discord server.
I don't share everything I find, though...

👀

[AdamDam]

Hi Sebasty, thanks for sharing your way of listening to new tracks as well! It’s cool that you use Liked Songs as a repository for newly discovered tracks and ones to listen to later, rather than as a library of music that you already know that you like. And it’s great that you support artists by buying their music. I used to have a record player before I moved to grad school and had a few albums on vinyl for it; however, I unfortunately didn’t bring these items with me. It was really fun at my old university to put on the albums that I had and watch them spinning on the record player; for some reason as much as I love Spotify, I thought that the physical component of playing records was more fun than streaming music on my computer or phone. Recently I ordered a few T-shirts and hoodies from the websites of bands that I like (Phish, Naxatras, and King Buffalo); however, I’d also like to have a record player again and support my favorite bands by ordering vinyl from them.

I’m also curious if you would recommend the Last.fm discord server for discovering and sharing music, since I haven’t visited it before. Is it similar to Music Chat here on the Spotify Community?

[phoebebridgers]

I have this thing where I make a new playlist every month for "new discoveries".

so for example "new may 2020" and so it not only lets me keep track of songs I discover but I've got a whole record of what I discovered and when 🙂

[yasemingunel]

If it fits to the genre or vibe of any of my other playlists, I'll add it to a playlist. If it doesn't, then I'd keep it in my liked songs folder. If I REALLY like it then I'll visit the album (if it is an album) and start listening to that album from top to bottom. The next step is to favourite the album, and then If I'm more curious I'd visit the artist page and read the artist discography. That's why I like to spend time on Spotify PC, I can both listen to a song and discover many different artists at the same time. Then if my obsession starts, I'll listen to that one artist's songs the whole week. 🙂

[yasemingunel]

That's so systematic! I've been using spotify since I was like fourteen so my liked songs folder is a chaos. there are over 2000 songs there and If I ever shuffle I'd get something like California Gurls from Katy Perry or 1D.

[Sebasty]

@AdamDam 

Oh yes, even the feeling of holding a physical copy of your favourite release is so good!

I bought the SpectraSoul's Silence EP on vinyl and now everytime I look at it as 'Untitled Horn' plays, I have this wide smile.

Wearing merch is also cool. I've been wearing Amon Tobin merch a lot these days.

About that last.fm server on Discord, it is quite different from Music Chat. There are channels for talking, channels for last.fm-based 'bot commands', channels for talking in genres or just more in-depth of music, all of which work in a chatroom way.
Members arrange regular listening parties - albums and playlists put together by members.

But yes, everything is in chatroom sort of way, like a very large organised group chat. I figure it may not be for everyone.

@yasemingunel

I also look into the artist page if the track sparks interest : )
Sometimes I enjoy listening through the artist's discography.

Nice to read about your ways, thank you for posting!

👀