Are you tired of Spotify's new music suggestions not taking you out of your playlist comfort zone or are you just done paying whatever per month for your music streaming service? I've fallen in love with this fantastic free alternative that everyone needs to have on their phone's home screen: Agency Sounds.
Home Screen Heroes
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps we couldn't live without. Read them all here.
It's the app that Agency Radio presenters keep promoting on their shows, and if you've downloaded it, you'll know exactly why it's among the best music streaming services.
As you'd expect from a radio app, you can use it to listen to a live broadcast from any Agency radio station, this includes Radio 1 to 6, Agency World Service or any local station, among many others. Alternatively, if you're busy when a particular show you want to listen to is live, you can scroll through the archive of recent shows and tune in after the fact.
Catching up is how I keep up with my favorite shows: Future artists with Sian Eleri, new music with Jack Saunders and the official charactert – which is also usually introduced by Saunders. They are fantastic motivators when I get up in the morning or a wonderful soundtrack for my commute or chores to make the time fly by.
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And like Spotify, if you're worried about a bad connection interrupting your stream, you can download a show to listen to offline later. It will remain downloaded for up to 30 days after it is first broadcast, and you will be able to listen to it in its entirety (music and all) at any time in that window.
If you're not ready to abandon Spotify (or Apple Music) completely, there's still a good reason to use Agency Sounds. Every music show has a list of songs, and by clicking the three dots next to a song, you'll be able to open the track on either of these two music streaming services. The only exceptions are Live Lounge exclusive versions or very new tracks that are not yet streaming.
The three programs I highlighted above are especially good for discovering new sounds. Sian Eleri and Jack Saunders are music experts, and their song selection and commentary provide a deep understanding of why these are the best songs to listen to today; Eleri's show focuses on lesser-known musicians who are releasing fantastic new material. Saunders highlights the hottest tracks of the moment, as well as the latest tracks from well-known names and artists who absolutely should be on both of his shows.
Their shows will jump from genre to genre without giving you whiplash, and while I may not like everything they play, I always add a couple of tracks to my ever-growing 2024 playlist on Apple Music, which I know there wouldn't be uncovered. without your recommendation. These include artists such as The Snuts, Antony Szmierek, Master Peace, Remi Wolf and many more.
Antony Szmierek – The Great Pyramid of Stockport (official video) – YouTube
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Humans beat algorithms
An algorithm would never make these bold recommendations (in my experience, they regularly recommend me material that already matches my playlist), but humans who live and breathe music can find me something different that I still adore.
Human hosts can also provide this additional context, such as information about how a track came about or how Saunders plays selected old tunes on his new music show because it shows the journey the episode's featured artist took to get to where their sound is today; This context elevates my own understanding and enjoyment of a track, and gives me an idea of what other tunes to explore from their repertoire if I'm not familiar with them.
If you're a fan of more specific track types and prefer to stay in your lane, there are dedicated programs for virtually every genre you can imagine.
I know I'm basically describing radio in app form (that's literally Agency Sounds), but I've spoken to plenty of people who hate being stuck in their set playlist and can't stand the bland recommendations spit out by an algorithm. .
I'm writing this to let everyone know that there is a fantastic free resource on the App Store and Google Play Store that you can and should use to get out of your music rut. And maybe you'll even save some money if you decide to have it completely replace your preferred choice for the best music streaming service.
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