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Where do A&R and Music Execs go to discover new artists and music?

The chorus of voices telling artists how to “get discovered” would have you believe that A&R and other music execs spend countless hours scouring social media and digging through data to discover new music…..

,   and  Bruce Houghton
Spotify, youtube, soundcloud, apple music, amazon music, tidal, iheartradio - streaming platforms for music discovery and dig
Streaming platform logos for music and audio content on a colorful gradient background, including Spotify, YouTube, SoundCloud, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, and Heartbeat, highlighting digital music services and distribution channels.

The chorus of voices telling artists how to “get discovered” would have you believe that A&R and other music execs spend countless hours scouring social media and digging through data to discover new music.

Spotify, youtube, soundcloud, apple music, amazon music, tidal, iheartradio - streaming platforms for music discovery and digital music services.

That may be one path, but it’s also true that A&R and other music execs spend a lot of time actually listening to new music and a survey of industry pros by Vinrate shows where.

63.2% of 125 respondents listen to streaming services for artist discovery daily and 29.6% weekly.

On the other hand, fewer utilize streaming data for artist discovery daily (38.4%) and 33.6% weekly.

Those same pros ranked Spotify as the most significant source of artist discovery data among the streaming services, with YouTube (#2), SoundCloud (#3), Apple Music (#4), and Amazon Music (#5).

Read the full Vibrate survey here.

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.

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