YouTube is paving a new music discovery pathway — will it work?

Song discovery ideally kicks off a fandom journey for the consumer, who then goes on to learn about the artist, stream their wider catalogue, become a fan, and buy merchandise and concert tickets. But, too often today, music discovery both starts and ends with the song. The music landscape is oversaturated and hyper-fragmented, and streaming services tend to focus on individual tracks, while offering few ways to engage with the artists behind them. It is no wonder that gen Z consumers struggle slightly more to discover music and dig deeper into artists. Rebuilding these pathways is crucial to nurturing the next generation of fans.

YouTube aims to do so with its network of connected platforms: YouTube, YouTube Music, and YouTube Shorts. After discovering a song through a Shorts clip, a consumer can seamlessly watch the artist’s YouTube music videos and vlogs, and stream more of their music on YouTube Music. This network guides consumers along the discovery journey, and it helps develop fandom by providing context alongside the music (mostly via YouTube videos) as well as opportunities to buy merchandise via YouTube Shopping. “I like to think of Shorts like an appetizer, YouTube like the main course, and subscription like the audio dessert,” YouTube global head of music Lyor Cohen told Music Business Worldwide.

It helps that YouTube is already the most common new music discovery source, with 52% of consumers citing it. Niche music discovery sources tend to lead to more engaged consumers — those who research artists they discover and spend above-average time and money on music. Thus, consumers who discover new music via YouTube spend relatively low time and money on music compared to consumers who discover via niche sources, like blogs and websites. YouTube’s network has the potential to rebuild the discovery pathways the music industry needs – but putting the tools in front of consumers does not necessarily mean consumers will use them, especially consumers who have been taught passive consumption. 

Perhaps more direct methods are needed, such as notifications when the artist behind a song soundbite used in a consumer’s Short has released a new music or video content. YouTube could also reshape its interface to cater to different fan needs. For example, when searching for an artist, music videos, lyric videos, reviews, remixes, live performances, interviews and more all appear in the same feed — and, as on Google, it is unlikely that few users will scroll past the first few results. All the tools for fandom have been thrown into the same toolbox, leaving fans to rummage around to get what they need. Breaking videos into clear-cut channels can reduce friction in the discovery journey and help turn consumers into fans. The next level would then allow fans to customise their own experience, building their own ‘fandom canvas’ of content. This is what would truly turn YouTube from the best place for discovering music to the best place to discover artists.