Spotify publishes Discovery Cheat Sheet in a blog posting with four ways to help you find your next favourite song.
Here is the abridged version of how to discover new music on Spotify.
1. Spotify Radio Playlists
If you like the ease of someone else choosing songs for you, you should try Spotify Radio
What it is
Choose a song, artist, or playlist, and Spotify will play hours of similar music that matches what you like. For example, get going with Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash into Me” and breeze right into a mix of Tom Petty, Dispatch, and DMB deep cuts that you might have forgotten.
How to do it
Follow a playlist to save it to your radio library, and further personalize it by liking or disliking tracks. On desktop, browse to Radio and click CREATE NEW STATION. Enter a track, artist, or playlist and Spotify will create a station based on that music. Hit FOLLOW to save the station in Your Library, under Stations. Unfollowing the station will remove it.
On the app, hit Radio, then New Station on the top right. Search for a track, artist, or playlist, and choose the song you’d like to start with. On the Station page, tap FOLLOW to save it to Your Library under Stations.
2. Discover Weekly
If you like music that’s totally new to you but would work perfectly with your current playlists, you should try Discover Weekly
What it is
Based on your listening history and that of fans with similar taste, the Discover Weekly playlist is like getting recommendations from the more in-the-know version of yourself.
Discover Weekly is 30 new songs Spotify thinks you’ll love, delivered every Monday. Remember that Discover Weekly refreshes every week, so make sure you save your favourites.
How to do it
On desktop or web player, you’ll find Discover Weekly in Your Library (Your Music on web player) under Playlists. On mobile, it’s in Home under Made for You for free users. For Premium subscribers, it’s in Your Library under Playlists, or in Browse under Discover.
The playlist is set to private by default, but you can set it to public, share it with friends, and follow other users’ Discover Weekly playlists. Private sessions don’t influence your Discover Weekly, so your recommendations won’t get thrown off by a little out-of-character listening.
3. Daily Mix
If you like your music divided by genre, with a hint of discovery, you should try Daily Mix
What it is
Daily Mixes are personalized playlists based on the styles of music you listen to. Users can have up to six mixes, based on the variety and amount of your general listening history. So, if you’re the kind of person who only listens to one style of music you might have fewer mixes than someone with more eclectic tastes. The mixes are fresh and familiar at the same time – a mix of new discoveries and tracks you already have on repeat and unbound, meaning it will load more songs instead of stopping.
How to do it
Liking a track (<3) will save it to your Songs collection, while disliking a track (X) means it won’t come up in your mix again. As your music tastes evolve, so do your mixes, so the more you listen, the better they get. It doesn’t refresh completely like Discover Weekly, but rather evolves gradually with your listening. Each mix updates with fresh songs within a day of when you last listened to it, so make sure to save the ones you love. Find your Daily Mix in Your Library if you’re using desktop (Your Music on web player). If you’re using mobile, look in Home under Made for You for free users, and in Your Library if you have Premium.
4. Release Radar
If you like keeping up with recently released music, you should try Release Radar.
What it is
Release Radar is a playlist of 30 songs is updated every Friday with music that has come out over the past few weeks, recommended just for you based on your listening patterns. It includes a mix of new music from the artists you listen to most, plus new singles Spotify thinks you might like, so you never miss a new release.
How to do it
As with most playlists, the more you listen, the better it gets, and liking or disliking tracks will steer the playlist and help tailor future recommendations. Find your Release Radar in Browse when listening on desktop (Home on the web player), or in Home under Made for You on mobile.
Spotify allows you to listen to completely new tunes or current favourites mixed with some discovery. And you can always look to Spotify playlists like RapCaviar and ¡Viva Latino! to influence what you want to listen to. And Spotify’s Pro Tip – remember everything refreshes, so always be sure to save your favourites.
