There have never been more artists on the public radar than there are in today’s music industry. In fact, it’s not illogical to think that statement is truer each day than the day before. This is simply because of technology and the way it’s enabled everyone from the guy playing guitar at your local bar to U2 to make material available to the masses. Streaming playlists, YouTube rabbit holes, social media and Soundcloud accounts…. All of it amounts to a dizzying environment in which you can hear just about anything.
Somewhat ironically though, this has almost made it harder to find good new music. There’s so much out there that even an indie artist or up-and-comer who’s starting to make waves might escape your radar. There are some ways however to seek out good new music and make sure you don’t miss the best of it, like ones produced by JoeSolo.com.
Specific Spotify Lists
Browsing Spotify aimlessly is not a bad way to stumble upon music you’re unfamiliar with. But it’s usually not the best way to actually latch onto something, or to find something new. While Spotify is specifically equipped to help you make note of the music you discover, many of us breeze through it more passively. However, specifically themed playlists can be updated regularly and can often be perfect not just for discovering new artists, but even for finding them within a specific genre. As many regular users will agree, there seems to be a playlist for just about everything, so in a way plugging in “new music” plus your favorite genre can be the simplest and most straightforward way to find something new.
Early Odds On New Artist Awards
Most dedicated music fans are aware of and even engage with annual debates over which artists, songs, and albums should win awards at major ceremonies. However, you may not be aware that there are actually very active wagering markets concerned with these same ceremonies. In Canada and the UK in particular, betting markets offer various formats for contests and a huge variety of betting subjects as well – including entertainment speculation. What this means, more to the point here, is that you can sometimes actually find entire lists of odds for awards involving new artists, breakthrough albums, and things of that nature. Sometimes just by browsing these lists you can find some names you might otherwise have missed.
Record Label News
This is a different sort of idea, and comes from a GQ article that specifically sought out different kinds of music fans to ask them how they found new material. One of the people surveyed, who was ridiculously labeled “a teen” and nothing more, actually had a very creative idea. He discussed looking up record labels to see who they might have recently signed or picked up. The reason this is such a good idea is that a major label might sign someone well before that person actually ends up having popular music, which means seeing news of a signing gives you a chance to get in early.
Great article Chelsea – I’m currently trying to navigate the difficulties of getting my bands track on Spotify Playlists. It’s great to read articles that actually help bands get noticed – its so easy to get lost these days with so many bands out there trying to get heard!
great article
SO good!
Absolutely agree! It can be so daunting to fall down the rabbit hole of new band exploration and it can be diffudiff time keep track of what you connect with. It’s so nice that we can have Spotify curate playliats to our interests these days.
As a new artist manager this helps greatly!
Thanks!
Interesting article. Its so easy now to get your music out there, easier than ever before but by the same token it means that anyway can do it. We’re all grains of sand on a beach. Standing out can prove difficult without the right support.
I love finding themed Spotify playlists! It’s great for discovering artists that fit my own tastes as well as breaking out of my comfort zone and opening up to new styles!
I love finding themed Spotify playlists! They’re great for branching out and finding new styles.
Nice one, so many uncovered artists out there that need the recognition they deserve!
Thanks for the advice! I have found a lot of cool artists through playlists.
Great Article! I wish more people gave new Artists a chance instead of just reinforcing the “Status Que”