There’s too much music around!
So it’s completely unclear what to listen to. It’s like this. Every day about 12,000 new songs appear on streaming services – that’s a lot! It can be hard to navigate through new music. We wrote these cards in conjunction with the Jager Music Awards for independent music. In this material we will tell you how to navigate in a huge stream of music and find something you really like.
I already have favorite musicians – does that help?
Yes. Often, music you already like helps you find new music. So research the discographies of your favorite artists. For example – on Discogs website (it’s designed for record collectors, but it’s convenient to do it there). Or on Rate Your Music, where users rate and write reviews of their favorite albums. Check out what bands or artists your favorite musicians have played with – you’re sure to find something you like. And AllMusic’s artist pages have a “Like” column – try what they recommend. Also, find out what labels your favorite artists have released albums on, and listen to other bands that have been released on them.
Labels? What do they have to do with it?
The record companies that release the work of musicians act as filters: they select artists who play in the same genre, convey a similar mood, or are united by a concept. Simply put, it’s a unique set of music aligned to a label’s taste – and if you trust it, you’re bound to like a lot of what it puts out. The Bandcamp site can help here: labels often have pages there where you can easily jump from one artist’s album to another.
Speaking of genres. I only like one or two – what should I do?
Filter. For example, Rate Your Music has charts by genre. You can also pick albums by genre on Metacritic, which collects critics’ scores. You can also use one of the streaming services – Apple Music, Google Play Music, and YouTube Music. There is always a filter by genre and a track and album recommendation system. However, if you want to discover new things, you should go beyond your favorite genres and listen to something completely unexpected. This is where online radio stations can help – yes, people are still listening to radio in 2018. Online radio usually has live streaming and also author shows that are available in recordings. One of the most famous internet radio stations to help develop your musical taste is NTS. There you will definitely hear more unusual music than what the streaming services recommend.
Okay, what to read?
There aren’t very many big music sites in Russia. One of them is The Flow, but it’s more about rap. There is also Mixmag, the Russian version of the legendary English-language electronic music publication. But non-specialized media also talk about new music, for example Meduza publishes a weekly playlist of what we consider to be the best new music. VKontakte also has a lot of music publishers: Mother Land, Native Sound, and Storona regularly talk about new Russian music, Rhymes and Punchy specializes in rap and hip-hop, and New Albums puts out all of the biggest new releases.
Everything is clear with the sites. What about music awards? Will they help?
Pretty much. The awards also play an important role as filters: they select the most important musicians from the huge number and award the best according to the jury – so it is worth listening not only to the winners, but also to the nominees.
Speaking of festivals. What’s wrong with them?
Festival lineups often help you learn something new, too. Almost every major European country (not to mention the US) has its own big music festival, but there are several major ones: Spain’s Primavera, America’s Coachella and Pitchfork website festival, Eastern Europe’s Sziget, Scandinavia’s Flow and Way Out West. You can go to a festival, or you can just listen to the lineup.