Article
• October 5, 2021
Better Music Listening Through the Internet
These apps and projects will help you discover new sounds.
It’s never been easier to find new music! From Apple Music to Spotify, Pandora to YouTube Music, there are plenty of apps to browse and discover artists. So why do you find yourself listening to the same 20 songs on repeat?
Before you resign yourself to the algorithm, consider this: There are plenty of in-app features and projects that can help you learn about music, while discovering new songs to add to your algorithm-generated playlists. Our team at The Webby Awards is full of music connoisseurs, and we’ve honored plenty of music-related apps and projects that help people expand their libraries.
So don’t stress. We’ve rounded up a few of our favorite music discovery features, podcasts, and online stores (including a few Webby-recognized picks) to help you widen your horizon. Read on to see our picks.
Crowdsource New Tunes with JQBX
Listening to music is always better with friends. Test out your DJ skills and crowdsource new songs from your friends with JQBX (Jukebox). It’s an app that lets you DJ live for friends by connecting directly to your Spotify account, and lets anyone you invite do the same.
Identify Live DJ Mixes in Apple Music
Apple Music built out a new feature that lets you stream live recordings of DJ mixes, and use Shazam, the song identifying app, to i-d the songs used in each mix. Apple Music is also paying for the licensed music in each mix, so when you listen, the DJs, labels, and musicians get paid. We tried it out by listening to DJ sets from the ARC Music Festival, for modern house music.
Blast Radio for Sneak Peeks of Music
Ever wonder what musicians play when no one is around to hear? Blast Radio is a new audio platform that lets you hear temporary broadcasted content from artists you love—from DJ mixes, to B-sides to live experiments they may never publish elsewhere. The catch? Broadcasts disappear after 24 hours.
Get a Primer on Music Education with Questlove
Anyone who knows Questlove knows that in addition to being a DJ, songwriter, author and film director, he is an excellent music journalist and historian. Dig deeper into the stories of musical icons and their works in his Webby Award-winning podcast Questlove Supreme, featuring interviews with Angélique Kidjo, Salaam Remi, Lenny Kravitz and more.
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