We listen to hundreds of tracks monthly to find the artists who stop us dead. Here's exactly how our discovery process works — and how you can get on our radar.
TL;DR
Noise discovers artists through SoundCloud deep dives, Bandcamp new releases, BBC Introducing, community recommendations, live shows, and social media. We look for authentic voice, consistent output, and genuine artistry over follower counts or streaming numbers.
Where We Look
Our discovery process spans multiple platforms and real-world spaces because the best emerging artists don't all congregate in one place.
SoundCloud remains our primary digital scouting ground. Its recommendation algorithm surfaces experimental and underground music that Spotify's more commercial algorithm might overlook. We spend hours every week in SoundCloud's genre tags, related tracks, and user playlists.
Bandcamp's new releases section is another essential source. Artists who release on Bandcamp tend to be more independent, more artistically driven, and more engaged with the direct-to-fan model that we champion.
BBC Introducing feeds are gold mines. The regional BBC Introducing shows surface local talent from across the UK, and the quality of submissions has increased dramatically as more artists recognise the platform's value.
Live shows are irreplaceable. We attend gigs, open mics, and local events regularly. There's information in a live performance — confidence, stage presence, audience connection — that no recording can capture.
What We Listen For
We're not looking for perfection. We're looking for something harder to define — an authentic voice that makes us stop and pay attention.
Specifically, we listen for: originality (does this sound like something we haven't heard before?), emotional honesty (does this feel real rather than performative?), technical development (does this artist have skills and the trajectory to develop further?), and consistency (is this a one-off spark or a sustained creative practice?).
Streaming numbers are not a primary consideration. An artist with 50 monthly listeners who's making genuinely original music interests us more than an artist with 50,000 listeners who sounds like everyone else. Numbers can be built; authentic artistic vision is much rarer.
We also pay attention to the artist's engagement with their community. Do they support other artists? Do they show up at local events? Do they contribute to the scene rather than just extracting from it? The artists we champion are almost always community-minded.
How to Get on Our Radar
Release music consistently. We can't discover you if there's nothing to discover. A regular release schedule — even just a single every few weeks — keeps you visible and demonstrates commitment.
Be active in your local scene. Go to gigs, support other artists, build relationships. The music community is smaller than you think, and word of mouth is still our most reliable discovery channel.
Submit to BBC Introducing in your region. We monitor these feeds and so do dozens of other music professionals.
Tag and describe your music accurately on all platforms. Clean metadata, appropriate genre tags, and a compelling bio make you easier to find and evaluate.
Don't chase us specifically. The best way to get on any tastemaker's radar is to make great music and be visible in the places where music lives. If your art is genuine, consistent, and distinctive, we'll find you. That's literally what we do.
And if you want to be proactive, our submissions are always open through our website. We listen to everything that comes in. We can't respond to every submission, but we can promise that a human being — someone who genuinely loves discovering new music — will hear your track. That's more than most platforms can offer.