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How to Use Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music to Discover New Music

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Just a decade ago, discovering new music meant waiting for a friend’s recommendation, listening to the radio, or following TV and magazine charts. Today, that task is handled by streaming platforms’ algorithms, which analyze your listening habits to predict your tastes and recommend songs you’re likely to love. Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, and TIDAL all have specific features designed to help users find new sounds effortlessly.

Spotify, with nearly 700 million monthly users, offers personalized tools such as Discover Weekly—a playlist of 30 new tracks updated every Monday—and Release Radar, which features fresh releases from artists you follow, updated every Friday. The Daily Mix playlists blend familiar songs with new discoveries grouped by genre or mood. Its newest feature, AI DJ, uses artificial intelligence to act as a personal music guide that mixes old favorites with new tunes and adds voice commentary between tracks.

TIDAL, a favorite among audiophiles, offers My Mix, My Daily Discovery, and My New Arrivals—playlists that combine your favorite artists with new ones, all in high-fidelity sound. The platform also features TIDAL Rising, which promotes emerging musicians worldwide, and an Autoplay function that keeps the music going with similar songs once your playlist or album ends.

YouTube Music stands out for its integration with YouTube, mixing official tracks with live performances, remixes, and covers. You can launch a radio station based on any artist or song, customize how much variety you want, and even switch to Discovery Mode to prioritize tracks you haven’t heard before. Its new Daily Discovery feature refreshes recommendations every day, while upcoming AI tools promise even more tailored experiences.

Meanwhile, Apple Music helps listeners discover fresh music through its Explore tab, which offers curated playlists by genre, mood, and global trends. Its Discovery Station, found under “Stations for You,” plays songs not in your library but similar to your taste, while Your Station mixes familiar favorites with new suggestions.

No matter which platform you use, the best way to improve recommendations is to like songs you enjoy, follow artists, and listen regularly—helping algorithms fine-tune your musical journey.

Spotify Founder Daniel Ek to Step Down as CEO, Shift Focus to Long-Term Strategy

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Daniel Ek, the billionaire founder and CEO of Spotify, will step down in January to become executive chairman, the company announced Tuesday. The move comes as the Swedish streaming giant adopts a co-CEO structure to strengthen its competitive position and improve profitability.

Ek, who founded Spotify in 2006 and built it into a global streaming powerhouse with nearly 700 million monthly users, will now focus on capital allocation and long-term strategy rather than daily operations. “I will be more involved than a typical U.S. chairman,” he said. “Think of it like moving from a player to a coach.”

Analysts say Ek departs the CEO role “on a high note,” though his successors face a challenging landscape as Spotify contends with Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music. Shares of Spotify fell about 5% following the announcement, though they remain up 63% this year.

Spotify remains the clear market leader, offering over 100 million tracks, but it continues to face pressure on profit margins as artists demand higher royalties and its ad-supported tier grows. Despite this, Spotify reported its first annual profit in 2024, aided by price hikes and cost-cutting.

Under the new structure, Gustav Soderstrom, currently chief product and technology officer, and Alex Norstrom, chief business officer, will serve as co-CEOs. The two have worked alongside Ek for over 15 years. “Norstrom is deeply interested in product, and I’m very interested in business,” said Soderstrom. “So we run this as a single team.”

Analysts are divided on the co-CEO model, which has been used by companies like Oracle and Netflix to manage increasingly complex global operations. Dan Coatsworth of AJ Bell cautioned that “too many cooks spoil the broth,” questioning the need for both an executive chairman and two chief executives.

Founded in Stockholm, Spotify revolutionized the music industry, helping reverse years of decline caused by piracy and falling CD sales. By 2024, global recorded music revenues reached $29.6 billion, with streaming surpassing $20 billion for the first time—half of it from subscriptions.

Ek’s new role cements his transition from visionary founder to strategic steward, as Spotify enters a new phase defined by AI integration, rising competition, and evolving media consumption.

US Labor Agency Says Google Must Bargain with Contractor’s Union

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Alphabet’s Google is facing a second complaint from the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which claims that the tech giant is a “joint employer” of contract workers and must bargain with their union. This complaint, issued last week, pertains to a group of about 50 San Francisco-based content creation workers employed by IT firm Accenture Flex. These workers voted to join the Alphabet Workers Union in 2023.

The NLRB’s claim hinges on the idea that Google shares enough control over these workers’ terms and conditions to be considered their joint employer. This would require Google to engage in collective bargaining with the union and could make the company liable for any violations of federal labor law.

This complaint follows a similar investigation into changes made by Google and Accenture Flex to workers’ conditions without prior bargaining, filed by the union in October. The NLRB had already ruled in January 2024 that Google must bargain with workers at YouTube Music, who were employed by a different staffing firm. An appeals court will review this decision later in the month.

Google, however, has argued that it does not exert sufficient control over its contract workers to be considered their joint employer. The company has also implemented changes, including eliminating a $15-an-hour minimum wage for contractors, in an effort to avoid union negotiations.

The new complaint will be heard by an administrative judge, with the final decision subject to review by the NLRB. This legal development is part of a broader trend of increased labor organizing at Google, which has seen protests over its business practices and employment policies.