8 Signs You’re a Certified RecMaster

SongsBrew Editorial

You don’t need Daily Discover (you are one)

Being the RecMaster of your friends and family comes with a lot of responsibility, and we figure you probably take that pretty seriously. You know the perfect song for any mood, and you probably also know if there is a better mix or mash-up. Somewhere along the lines, the polyJAMorous and the RecMasters overlap - in fact, they may be the best combination.

Are you a RecMaster? For those who know they are indeed the recommendations meastros, they won’t need to check the list. But just in case…

8 Signs You’re a Certified RecMaster

A guide for those who take their music recommendations personally.

1. You Don’t Just Listen. You Curate (ofc).
   Every playlist you make is a purpose-built thing, capturing a moment, an instrument, or a time capsule. Your “On Repeat” is a reflection of you, well, that and your 90 playlists and 19,000 songs. And don’t even get you started on sequencing.

2. Spotify Wrapped? You Laughed.
   Your taste can’t be summarized by one viral social slide deck or just 100 songs; it does its best, though. Wrapped is the tip of the iceberg. Your actual top songs are buried deep in private playlists with names like moss altar or Q3/crying.

3. You’ve Given Out More Links Than a Label Rep.
   You are the friend who sends songs that “remind me of you.” And if no one listens? You quietly reevaluate the friendship.

4. You’ve Mastered Every Algorithm.
   You train your Release Radar like a prized fighter, always ready to share it on a Reddit forum. You switch platforms just to test the editorial taste. But most importantly, you understand how vital block and ‘exclude from taste profile’ really are.

5. Your Recs Come With Context.
   You don’t just say “listen to this.” You say, “Play this on a cold walk home. Preferably with a fading buzz, a nice layer of fog for company,” or “this one goes with a late night, soft chair, a cold beer, and crunchy food.”

6. You’re Not Gatekeeping. You’re Protecting.
   You’ll hand-pick and share music with those you know will get it. And for the rest? You don’t mind keeping some back for yourself. They are the rewards you get for the amount you share.

7. You’ve Been Burned.
   You once recommended your favorite artist, and they blew up into a viral monster. Then, they did something awful, and you had to let them go. Unfortunately, you’d spent time building playlists around the music and sharing them. Or worse, your carefully selected track went down like a lead balloon. It is personal to you.

8. You Know It’s a Gift.

   Recommending music is an act of love, no matter how you slice it. And receiving the right rec? Practically spiritual (someone gets you on that level? love it), but you don’t mind spreading your music recommendations out there and only getting 1 or 2 in return. For you, being able to share something is enough.

We could go on, but if you have more than half, you’re a RecMaster. And people love you for it. We know we do.

You haven’t found everything… and you love it.

And that’s what keeps it exciting.

You know (maybe even love) that you haven’t heard your favorite song yet. The algorithm might help a little, but you're the one doing the heavy lifting. The joy of being the one who finds and shares music isn’t just about knowing what’s out there. It’s about knowing there’s always something more. Another track. Another artist. Another detail that someone else will latch onto because you noticed it first.

There’s still so much left to discover, and we hope some of those discoveries have come through our playlists. This week, we’ve pulled together a mix built straight from our own Discovery feeds. It’s a bit wild, full of a mix of genres, and probably right up your alley. And of course, a glimpse into what we listen to, so personal, too.

Take a listen. Then send us yours in the comments or DMs on socials. We want to hear what you’ve been obsessed with. So we can obsess with you, regardless of the distance.

Why you are a vital part of music discovery

We’ve multiple articles discussing how to discover new music, but one aspect often overlooked is the role of RecMasters. Not an oversight, but you deserve more than a moment on a list of tips. Because what you do, and how you do it, is more careful, selective, and personal than any algorithm can ever be.

We talked recently about the excess of music, but you play an essential role in cutting through. Carefully sifting through the noise and delivering the good stuff right to the people who will appreciate it the most.

Your new music finds are scattered throughout your social media, sprinkled across all forms of communication, from Discord to WhatsApp. And when you hear an intro, you know where that track can find a home.

And perhaps the most beautiful thing about it all? It never stops just there. Your recommendation ends up on a playlist, the playlist gets shared, and someone else, who you’ll never meet, will be listening to that song, because of you.

Overly romantic? Maybe, but that is what music does. It connects us in ways that we will never know. So here is to you, the RecMasters, in it for the love of music, and the people you share it with.

Without you? We’d have a song-shaped hole in our playlists. And something lacking in our taste.

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A Final Note

Until next time,