How to discover new music on Spotify - Seven Suggestions

[jrham]

Hey listeners! I decided to try something new here with the assist of artificial intelligence and my own fact checking. I asked Chat GPT to give me ideas of how to find new music on Spotify which gave me a hauntingly accurate list, so I've modified the wording and added some graphic instructions. I hope some of you find some good use of it!

(Note: this is curated for the desktop app, but the features are available on mobile devices)

1) Follow Artists
One of the easiest ways to discover new music on Spotify is to follow your favorite artists and genres. By doing this, you will get notified when they release new songs or albums, and they will more frequently show up in your personalized playlists in Spotify. 

2) Daily Mixes

Speaking of personalized playlists, Spotify creates playlists that are updated every week based on your listening history and preferences. "Daily Mixes" are playlists that can be found by navigating to the "Home" button (which is located at all times in the upper left of your desktop window) and scrolling to the "Made For *Insert User Name*" list. Click on that banner or click "show all" to find up to six Daily Mixes on your home screen, each with a different theme and genre.

3) Discover Weekly and Release Radar

Building on the last topic, the "Made for *Insert User Name*" window is also where you can find your "Discover Weekly" and "Release Radar" playlists. These are playlists that are created based on your listening habits and moods. They contain a mix of songs that you already know and love, as well as some new ones that you might enjoy. The "Discover Weekly" playlist updates every Monday and contains songs that you might like but haven’t heard before. The "Release Radar" playlist updates every Friday and contains new releases from artists that you follow or listen to frequently. 

4) Spotify Radio

If you want to listen to music that is similar to a certain song, artist, or genre that you like, you can use Spotify Radio! This feature creates a radio station based on your choice and plays songs that are related to it. You can also like songs on the radio station to improve the recommendations. Check out the graphic below to see how to do this!

5) Search Feature

Use the "Search" button for features like "Charts" and "New Releases" to keep up with the latest trends and hits in the music industry. The "Charts" section shows you the most popular songs and albums in different countries and regions, as well as globally. The "New Releases" section shows you the newest songs and albums from various genres and artists. You can also filter by categories such as pop, rock, hip hop, indie, etc. 

 

6) Collaborative Playlists

Create or join a collaborative playlist to discover new music from other people’s perspectives and tastes! A collaborative playlist is a playlist that can be edited by anyone who has access to it. You can invite your friends, family, or other Spotify users to add songs to the playlist and share your musical preferences. To create a collaborative playlist, simply navigate to a playlist that you've created, and either click the icon that is shaped like a person with a "+" symbol or click the "ellipsis" button and select "Invite Collaborators". Once you've done that, you have copied a link that can then share with anyone you choose. To find a collaborative playlist, you will have to ask friends or search online for a third-party source that provides a link to their collaborative playlist.

7) Third Party Sources 

If you want to discover new music on Spotify beyond its own features and functions, you can use third-party apps and websites that are integrated with Spotify. For example, you can use Shazam to identify songs that you hear on the radio or in public places and add them to your Spotify library; I personally do this all the time! Once you identify a song with Shazam, it is then saved in a personal playlist in Spotify which can be found in your library under the title "My Shazam Tracks".

This is not an exhaustive list of Spotify features, but they are some very critical methods I use for music discovery on Spotify. Leave a comment about how else you might find new tunes! 

[Jpgchief]

Hi @jrham all that it’s great and should take you some time to do this thread but I don’t use nothing shown above.

I never check the Spotify playlists, or check the charts of any kind, but it’s just me, and I know that it’s a path and all you mentioned is good if you’re starting using the platform.

I prefer to go to the source, and curate my playlists only with brand-new music if possible to know when drops so can add it on release day.

Cheers!!!

[Shelfish]

This would be useful it Spotifys discover weekly, release radar, daily mixes, or radio actually introduced new songs instead of just repeating songs that I already have on playlists or the same select artists it’s decided I like but I don’t and I always ignore and skip past. My discover weekly for the last two months have been over 75% artists and songs I already have on playlists or covers of well known songs. It’s so bad it seems like certain artists are just paying to be promoted so they come up in every playlist regardless of the genre.