YouTube Music is rolling out a Samples tab on mobile to introduce new artists to potential fans through “short video segments.” Actually, it’s TikTok.
The announcement states Monsters have their home in the bottom navigation bar between Home and Explore. Selecting it launches the personalized feed in which the algorithm displays “the latest release from an emerging artist or a deep cut of a legacy (musician)” that the website thinks you’d like. Each track is accompanied by a 30 second video clip. Swiping up on your phone screen, as you probably guessed, goes to the next track.
At first glance, Samples sounds similar to the Supermix and Discover playlists already present on YouTube Music. In a recent Engadget report, YouTube Music product manager Gregor Dodson claims the algorithm for Samples is different. Apparently the new feature is a mix between Supermix and Discover, emphasizing musicians you may know while also adding clips you may not have seen before.
At this point, you might be rolling your eyes at the fact that yet another popular social media app is copying TikTok’s never-ending feed. However, given that YouTube Shorts has proven to be very popular with its user base, plus the near-infinite number of songs on the platform, it makes a lot of sense to add the same feature to YouTube Music.
Music demo
We managed to get our hands on Samples, and we have to admit it’s pretty cool. It’s fun to watch music videos you don’t normally watch and then discover a great band you’ve never heard of. Keep in mind that each fragment will repeat endlessly. They don’t change automatically. To view the next item, you must manually swipe up on the screen.
On the side you have a series of buttons to like songs, add them to a playlist, share your favorites with friends or use them in a YouTube Short. Tapping the three dots at the bottom right opens a menu that leads to an additional set of tools. As you can see in the image below, users can download songs (assuming you are a YouTube Premium subscriber) or view the musician’s profile.
now available
In case it isn’t clear yet, Samples is a free addition. You do not need to subscribe to the Premium plan. Make sure you have the latest version of YouTube Music on your mobile device. It is currently rolling out to all users around the world, so keep an eye out for the patch when it arrives.
There are plans to extend the technology to other parts of the platform. Details for future expansions are not known at the time of writing.
Fusing music with an endless feed seems to be a growing trend. Spotify has implemented similar technology when it redesigned its mobile app. And TikTok is taking a different path by preparing its own music streaming service. To be honest, we’re a little curious to see how long it will be before we see Tidal start supporting a scrolling feed.
While we’re on the subject, check out TechRadar’s list of the best music streaming services for 2023.