How to Expand Your Music Taste in 2023

With a new year upon us, people are making resolutions and commitments to improve their life in 2023. This always leads to a surge in online searches by people wanting to expand their horizons. While many people are searching for diets and workout strategies, others are looking up places to adopt pets or unique vacation destinations. Yet others are searching for popular books or podcasts to increase their knowledge.

The music industry is an area that generates a lot of online searches These specific inquiries include questions about how to release a cover song, how to upload your music to Spotify, and how to expand your music taste. If the last one is something you would like to do in 2023, here are four ways to accomplish that.

1. Listen to a Completely New Genre for an Hour

This is the equivalent of jumping straight into the deep end of the pool. If you have a few genres that you have exclusively listened to for years, you can shock the system by putting on a radio station of a completely different genre. You have to give it a fair chance, though. Listening to two lines and immediately changing the channel will not expand your music taste.

Commit to listening for at least an hour. During that time, make a note of any songs or artists that you like more than the others. Then you can search online to listen to other songs by that artist or to look up similar artists in the same genre.

2. Use Streaming Services to Find Similar Artists

Piggybacking on that last strategy, one way to expand your music taste is to discover new artists similar to ones you already listen to. If you go to an artist’s profile on a music streaming service, you will likely see recommendations for similar artists. If you see one you’ve never heard of, give them a listen and see if they have a few songs that you like.

Another strategy to find similar artists on streaming services is to create a radio station based on a specific song. If you have that option on your music app, you can click to create a radio station while listening to one of your favorite songs. From there, the app will curate a playlist of songs by that same artist as well as similar songs by different artists in that genre. This could lead to discovering a new voice you want to hear more often. 

3. Let Your Friends Choose the Music in Your Car

If you are going on a group road trip or simply running a few errands around town with a friend, let them decide which songs blast through your speakers. They might have a unique playlist on their phone, or they might have a favorite radio station that you rarely listen to. Either way, you are likely to come across something that will expand your music taste instead of the same set of songs you always play on a loop while driving.

4. Follow Music-Related Social Media Accounts

Social media offers a plethora of ways to expand your music taste. You can follow certain radio stations or music publications to stay up to date on new releases or rising stars. You can also follow some of your favorite artists’ accounts on social media. Odds are high that they will interact with artists and groups that they enjoy. If you notice these interactions, it might inspire you to check out their music.

Conclusion

If you’ve been listening to the same artists or songs for a few years, it’s time to spice up your music preferences. While you can do something drastic like listen to a genre you have never tried, there are other strategies to discover new artists or songs in your favorite genres.

Streaming services offer multiple ways to expand your music taste by recommending artists or songs similar to ones you already enjoy. You can also use these apps to create radio stations based on a specific song.

If you want to take a riskier approach, you can give your friends full autonomy to choose the music in your vehicle. A more controlled idea might be to scroll through social media accounts and find connections that spark a new artist or genre to try. Either way, enjoy the search and give every new artist enough time to make a fair assessment. Listen intently to gain a greater appreciation for the amazing creative talent that so many artists possess.