All articles tagged with #music discovery
Universal Music Group has partnered with NVIDIA to develop responsible AI tools for music creation, discovery, and engagement, emphasizing artist involvement and safeguards to protect copyright and authenticity, aiming to enhance the music experience and combat low-quality AI-generated content.
The author shares their renewed love for cassette tapes as a form of intentional, offline music listening, contrasting it with the drawbacks of streaming platforms, and advocates for a more mindful and human-centered approach to consuming art.
iOS 26.2 introduces new Apple Podcasts features that finally integrate Apple Music Radio shows, including song links, notifications, offline playback, and show following, addressing a five-year-old feature request and enhancing music discovery and listening experience.
The author compares their month-long experience using Qobuz, a high-fidelity audiophile streaming service, with Spotify, highlighting Qobuz's superior sound quality, artist payouts, and unique features like a built-in music magazine. However, they find Qobuz lacking in music discovery, playlist variety, and user interface, leading them to consider returning to Spotify or trying other services. The article underscores the trade-offs between sound quality and user experience in music streaming choices.
Miley Cyrus discusses her lack of consistency, her diverse musical explorations, and her recent collaborations on her deluxe album, highlighting her evolving identity and renewed relationship with her father.
Spotify has introduced a new in-app direct messaging feature for mobile users in select markets, allowing users to share music, podcasts, and audiobooks with friends and family, enhancing content discovery and social interaction within the platform. The feature supports text and emojis, is optional, and is designed to complement existing social media sharing options, with privacy and moderation measures in place.
YouTube Music celebrates its 10th anniversary by introducing 'taste match' shared playlists that adapt based on users' listening habits, along with new features like comment sections on albums and playlists, concert notifications, and partnerships to highlight upcoming events, enhancing music discovery and social interaction on the platform.
After a week of using YouTube Music again, the author is impressed by its improved UI, content discovery, and playlist features, but still prefers Spotify for its advanced search, integrations, and specific features like Spotify Jam and Connect. Despite Google’s progress, some quirks and pricing issues keep Spotify as the preferred choice for now.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 features a diverse and curated soundtrack that serves as a superior music discovery tool compared to Spotify, highlighting a mix of punk, hip-hop, and classic tracks that capture skate culture and introduce players to new artists like Jeff Rosenstock, Vince Staples, and Fontaines D.C.
The soundtrack for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 features only 10 original tracks out of 69, with the rest replaced by new or different songs from the same artists, reflecting a focus on music discovery and new music, though this has disappointed some fans and critics.
The author explains why they stopped using Spotify due to its bloated features and limited audio quality, and switched to Qobuz, a French streaming service that offers hi-res audio and a simpler, music-focused experience, better suited for audiophiles and those who prefer a straightforward music listening experience.
A long-standing musical mystery has been solved with the identification of a "lost" New Wave track as "Subways of Your Mind" by the German band FEX. The song, recorded off the radio in the early 1980s, had puzzled listeners since 2007. A Reddit user named Marijn1412 discovered the track's origins, leading to confirmation from FEX band members. The band is now considering re-recording the song and producing a video.
After licensing negotiations between TikTok and Universal Music Group collapsed, many official recordings from UMG artists disappeared from the platform. Some artists are devising contractual carve-outs to keep their music on TikTok, while others are concerned about being unable to promote new songs on the app. TikTok has been a significant driver of music discovery for Gen Z, and its popularity has helped propel little-known acts to streaming success. Artist lawyers are working to find workarounds that enable their clients to continue using the platform while the licensing dispute continues.
Spotify's music discovery has been criticized for years, and the loss of Every Noise at Once, an unofficial music genre directory created by a former Spotify employee, has further hindered users' ability to find new music on the platform. Despite recent efforts to improve discovery features, users feel confined within a walled-off bubble of repetitive recommendations, leading to nostalgia for older internet radio services and consideration of alternative platforms like TikTok. Every Noise at Once provided a simple and effective way to explore new genres and music, highlighting a missing native utility in Spotify's current music discovery experience.
A writer reflects on how his musical tastes were shaped by others, including Pitchfork, and how a review of Moby's "I Like To Score" influenced his love for electronic music. The article also delves into the history of Pitchfork, its influence on music discovery, and the impact of its recent folding into GQ. The writer interviews James P. Wisdom, a former Pitchfork reviewer, and discusses the site's evolution, its controversial reviews, and the changing landscape of music criticism.