Liking or disliking a specific piece of music is a subjective matter, and the same applies to streaming platforms.

While every popular music streaming app has something unique to offer, one major reason many users choose YouTube Music is its massive library of songs and podcasts.

The large collection certainly helps Google attract more users to YouTube Music, but it also makes it challenging for listeners to find new tracks that they might enjoy.

YouTube Music’s recommendation engine does a great job at that, but it can’t work independently and relies on user input to learn about their taste. The best part is that you can guide it easily.

However, this isn’t the only way. YouTube Music also has other little-known features that can help you find new music you might enjoy listening to.

Here are the six underrated ways to use YouTube Music for discovering new music.

6

Create a Radio and apply Deep cuts

You can listen to viral songs from anywhere, and music streaming platforms tend to recommend these tracks more for new users.

This is perhaps the safest way to earn your engagement. But as your listening profile grows, the algorithm learns more about what you like and dislike and recommends music accordingly.

YouTube Music works the same way, but what’s underrated about the platform is that it can use your listening history in a unique way to maximize your chances of finding a new type of music.

You’ll need to apply the Deep cuts filter if that’s what you’re looking for on YouTube Music. It’s easy to apply the filter. Here’s how:

  1. Navigate to the Create a radio option on the YouTube Music home page.
  2. Tap it and select the artists you love to listen to.
  3. Tap the Control button (beside the Done button) at the bottom.
  4. You’ll now see the Deep cuts as one of the filters. Tap it and select Done.

This way, you tell YouTube Music to play lesser-known tracks from the artists you chose, along with the related ones. YouTube Music does a pretty good job at that.

This is perhaps the best way to step outside the usual hits, without compromising on your taste.

5

Samples tab

The Samples tab on YouTube Music is another way to eliminate the need to dig through playlists to discover something new. It’s simple to use the feature.

Unlike the Deep cuts filter, the Samples tab is easier to access from the bottom navigation bar. It’s available right beside the Home tab.

When you tap on it, it shows you TikTok-style video snippets of music videos, which you can swipe just like short videos and skip to the next one.

This makes music discovery fast, and since Samples is a feed of personalized music videos, there is a good chance that something will click and might become your next favorite song.

The strength of the Samples tab lies in the fact that it’s both audio and video. A song might not quite connect with you when you listen to the audio, but it might feel a stronger connection when you listen to it with visuals.

If you like what you see, you can instantly play the song in both audio and video formats. You can also use the Start a radio feature by tapping the three-dot option if you want to listen to tracks similar to the one currently playing.

If you found something new you didn’t think you’d ever like and now want to explore songs that are similar in vibe, YouTube Music’s Related tab comes in handy.

In the Related section, you’ll see tracks from similar genres, artists with overlapping genres. It also recommends playlists and an option to check more tracks from the artist you’re listening to.

So, if you liked something from a new artist, it’s worth exploring their other albums to find your next favorite music.

3

Search with the emojis

The ability to search with emojis on YouTube has been in existence for a long time, but it doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

It might sound unconventional to search for music with emojis, but it’s an effective way to find something new.

If you search for music with emojis on YouTube Music, the songs on the results page will be based on what the emoji represents.

For example, if you use the piano emoji, it shows single piano-related songs and playlists. Use a crying face emoji, and it displays a bunch of sad, emotional, or heartbreak-themed tracks and playlists.

You can also combine the two to refine the search results. Use both the piano and cry face emojis to get sad piano music on the search results page. For sad love songs, search using both the love and cry face emojis.

2

Explore the Fans might also like section on the Artist page

Unlike the Related feature, the Fans might also like section on YouTube Music is an artist-based discovery.

Instead of showing individual songs, it’ll show you similar or related artists based on listening patterns, collaborations, and genre overlap. You’ll see this option after scrolling to the bottom of the artist page.

This is a great way to not only discover new artists you didn’t know existed, but also dive deep into their pages to find their top songs and albums.

One newly discovered artist can lead to the discovery of another. This isn’t heavily algorithm-driven, unlike some of the other top YouTube Music features.

However, once you discover a new artist, you can use the same trick to find their deep cuts and popular tracks using just a few taps.

1

From the community

This is another underrated feature that’s different from the algorithm-based ones. It shows playlists created by other YouTube Music users.

You can scroll down the YouTube Music Home page to find the From the community section. It’s worth checking out, especially if you’re looking for super-specific playlists, say, something like early 2000s pop bangers.

This is also available on the YouTube Music search results page. For example, if you type “rainyday songs” in the search bar, you’ll get the results and a bunch of filters, including Community playlists.

If you choose the community filter, the search results will only show playlists containing songs related to rain, created by other YouTube Music users.

It doesn’t take the algorithm out of the equation, as it still has a say on what playlist to show based on engagements and other factors.

Take control of your music discovery journey

The recommendation engine on YouTube Music hasn’t always been great, but those weaknesses are now a thing of the past. It’s steadily improved to become one of the best in the business.

However, that doesn’t mean you should put all your effort into training the engine to find new music.

While training the algorithm is an effective way of getting exposure to new songs that match your taste, the flipside is that it doesn’t allow you to experiment with your taste.

If you don’t want to circle around the same kind of music, it’s worth exploring new paths. YouTube Music has the right tools for this, and you just need to learn to exploit them.

When you discover a new type of music that you didn’t think you’d like, it’s once again the algorithm that will help you find similar ones. This is the compounding effect of music discovery in the true sense.