YouTube Music has introduced a new “Samples” feature on its home screen allowing users to scroll a vertical video feed sampling song clips, similar to Instagram Reels or TikTok. Powered by watch history, it aims connecting listeners with potentially liked but undiscovered new music.
The tap-and-play Samples selection closely mirrors the YouTube Shorts interface while including Playlist save options plus links directing to full song playback or related Shorts. Rollout seems global after initial lighter tests.
How To Access Samples and Top Features
To access the Samples feed, users simply need to scroll down the YouTube Music homepage where a horizontal carousel appear showcasing portrait-cropped 15 second video snippets from music artists and labels across languages, genres.
Tapping opens the highly fluid, full-screen Shorts-like Samples interface where each clip plays instantly with controls to Like, Add to Playlist, Share and Download alongside discovery-focused recommendations to deep dive.
The platform leverages prior activity to offer a personalized assortment of tracks similar to individal preferences from popular playlists. Standout aspects include preview clips across moods, eras and languages derived from YouTube’s vast media vault.
The Samples introduction builds on YouTube Music’s strong growth now serving over 100 million listeners and subscribers combined, per Google. It has withstood recent platform-wide pricing and policy controversies while boosting engagement. Tighter integration with YouTube proper helps migrating viewership also into direct music streams over time.
