How to Discover New Music

Ashley Kim

With the overwhelming amount of music out there, it’s easy to feel so intimidated that you just end up listening to songs you know you like. However, finding good, new music isn’t actually all that hard. You just need to know where to look.

1. Discover Weekly: If you use Spotify, you’ve probably seen the Discover Weekly playlist. Updating every Monday, this playlist is curated by Spotify based on your listening habits. This is my favorite way to find new music because of its convenience. Every Monday without fail, I play my fresh Discover Weekly playlist during the commute to school. And if you don’t use Spotify, don’t worry! Apple Music has Discovery Station, Youtube Music has Discover Mix, Soundcloud has Soundcloud Weekly and Amazon Music has My Discovery Mix. 

2. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone: Bedroom pop is my favorite music genre of all time. However, there are still moments when listening to the same rhythms and tempos gets boring. When this happens, I look for music in different genres. You might be surprised by how much you enjoy songs that are the complete opposite of what you usually listen to. Alternatively, if you’re not interested in stepping out of your comfort genre, try finding songs within that genre but from different countries. For example, Spanish indie pop, Korean R&B and Brazilian rock are great choices. 

3. TikTok Edit Audios: Okay, you have to hear me out on this one. TikTok edits can be a great way to discover good, new music because they align with the aesthetic of what is being edited, whether that be a show you enjoy or a character you have an imaginary relationship with. Also, if you discover a song from an edit, you’ll always associate it with the edit’s subject, which is an added bonus. (This is embarrassing to admit, but I will forever associate Headlock by Imogen Heap with Jinx from “Arcane.”)