4 music discovery sites that could help you find new artists

Music like any artform is purely down to the taste and the affinity of the one listening to it. I am sure many of you have been part of heated debates about who is better in a genre or if an album was good or not. To avoid that war, we won’t be comparing tastes but instead, look at some sites that I have found helpful when I wanted to venture into a new genre or was just looking for a new artist to add to my list. There are, I am sure, some of you who may already know some of the sites and I’d very much like to know what you have been listening to recently. To those who may not be aware of them, I hope they can be helpful if you were looking to discover new music to add to your playlists.

Music-Map

I found Music-Map purely by accident. I can’t quite remember what I was searching for but I ended up there. So it works by a user typing in a band, artists or musicians name into the search bar and it shows you results of artists that are similar to the one you entered.

I find this site particularly useful because it helps in exploring new genres, especially after hearing just one song or album. Genres are melding into one another now, as artists continue to experiment with different elements and sounds. But as far I as I have used it, it has been pretty consistent.

Sage

Sage is one that I have recently discovered and it works similarly to Music-Map. The difference is that Sage brings up recommendations based on which bands you like and those that you don’t. The website also says that the search uses artificial intelligence which learns using data gathered from Last FM and their own community’s viewership.

The AI is supposedly continuously learning and improving recommendations.

Magic Playlist

This one is pretty cool. Magic Playlist compiles a playlist for you based on the song you enter into it. This may bring up artists you are familiar with and some that you aren’t. It doesn’t only do that, it also has playlists that are based on whichever mood the user is in.

It does, unfortunately, have one drawback. It seems to need Spotify to let you listen to playlists. It offers a preview but those aren’t enough. The usefulness I have found in it is that it does offer up artists and bands I may not have yet heard of or come across. There are a number of songs I have seen on playlists on that site that have made me a fan of a number of bands and artists.

Indie Shuffle

This, I think, is an absolute gem. Indie Shuffle’s focus is more on unsigned and up and coming artists. They have a number of curated playlists, you can go by what is trending this week or you can go by month or year. If you are an indie-head then this is the site for you.

This site also allows users to submit their own music. So if you have songs or a catalogue of music you want out there, then Indie Shuffle is an avenue to get your art out there.

The shared drawback to all of these sites is that their databases don’t have much in the way of our local artists. Nevertheless, they are worth checking out.