I listen to a lot of music. Whether I’m wearing a set of noise-canceling headphones while on my tractor mowing brush or hanging out around the house listening on one of my smart speakers, there is always music playing.
I enjoy listening to a range of musical styles, though country has and always will be my go-to. So, because I listen to a lot of music, the variety can get stale sometimes.
Well, much of that has gone away as YouTube Music has improved its discovery features, and now it has greatly opened up my musical circle.
Tuned up just right
It gets me, it really gets me
I’ve been a YouTube Music subscriber since it took over the reins from Google Play Music in December 2020. So, it has a lot of data on me.
From the dozens of playlists I have built over the years, the liked tracks, and replayed tunes, the platform has plenty of info on my tastes.
Like many of the top music streaming services, YouTube Music generates playlists for me based on my listening habits with artists it already knows I like, while also mixing in some it thinks I may enjoy.
I previously wrote about how I’m a dual service user, Spotify and YouTube Music, and one of the areas that stands out for the latter is discovery.
While I really like the Smart Shuffle feature on Spotify, outside of that, I don’t feel the service does a good enough job of introducing me to new artists and songs that are in or around my existing preferences.
It seems to be focusing only on the mainstream songs and artists, which isn’t what I’m looking for.
YouTube Music brings me more “B-side” songs and lesser-known artists to the surface. The auto-generated playlists that are cultivated around a few specific artists always bring a few surprises.
The New Release Mix tends to offer more music I am interested in, with fewer suggestions from way outside my tastes, as Spotify’s Release Radar does.
The Discover Mix on YouTube Music pushes my circle of musical preferences a bit more than the other mixes do, but not so much to throw off the vibe completely.
Another win for YouTube Music happens every Friday. Friday is when new music is typically released.
Right on the homepage, when I open up the app, there is a section of new releases, both albums and singles, all within what YouTube Music thinks I’ll like.
Then I can tap the Explore tab to see everything that’s been released and check for any gems that may have slipped past the algorithm.
It’s about more than just music
It all works together
The wonderful thing about YouTube Music is that its data on you isn’t solely based on your usage within the platform.
Because the music streaming platform is also connected to its video streaming sibling, YouTube, if I watch music videos there, it filters into YouTube Music.
This data is part of what helps to make YouTube Music so good at knowing what music I like.
It’s this expanded pool of user data that not only makes YouTube Music good at knowing what I want after years of use, but also good at knowing what new users want right from the start.
If you don’t use YouTube, there won’t be much data for YouTube Music to pull from initially.
While YouTube is likely the go-to for most people to find music videos, I love that if there is a video available for a song, you can watch it within the YouTube app along with the official audio track. So you get the best of both worlds.
Along with this great feature, because of the YouTube connection, you can also save songs that only live on YouTube, those live versions of a song that only happen at the concert, to your playlist, just as you would a track from an album.
It’s all out there
YouTube Music brings it to me
While YouTube Music is far from perfect, it will take a lot for me to leave it. The sheer breadth of musical options the platform has access to is hard to ignore. It is what keeps me and many others using the service.
All the hours I have put into listening to music have made YouTube Music the perfect personal DJ for me.
Between the playlists I manually make and maintain, the new music releases, and the auto-generated playlists, YouTube Music consistently plays me the music I love and the music I didn’t know I’d love.
If you haven’t tried YouTube Music yet, and you feel like your current service has gotten a little stale, you may want to give it a shot.
I’ve found the service is really good and allows me to keep listening to what I love, and at the same time, helps me find new songs and artists. It does this all seamlessly.
The algorithm handles a lot of the process without requiring any input from you, except to listen to music.
When you make playlists and give thumbs up and down to songs, it will learn faster and be more accurate for you. I know it has for me.
