Once upon a time, it was pretty easy to track down new music. Live venues were abundant, well attended, and stocked with great support bands and badly photocopied fliers. Record shops were full of knowledgeable people for whom music was life, and who could actually afford to make a living selling records. Music magazines existed and were actually interested in uncovering new acts, rather than just showcasing the latest album spaffed out by a legacy band. And you always had at least one mate who would press a CDr or mix tape into your sweaty palm every time you saw them.
These days, the world of music has changed. We essentially have access to every song ever recorded, at any moment, from a rectangular hand-limpet in our pocket. But somehow, finding genuinely interesting new artists has, if anything, become harder. Part of that is down to volume. Thousands upon thousands of tracks appear online every single day, competing for the same finite amount of increasingly limited attention. Add AI-generated music, automated playlists, algorithmically optimised content and increasingly convincing fictional artists into the mix, and discovering an actual band rehearsing in an actual room somewhere can occasionally feel like an act of archaeology.
So, in this modern world, how do you find the good stuff?
Get off the streaming homepage
Major streaming platforms are obviously useful (but fuck Spotify – cancel your sub and look for a more ethical alternative less crammed with AI, like Qobuz – but that rant is for another day). I’m not necessarily suggesting deleting them and returning to a trusty old Walkman in protest (but extra hipster points if you do). But they’re not necessarily where I’d start looking for unknown artists.
Recommendation algorithms are designed to keep you listening, which isn’t quite the same thing as helping you explore. If you listen to a lot of punk, you’ll probably be served more punk. If you like Aphex Twin, expect to be served Luke Vibert, Autechre or Squarepusher. That’s useful to a certain extent, if your appreciation of a genre is relatively narrow, but occasionally you need to deliberately wander outside the algorithm.
This is where Bandcamp remains particularly useful. Bandcamp is much more akin to flipping through the racks of an independent record shop than scrolling through a streaming service. You can explore genres, locations, labels and collections, jump between artists and see what other listeners are buying. More importantly, there’s normally more context. Read the credits, lyrics and release notes. Pick up physical records, CDs, cassettes, or T-shirts. Follow links to labels. Sometimes there are even some brilliantly overenthusiastic descriptions of albums recorded on a £50 microphone on a 2017 MacBook over a three and a half year period. And that’s bloody fantastic. These are all signs that somebody actually really cares about their art. If you find something you like, buy it. Even occasionally. Because music becoming effectively unlimited doesn’t mean making it has become free. You would not believe the number of thankful messages I’ve had on Bandcamp over the years from artists who are delighted that someone out there still cares about their art form.
But there are potential pitfalls, so how do you know if the new artist you’ve found is even real?
Go to small gigs
The simplest of all the authenticity checks. Go and watch them.
One of the best ways to discover bands remains exactly the same as it was 20 years ago: regularly visit independent venues. And make sure to turn up early enough to watch the support acts! That’s prime real estate for locating your next favourite band.
I’m not talking about arenas, or £150 stadium shows where you already know every song. I’m talking about the 50–300 capacity places where the bar is within spitting distance of the stage and somebody in the band is probably running the merch table afterwards, propped up a corner somewhere.
Scope out a bunch of local venues, take note of ones you like and keep an eye on their listings. Go to shows where you know one band and haven’t heard of the other three. Occasionally go because the poster looks interesting (and not AI-generated!). You will definitely see some rubbish. I’ve seen more shit bands than you could believe. But isn’t that part of the fun? But every now and again, you’ll see a band with a couple of hundred monthly listeners who will go on to absolutely flatten a room. And six months later, everybody suddenly seems to know who they are. Or not. But you still had a great time, so what’s the difference? Those are the moments music discovery is supposed to be about.
Look for an actual website
Once you find an interesting artist, search for them beyond the usual streaming and social platforms. One of the first things worth looking for is whether they have their own website. It won’t necessarily be elaborate. A good artist website might contain a biography, photographs, upcoming gigs, releases, press coverage, merchandise and contact details. For independent musicians in particular, having a proper website gives them somewhere they actually control, rather than relying entirely on whatever social network happens to be fashionable this year.
There’s a practical reason for checking, too. A website creates a wider trail. You can see previous releases, venues they’ve played, other artists they’ve worked with, festival appearances and links to labels, promoters and press coverage.
None of this means that an artist without a website isn’t genuine. Plenty of very real bands are spectacularly bad at maintaining an active gig schedule, let alone an online presence. But on an internet increasingly populated by AI-generated images, biographies and music, looking beyond a streaming profile is a useful habit.
Follow the people around the music
When you discover one good band, don’t stop there. Look at who they’re playing with, their label and the promoter. See who mixed their record. Find out if their band members are part of any other projects. Look at who they’re talking about on social media.
Music scenes are networks. Getting your ears around a single interesting artist can suddenly open the doors to five others without an algorithm being involved at all.
If you’d like your music discovery to be a little more curated, follow independent venues, record labels, promoters, record shops and small music publications rather than relying entirely on artists themselves. Those heroes of the music scene will often do a lot of the filtering for you.
Let algorithms help. Just don’t let them choose everything.
Of course AI isn’t going to make discovering new music impossible. Neither are streaming services. Used sensibly, recommendation systems can be brilliant. I’ve found plenty of music through streaming services and automated playlists. The problem comes when discovery becomes completely passive.
If everything you hear has been selected because a system calculated that it resembles something you’ve already enjoyed, your musical world can become surprisingly small, regardless of the number of songs and artists that may be available on your streaming service of choice.
What I recommend is stepping outside of your comfort zone and, just now and again, making things difficult for yourself.
Check out the artist with 37 followers, browse Bandcamp by location, ALWAYS check out the support band. Make the effort to pop to the little venue down the road on a Thursday night for a beer. Google the band and read their website, and follow a strange-looking record label.
The tools have changed enormously, but the best part of discovering music hasn’t. And when it clicks, you’ll get to experience that priceless moment when you find something brilliant and immediately want somebody else to hear it.
