YouTube Music is attempting to revolutionize music discovery with its new feature ‘Samples.’ The new vertical video feed will be focused on discovering new music through clips. It looks very similar to TikTok or Reels but specifically for new music. It will be a “one-tap way” to quickly sample and find new music.
Samples appear in a new tab at the bottom of the app. Tapping the Samples icon starts a short 30-second video clip of a song YouTube Music thinks you’ll enjoy based on your taste profile, focusing on artists you like and related artists you may not have heard. You will be able to both like and dislike a song allowing the algorithm to better determine what you enjoy.
You will also be able to tap a play button allowing you to hear the song in full. In addition, there will be a Shorts button that takes you to the main YouTube app. Here you will be able to see other shorts of people who sampled the audio. YouTube Music product manager Gregor Dodson had this to say:
“Short-form video and the infinite scroll have really interesting applications in music discovery. It’s a simple way to discover new music, but it’s not the end of the journey — it’s just the start of finding a new artist or song”