Our generation has more access to music than we ever have before. With streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music, it has become quite simple to listen to whatever music one pleases. However, many of these services and most radio stations tend to put the spotlight on larger or more popular artists, leaving people like me scrambling to find any rising independent musicians. What I didn't realize for a long time is that we don't have to sit around and wait for the radio to play some music that we enjoy, or for a friend to recommend an artist that is similar to the music we listen to. There are many simple, but effective tools on the Internet that can be used to find independent music, and I have found myself using these tools quite often to find the music I now listen to on a daily basis. The best part about these tools, however, is that they are all free!
Today we will be looking at my top five sources of independent music. I will be describing each tool, highlighting the pros and cons of using these sources, sharing artists that I have personally discovered by utilizing these services, and giving a link to each tool so you can find new music as soon as possible!
5. Related Artists on Spotify
Spotify has many useful tools, but one that many people overlook is the "Related Artists" area on the artist's page. This area contains artists that the band has personally decided to associate with themselves and their own sound. To use this tool, simply choose a band that you enjoy and take a look at their related artists.
Pro: You're finding artists that the band you enjoy has decided to personally associate with.
Con: Although the artists are related, it does not necessarily mean their sound will be the same.
Artists I Have Found: By using the related artists tool, I have discovered the critically acclaimed band The War on Drugs, and the beautiful and dreamy band Beach House.
Spotify's website: https://www.spotify.com/us/
4. Similar Artists
Pro: Each artist is ranked by match index, which shows which artists are most similar in sound.
Con: The selection is a little bit overwhelming, especially if the artist you listen to has a hard sound to match.
Artists I Have Found: Similar Artists has led me to find the electronic based band Neon Indian and the new wave synth-based artist Twin Shadow.
Similar Artists' website: http://www.similar-artist.com
3. Music Festival Lineups
Music festivals are some of the greatest places to enjoy music and find new artists. However, not everyone has the money to attend every festival that comes to their area. The great thing about lineups, though? It's a whole list of bands waiting to be heard, and if it's a festival with genre variety or it's a music fest dedicated to indie artists like Pitchfork, you're in luck.
Pro: A good music festival has a large variety of artists and genres, and often there are bands you have not heard before. Chances are, you're going to find a band that you enjoy.
Con: Depending on the festival, this method can be hit or miss.
Artists I Have Found: I have discovered a great amount of bands using this method, which range from noisy Dublin band Girl Band, electronic rock band Joywave, and, my personal favorite, synth pop band Future Islands.
2. Spotify's Discover Weekly Playlist
Spotify makes the list twice because it has some of the greatest music finding tools I have seen. Each week, Spotify analyzes every user's weekly listens and creates a playlist based upon every user's individual music taste.
Pro: You're guaranteed to find music within the genres you've listened to that week, many of which are underground and undiscovered musicians.
Con: As music usually goes, you're going to find artists you don't enjoy, and if you've been listening to music during the week that you haven't enjoyed, chances are your Discover Weekly will reflect this music.
Artists I Have Found: By using this playlist method, I found the simple but intimate sounds of Noah Kittinger (formerly known as Bedroom), the nostalgic sound of Holy Ghost!, and the post punk sounds of Interpol.
Spotify's website:https://www.spotify.com/us/
1. KEXP Live Performances
KEXP is a listener powered radio station that operates in Seattle. The radio station regularly brings independent musicians into their studios to play for listeners, and the station uploads these performances to their YouTube channel.
Pro: The artists they bring in are almost always independent, and cover almost every genre that you could imagine.
Con: These artists are also hit or miss, but I have personally found that KEXP helps people learn to accept and invite new and different music into their tastes.
Artists I have Found: KEXP has introduced me to may artists, and to list a few, I have discovered heavy metal band Diarrhea Planet, neo psychedelia artist Youth Lagoon, and Australian psychedelic garage-glam band Pond.
KEXP's website and YouTube channel: http://kexp.org
These are my methods to finding independent music. The best part about this article is that I didn't even list off all of the fantastic artists I have found! This is only scratching the surface and listing off the larger artists I have found by using these tools. There are hundreds upon hundreds of independent artists waiting to be discovered by using these tools. There is only one question:
Will you be the one to discover them?
