New Music, Please!

February 2025

By Alexis Gunderson

How do you find new music? If you’re one of Spotify’s 600 million monthly active users, you probably use the Discover Weekly playlist.

Launched in 2015, Discover Weekly runs on a powerful machine learning algorithm. The algorithm takes what it knows about what you already like and listen to and matches it to what it knows about the millions of songs in Spotify’s database. It then uses data analysis and probability to create a playlist of 30 new-to-you songs that match your taste. It might feel like magic to you as a listener, but it’s mostly math to an engineer like Glenn McDonald, who helped create the algorithm.

Spotify has identified more than 6,200 microgenres to perfect its playlists. Forget the days of genres as broad as pop, rock, hip-hop, or country. Depending on your taste, your next Discover Weekly playlist might include categories like J-pixie, Cowpunk, Retro Soul, and Norwegian Space Disco. This development has delighted McDonald, who created an interactive map of every microgenre on his website, Every Noise at Once. McDonald says it’s important to remember that although you may prefer one microgenre today, you should keep exploring!

Microgenres

Back in 2016, Spotify had about 1,500 genres. Now it has more than 6,200 microgenres! Spotify’s algorithm is so precise that it can identify unique listening trends by city. Here are some popular microgenres in cities across the U.S.

In DALLAS, people love Red Dirt, which combines country, rock, and honky-tonk. It includes songs by Turnpike Troubadours, who have 1,472,907 monthly listeners.

In ATLANTA, people love Atlanta Hip Hop, which combines hip-hop and Southern rap. It includes songs by Lil Nas X, who has 22,544,047 monthly listeners.

In PHOENIX, people love Corridos Tumbados, which combines Mexican ballads and hip-hop. It includes songs by Grupo Frontera, which has 33,133,282 monthly listeners.

In CHICAGO, people love Freestyle, which combines pop, dance, and electronic music. It includes songs by C & C Music Factory, which has 2,368,416 monthly listeners.

In SEATTLE, people love Bubblegrunge, which combines grunge with pop. It includes songs by beabadoobee, who has 19,869,464 monthly listeners.

In LOS ANGELES, people love Quiet Storm, which combines soul, pop, jazz, and R&B. It includes songs by Diana Ross, who has 7,123,628 monthly listeners.