Summarize:

To begin using their service, spotify requires you to sign up, but it is fairly easy. Go to their website and choose between "play free" or "premium" (premium allows you to listen to music with no commercials and download songs to your phone so you can listen to your music even when you don't have service). Then, you can sign up with Facebook or with your email address and you can begin to listen to music. Spotify has several different options for listening to music. You can download their program on your computer, which allows you stay logged in permanently, or you can visit the Spotify online web player (this runs similarly to the program on your computer). You can also download the spotify app to your tablet or phone. With this app you can still listen to music free, but you won't be able to select individual songs -- you will just be able to shuffle whole albums or playlists, which may make it difficult to discover new music. To begin your search for new music, it can always be helpful to start off with artists you already like. On the spotify player, you can type in your favorite artists in the search bar and you can click on some of their albums or the artist themself. To find new artists, its helpful if you visit the actual artist's page. Spotify has created a function that allows you to check out artists that are similar to the artists you already like, which can be beneficial when you are trying to discover new music. The "Related Artists" link is on the right side of the page, next to the "popular music." It usually displays the top seven artists like the one you are listening to, but if you click on the link, you will be directed to a page with 20 other artists. Spotify has also created a page that gives you the option to browse different genres, new releases, music in the top of the charts, and even has a discover page. Each of these pages gives you the option to find new music, either by trying out different genres or going with Spotify's suggestions. Click the "Browse" like in the top left corner of your Spotify page to explore new music. Charts: Within the browse option, this page allows you to look at music that is ranked in the top 50 in the country. You can check out music from America, or from all over the world. You can also visit the "Viral 50 by Country" page, which allows you to see what songs are ranked in the top 50 of each country. Genres and Moods: This page is helpful if you are feeling in a certain mood or looking for a certain genre, but don't have an idea of specific artists to look for. Spotify has created a number of genres and moods like "Chill," "Workout," "Jazz," "Travel," etc. as well as creating playlists within each of those categories for even more specificity. For example, within the "Chill" category a few of the playlists are "Your Favorite Coffeehouse," "Stress Relief," and "Autumn Leaves." Within the "Jazz" category one of the playlists is "This is: Frank Sinatra." In the categories that are more genre based rather than mood based, Spotify has listed a number of well known or popular artists and albums within that genre. New Releases: What better way to find new music than by checking out the new releases? This page consists of music that was recently released. It is not grouped by any specific genre or category, so you'll have to do some sifting to find music. Discover: This page is uniquely created for you as a user, and is improved more and more by the amount of time you spend on Spotify listening to music. Spotify has several different categories like "Top Recommendations for You," "New Releases for You," "Because you listened to..." and "Suggested for You Based on..." Essentially, Spotify is able to take the music you listen to and find similar artists or genres that you might like so that you can explore new music. Spotify carries a social media aspect to it, in that you can add friends and view their pages to see what music they are listening to. If you know of a certain friend who shares similar music taste with you, then visit their page by searching for their name in the search bar. You should be able to see music they have recently listened to, playlists they have created, and artists and other friends they are following.
Get a spotify username. Download Spotify to your computer or use their web player. Visit artists you like. View the related artists. Use the browse function. Visit a friend's page.