There was a time when you needed one app for streaming and storing your beloved music library, and a different app if you wanted to focus on watching and storing music videos. The arrival of YouTube Music in 2015 offered a solution to this dilemma, offering a user-friendly interface that allows us to explore songs and music videos on YouTube by genre, playlists, and personalized recommendations. Billions of people across the world already use YouTube to watch videos. Having that familiarity in a music streaming context felt extremely convenient.
According to Music Ally, YouTube Music was the most adopted music service in the second quarter of 2024. This, of course, solidifies their position as leaders in the evolving music streaming market. Usually when folks think about YouTube music, rightfully so there is quite a massive emphasis on its unique advantage of offering a vast video library and access to niche content.
In this article, however, we'll be shining a spotlight on the curation aspect and provide a detailed understanding of YouTube Music's editorial ecosystem. Furthermore, we'll share our selection of some of the best playlists that stand out for us - particularly on the alternative side of things.
The Essence of YouTube Editorial Playlists
In a fast-paced world where products evolve rapidly and new content is constantly being introduced, the quality of editorial playlists plays a crucial role in users' decision-making process, including potential future subscribers. These carefully curated editorials serve two important purposes: one from the user’s perspective and the other from the artist’s.
On one hand, it's designed to showcase new and emerging artists, as well as to highlight established musicians who are releasing new material. On the other hand, curators craft editorials to spotlight specific topics or genres, allowing listeners to immerse themselves in a well-defined atmosphere while also making it easier for the audience to discover new music on the platform. These two outlooks go hand in hand as it most likely ensure that when an artist is featured on a playlist, they get an engaged audience.
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On YouTube Music, editorials encompass playlists, charts, recommendations, and themed collections curated by a combination of human editors and algorithms. It's not only music that is found throughout their editorials.
Human Vs Algorithmic Curation on YouTube Music
YouTube Music relies on a dedicated team of music specialists to craft and manage a diverse array of playlists. These playlists are typically tailored to specific genres, and moods, or centered around particular activities and events. Editors select tracks using a range of criteria, such as fresh releases, popular trends, and timeless classics. They also take into account cultural moments, holidays, and events that may shape listeners' music choices. In addition to playlists curated by experts, YouTube Music utilizes algorithms to generate personalized playlists tailored to each user. These playlists are crafted from individual listening habits, search activity, and other user data. Algorithms analyze user data to predict what songs we might like, creating playlists such as "Your Mix," "Discover Mix," or "New Release Mix". These playlists evolve over time, taking into consideration our likes, skips, and search patterns.
One of the things that really grabs our attention about YouTube Music is how they frequently experiment with new types of editorial content, such as combining music and video in innovative ways or exploring new genres and subcultures.
The Best YouTube Music Editorial Playlists
Here are some of the playlists on YouTube Music that we're fans of. Throughout this list, you're bound to find a range of selections that explore electronic, hip-hop, soul, indie, jazz, and more.
New Electronica
New tracks and recent finds from today's finest electronic beatmakers.
Find the playlist here.
This stellar curation is sure to stand out for fans of alternative forms of electronic music. New Electronica offers listeners a mix of dance-ready tracks alongside releases that have a deeply immersive vibe. Just by looking at the first 5 names here, we can tell that there is an embrace of UKG and house-leaning artists who are trailblazing within their respective scenes.
Flow Superior
For the real hip-hop heads: From the vets to the emerging stars, these are today's most gifted lyricists.
Find the playlist here.
If you're into the kind of rap where storytelling, intricate lyricism, and/or substance are upheld, this is definitely a playlist for you. I love that this playlist not only embraces lyricists from the past and the present, but also shines a light on the stars of the underground. It says only good things that they've placed someone like Larry June on the cover.
Fresh New Indie
Hear all of the fresh, new tracks from established and emerging indie acts as they drop.
Find the playlist here.
Believe it or not, when Stereofox started one of the main genres that was covered was indie music. The team still remains passionate about the genre, making this pick quite a no-brainer. Fresh New Indie is a well-put-together assortment of some of the best and newest bedroom pop, indie, and soft rock gems that are brimming with emotion.
deep chill
Your eternal home for deep house & chill electronic
Find the playlist here.
Deep chill presents a captivating mix, featuring some of the most soothing and immersive deep house and melodic house tracks. We're presented with icons in the scene such as Lane 8, ZHU, and Kasbo, to future stars such as TWO LANES, Shallou, and Carlita. This is perfect to unwind during sunset chill sessions with friends.
Neo Soul Essentials
Neo-soul's fusion of soul, jazz, funk, and hip hop was revolutionary in its time. Revisit the classics and discover the new school.
Find the playlist here.
In the last few years, neo-soul has encountered a resurgence in the mainstream and the underground. If you're a fan of the genre, this playlist will serve as an absolute haven for you. You're bound to uncover some of your favorite neo-soul classics in here, and more modern tracks that carry that soulful essence of yesteryears.
Lofi Loft
Kick back and coast to these chillhop and lofi beats.
Find the playlist here.
Of course this is on our list. We strive to push the beat scene forward, and it's beautiful to see that YouTube Music also has included a range of talented acts here who stand for the same thing. This stellar curation consists of some of the finest lofi hip hop, chillhop, and jazzhop out there, and there are also some lofi classics scattered across the playlist too.
Soul House Vibe
Come through and glide, on this soulful house vibe.
Find the playlist here.
What I love about this playlist is that it doesn't discriminate when it comes to the various types of house music, and gives you exactly what you see on the title. Soul House vibe is a colorful mixed bag of deep house, lofi house, classic house, jazz house, disco house, and more. It's the soul that matters here and I'm all for it!
Low Key
Vibe to this chill mix of rhythmic pop, R&B, and hip hop.
Find the playlist here.
Talking about mixed bag, here is another one for you. This time YouTube Music has gathered relaxing releases throughout a range of different genres. And even though the genres vary, the flow of the playlist is still quite cohesive thanks to the marvelous attention to detail. You'll find tracks from DRAMA and FKJ, all the way to SZA and Little Simz.
Deep Sleep Meditation
Drift off to sleep with the help of these ambient tracks.
Find the playlist here.
If you need sounds for sleeping, meditating, or simply as a calming backdrop while you work, this playlist is exactly what you're looking for. Should you deeply dive and actively listen to it as I did, it's able to seamlessly immerse you into its atmospheric landscape. This is not the kind of playlist that is scattered with big or recognizable names, but it's more so about the particular experience it's able to offer.
Jazz For The Hip-Hop Generation
Vibe with these modern jazz compositions blending Hip-Hop, Funk & Afrobeats.
Find the playlist here.
And I left my personal favorite for last. Firstly the name of this playlist is astounding, and I love the theme that it is centered around. Lately, there has been a resurgence of nu-jazz that incorporates influences from Africa, Latin America, electronic, and hip-hop to craft something that is garden-fresh. And this curation beautifully captures that aesthetic with names like Ezra Collective, Robert Glasper, and DOMi & JD Beck found here.
I'd highly suggest diving deeper into the curation of their editorial playlists. The above captures only a handful of the splendor YouTube Music has to offer.
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