[AntC]

Hey everyone,
 
I'm looking for a little advice on finding some new artists to listen to.  I'm finding that my previous methods are just leaving me a little wanting these days.  When I was a teenager, I just browsed CD stores for bands in the punk section (Wax Trax in Denver, if anyone is from the area).  That was fine, but not easy on the wallet.  
 
In more recent years, I started listening to Pandora, but I find that Pandora just never quite got my tastes right.  It also tends to play the same songs over and over once you make a station.
 
The last year or so, I have mostly been listening to songs on Grooveshark to find new things.  It's been mildly successful, but not the extent I'd like.  I feel like the radio stations on there are too pigeonholed.  The broadcasts can be quite good, but options get a little thin if you don't listen to popular genres.
 
Anyway, my question is this: How do you find new artists to listen to?

 

[Music Alchemist]

Here are a few sources.
 

1. My free music thread
2. Last.fm
3. SoundCloud
4. Bandcamp

 
Don't hesitate if you have any questions.

 

[zhenya]

I've recently taken advantage of a 3-months free offer for Beats music through AT&T and have been really happy with it. We've subscribed to Pandora and Spotify for years, but the Beats formula has been working better for me. With Pandora I often found that all of our stations ended up sounding pretty much the same. with Spotify I really dislike the user interface although my wife who tends to listen to individual songs more than albums seems to really like it. The problem I had with Spotify was that it really did very little to introduce us to new music. This is where beats excels. It learns your tastes rather quickly and then as someone who really likes to listen the complete albums it does a great job of offering you a new selection of albums and tailored playlists every time you open the app. As a result there is always something new on offer that will probably appeal to your taste.

 

[AntC]

Thanks for the links, Alchemist. I'll check them out when I get home.

Zhenya, I have AT&T so I will look into that. How much is it after the free trial? I've had similar feelings about Spotify. I find it difficult to navigate and the radio is underwhelming.

 

[zhenya]

Thanks for the links, Alchemist. I'll check them out when I get home.

Zhenya, I have AT&T so I will look into that. How much is it after the free trial? I've had similar feelings about Spotify. I find it difficult to navigate and the radio is underwhelming.

Seems to be $9.99/month or $15.99 for a family.

 

[KamijoIsMyHero]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a little advice on finding some new artists to listen to.  I'm finding that my previous methods are just leaving me a little wanting these days.  When I was a teenager, I just browsed CD stores for bands in the punk section (Wax Trax in Denver, if anyone is from the area).  That was fine, but not easy on the wallet.  

In more recent years, I started listening to Pandora, but I find that Pandora just never quite got my tastes right.  It also tends to play the same songs over and over once you make a station.

The last year or so, I have mostly been listening to songs on Grooveshark to find new things.  It's been mildly successful, but not the extent I'd like.  I feel like the radio stations on there are too pigeonholed.  The broadcasts can be quite good, but options get a little thin if you don't listen to popular genres.

Anyway, my question is this: How do you find new artists to listen to?

Just grind through hundreds of bands, picking out that are good to listen. It is the longer way.

You can also look into the liner notes and see who has worked with the bands that you like. Chances are that those artists will have a similar sound or style.

 

[Buhdhydh]

Tried iTunes Radio?

 

[AntC]

  Tried iTunes Radio?

I'm not a big Apple fan, and I haven't used iTunes in years.  I might be willing to take a look at just the radio service if possible, but, on the whole, I stay away from iTunes.  If it's really solid I'll reconsider.

 

[zhenya]

I thought it was better than Spotify radio, not as good as Pandora. Only compelling thing was its ad free for me as a Match subscriber.

 

[AntC]

I've been listening to SoundCloud for about the last hour.  The results have been...mixed.  I started with the classical station, and the first song was quite good.  The next 5 songs  or so were "classical" by a rather liberal definition.  I switched over to the punk station and, again, the first song was super rad.  The next half dozen or so had no place on a punk station.  Now I've been on a pretty good streak for about 4 songs.  I guess the songs are categorized by peoples' tags, which is probably why there was been such a wide swing within stations.
 
I think I'll try out Last.FM next.  I did the registration and am hopeful about being asked what bands are in my library.
 
 
Quote:

I thought it was better than Spotify radio, not as good as Pandora. Only compelling thing was its ad free for me as a Match subscriber.

Thanks for the insight.  Sounds worth checking out at least.

 

[Head Injury]

Lately I've just been looking up artists I already know on Wikipedia, and happen across links to other artists they worked with, or covered, etc. Then I look those artists up on AllMusic and find more links to look up. Then I try to find their CDs in the local library's catalog and come across more artists in the search, then I go there to rent them and find more names to look up...
 
I rarely go out with the intent of finding music. I like this system because it's organic, a bit like browsing through a record store. Not quite as tactile, but it's more convenient.

 

[AntC]

  Lately I've just been looking up artists I already know on Wikipedia, and happen across links to other artists they worked with, or covered, etc. Then I look those artists up on AllMusic and find more links to look up. Then I try to find their CDs in the local library's catalog and come across more artists in the search, then I go there to rent them and find more names to look up...
 
I rarely go out with the intent of finding music. I like this system because it's organic, a bit like browsing through a record store. Not quite as tactile, but it's more convenient.

 
Kind of similar to what KamijoIsMyHero recommended.  This is a great idea.  I wouldn't have thought of it myself.

 

[Shagatron]

I absolutely recommend lurking around on Bandcamp! There is an endless amount of people posting their passion projects there, and if you're a heartless monster, a lot of it can be legally downloaded for free (With an option to pay what you want). All music there can be downloaded in FLAC, 320k MP3, and lesser formats. Your purchases will forever be tied to your email account for later downloading or streaming through the Bandcamp app. Their Discover page, https://bandcamp.com/discover, makes finding new stuff painless and... dare I say it? Fun. Artists also get a bigger cut of the profits with BC than Amazon or iTunes. It really is an amazing site.

 

[AntC]

I'll definitely check out Bandcamp. It was next on my list. Painless music discover is quite appealing.

 

[rekondita]

I've found software like Spotify and iTunes Radio to be exhausting when it comes to discovery of new music.  I would much rather read a review and make an educated purchase (including hearing audio clips) than rely on the old 'single-song-testimony'.  My advice would be to find a music blogger that shares your tastes and go wild with their recommendations (go wild = research, purchase, or steal if OOP or hard to get).