oz-edm-logo-light

10 Ways to Discover New Music In 2014

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Reddit

Only a few years ago, dance music blogs were focused on discovery and promotion for new artists. Now many have evolved into “online magazines” covering the entire scene and culture surrounding it. We post a healthy mix of news, features, editorials and music here on OZ EDM, but for those looking for more music than we can cover, here are some of the best ways to discover new tunes online.

1. iTunes

feature-itunes-banner

Known to be the biggest online music store in the world, iTunes is both visually and asethetically pleasing. It’s simply UX design offers the user the ability to browse various genres of music and search for artists with ease. iTunes cater to all genres of music and also offer tons of other goodies including movies, books, music videos etc. Visit iTunes here.

2. Beatport

feature-beatport-banner

Beatport is aimed at the electronic music industry. Whether you are a DJ or producer, on an avid EDM fan, Beatport will more than likely have what you need. Covering genres from Trance and Deep House to Drum & Bass and Techno and tons more, Beatport also offers additional track information such as beats per minute, key and specific genres (i.e. Indie Dance). As well as the general music store, Beatport also offers for purchase exclusive mixes from the worlds biggest producers and ‘Sounds’ – where producers can purchase everything from drum hits and chords through to patches for synthesizer VST’s. Visit Beatport here.

3. Last.fm

feature-lastfm-banner

Last.fm works as a music recommendation service. This means that the user is tracked and examined by which tracks they listen to. The service then processes the information and recommends artists and songs that you may be interested in. Showcasing back catalogues from a large variety of bands and producers, last.fm is widely used throughout the world and continues to gain interest. Visit Last.fm here.

4. Spotify

feature-spotify-banner

Spotify is a commercial music streaming service. Currently the most popular music streaming service out, each user is able browse large selection of music and stream wherever. Very much like iTunes, Spotify caters to a very broad range of genres with featured artists and charts for users to choose from. Each user can also create playlists and decide whether they want to share publicly. Visit Spotify here.

5. Soundcloud

feature-soundcloud-banner

Soundcloud is the number one place to be for music fans, but most are not harnessing its potential. From superstar producers through to underground artists, users can quite literally stalk the people they follow and view what producers share similar interests. From starting out with a famous producer such as Deadmau5, before you know it you could be listening to disco-house from an Egyptian 14-year-old. Visit Spotify here.

5. MOG

feature-mog-banner

For the hi-fi enthusiasts, MOG streams at 320 kbps. That’s incredible clarity offered to you for free through the webapp, something that Spotify nor Pandora can compete with. When you link the app up to your facebook profile, it will automatically recommend a few tracks to listen to based on who you like, but this functionality could be improved significantly. Visit MOG here.

6. 8Tracks

feature-8tracks-banner

Humans will always beat auto-generated algorhythms when it comes to music selection. With so many sites consisting on data analysis to recommend or even produce a playlist, 8tracks runs in the opposite direction as its users are the ones that produce custom mixtapes. Allowing the user to select two categories (for example ‘chill out’ + ‘study’) the service provides playlists/mixtapes that would best suit the user and of course they are user made. Visit 8tracks here.

7. Soundowl

feature-soundowl-banner

More and more blogs use Soundowl instead of Soundcloud to upload tunes to stream to their websites. A great way to discover new music is to follow some of the most popular accounts and check them periodically to see what they upload. Covering everything from all genres, Soundowl offers a bit of everything for everyone. Visit Soundowl here.

8. YouTube

feature-youtube-banner

These days artists and labels are focusing more on YouTube to promote their music because of its monetisation methods and larger audience. YouTube alone accounts for 7% of all music discovery while teens use it 64% of the time. There are a lot of great channels uploading new tracks each day that you can explore and find on your own. Whether you are following your favourite band or a record label, the amount of tracks available to listen to is unbelievable. Visit YouTube here.

9. Hype Machine

feature-hypemachine-banner

Hype Machine combines all of the different music blogs for a mix of electronic, hip-hop and pop. Think of it as the brain of the music blogosphere with only certain sites making the cut. Sometimes you can logon and press play listening all of the way through to the end. Another cool tip is to search for artists and then sort by the number of hearts. It’s an excellent way to discover new remixes that you may not have heard before. Visit Hype Machine here.

10. Soundrop

feature-sounddrop-banner

Sounddrop is basically the reddit for Spotify. In the different chart areas (subreddits) users can ‘upvote’ or ‘downvote’ tracks based on their popularity. It’s a simple, but very popular theory. When a user listens to a song they can quickly decide whether the they like it or not. Visit Soundrop.fm here.