When it comes to music discovery, Spotify and Apple Music typically come to mind first. YouTube is mostly considered a video hosting platform and even a search engine of sorts, but rarely a proper tool to find new tunes and update your current music library. Undeservedly so.

YouTube Is an Underrated Treasure Trove for Music Discovery

YouTube has an incredibly vast and diverse library of music content, including official songs, albums, music videos, live performances, and user-generated content. Besides, among official releases and popular songs, there are also rare, unofficial tracks that may not be available on other streaming platforms.

YouTube's interface and algorithm tend to promote more organic music discovery compared to algorithmic-driven platforms like Spotify. For instance, the "autoplay" feature can lead users to discover new artists and genres they may not have otherwise found.

How to discover new music on YouTube

You can browse headers on the main page of YouTube, such as Music and New for You, to find some hidden gems.

Check the YouTube Music and Music channels for the latest releases, compilations, and mood lists. Simply entering phrases like "New this week" in the search bar will reveal multiple playlists featuring new music.

Tip: When watching software or game demos on YouTube, listen for the background music. These demos often credit the music in the description, making it easy to find the tracks and potentially discover a new genre.

Here are a bit more tips to use.

Use the Samples Feature

The Samples tab in the YouTube Music app offers a personalized, endless stream of short music video segments to help you discover new artists and songs. You can explore new music, save songs to your library or playlists, share with friends, and find related videos through the Samples feature.

Find Music-Focused Playlists and Channels

YouTube has dedicated playlists that are made specifically for discovering new music (and often have these exact words in their names), which curate a wide range of new and emerging artists across different genres. Channels like "New Music Discovery" provide extended, edited versions of catchy music featured in TV commercials, helping you find new songs you might not have otherwise discovered.

How to Create Your Own Music Library with YouTube

The most obvious way is to create a dedicated playlist on YouTube or an entire collection of playlists based on songs’ mood, genre, etc. But YouTube doesn’t guarantee this content will remain available to you for good because of strikes or if the content uploader’s decision to take the video down.

The thing is that even if you add these songs to your Watch Later collection, there’s no 100% guarantee they will be there for you all the time. This is why, just to be on the safe side, you should think of saving these videos on your device for offline listening. Here’s where YouTube to MP3 comes in.

With 4K YouTube to MP3, you can download any video, playlists, or channel as audio on your device and enjoy it later. You can also download your private content, such as Liked videos and Watch Later, including unlisted videos if you have a link to them.

Here’s how to download a YouTube music video in MP3:

1. Download and install the 4K YouTube to MP3 application. It's available for macOS, Windows and Linux.

2. Copy the video link from the browser. You can also paste a link to a YouTube playlist or a channel.

3. Press the 'Paste Url' button in the 4K YouTube to MP3 application.

4. After that, all you need is to wait until the download is completed.

5. You will find an MP3 file in the output directory. Just right-click on the item and select 'Show in folder'.

Alternatively, you can find the music videos you want right in 4K YouTube to MP3’s in-app browser and download the content without leaving the app.

Tip: If you want to download videos in video formats, not audio, you can use 4K Video Downloader Plus.