DISCO Discovery Suite: Similarity Search

DISCO Discovery Suite now features Similarity Search. Get a head start on briefs that mention a reference track by searching your DISCO with a YouTube link, or rediscover your catalogue in a completely new manner.

Similarity Search is available to all Supervisors and Discovery Suite subscribers. 

Two Ways to Find Similar Tracks in DISCO

Search with a YouTube link

Simply enter a link in the search bar and we will return what we believe are the most similar tracks in your DISCO. The results are in order of similarity, meaning the most similar track is at the top.

Browse through your catalogue

In the track panel, click on the new Similar Tracks tab and we will return the most similar tracks right there and then. The results are in order of similarity, meaning the most similar track is at the top.

DISCO's Discovery Suite is a comprehensive set of tools that helps music professionals organize, discover, and source new music. Discovery Suite encompasses a wide range of features and tools including search, playlist management and now Similarity Search.

Tell us where we can do better

We are just getting started here and you can help us make our Similarity Search better. When you see results you think are a great fit, or not(!), tell us about it.

Important to know and keep in mind:

• Videos in your DISCO are currently not included in Similarity Search. You will not see any results for videos.
• Similarity Search works better with larger catalogues. The more tracks included in the search, the more likely we are to find good results for you.
• For Discovery Suite Subscribers: New tracks you add to your DISCO are included in results if they are auto-tagged. In other words, if you want to include a track in your Similarity Search, make sure they are auto-tagged. 
• For Supervisors: All your new tracks are automatically added to your Similarity Search. 

FAQs:

How does it work?

Using AI, we have developed our own Similarity Search that analyses audio and compares it with other audio on a large amount of different dimensions. Suffice it to say, there is a bit of magic under the hood that we won't go into detail about here. What we can say, however, is that our Similarity Search does not take into account tags or metadata or other high level track information, but performs a search on the sound of the audio itself. 

Who can access Similarity Search?

Similarity Search is available to all Supervisors and Discovery Suite subscribers. 

How accurate is Similarity Search?

We have done a lot of testing before releasing Similarity Search and we believe it provides accurate results most of the time. However, there are a few factors that will impact the quality of the results, including:

• The amount of tracks in your DISCO. The more tracks you have, the greater the chance of finding similar tracks. 
• The amount of tracks you have auto-tagged as a Discovery Suite subscriber. You might have a large catalogue, but only a portion is auto-tagged. Only tracks that are auto-tagged have also been analyzed for the purpose of Similarity Search. To increase the quality of your results, make sure to auto-tag as many tracks as you can. 
• The sound of your catalogue. If, for example, most of your tracks are rock and punk, then finding similar tracks to a classical or soul song is unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely! While we still show you results of what we deem most similar, the quality of results may be lower. 
• The quality of the reference track. If you are searching with a YouTube video and that video is of very low quality, has a lot of voiceover or is a mashup of many other songs, then the quality of results may be lower too. If you can, always search by the cleanest and best possible quality video you can find. 

I have auto-tagged a track, how long before I can see Similar Tracks?

This may vary a little bit depending on the time of day. Generally speaking, results should start showing within 5-10 minutes.

Can I search just a section of a video or track?

Not yet. Similarity Search is currently always performed on the entire video or song. 

Can I filter or refine my search results?

Not yet, but we are working on it. 

Does it work on DISCO libraries?

Not yet, but it will be part of libraries before too long. 

I am seeing duplicate results, why?

When you perform a search you may find that some of your results are showing multiple times. At this point, we are showing all results, even if they are duplicates of one another. If you find duplicates, that means you have the same audio more than once in your DISCO. You can either ignore this, or choose to merge the tracks to keep your DISCO neat and tidy. Learn more about merging here. 

In rare cases, you might even find that the track you've been searching for with a YouTube link itself is showing up. That happens if you have the track you've been searching in your DISCO already. 

My YouTube search fails, what can I do?

If a search fails and no results are provided, it may be because of one of the following reasons:

Lack of auto-tagged tracks

Tracks are added to Similarity Search results through auto-tagging. If you haven't auto-tagged any tracks in your DISCO, you will not see any results when using Similarity Search.

Territory Restrictions

it is most likely that there are territory restrictions on the video and we cannot access it for analysis. There are a few of things you can try:

1. Find another version of the song on YouTube and try again. 
2. Find a cover of the song that is as similar to the original as possible. 
3. If you happen to have the song as an mp3 already, upload it to DISCO and try it that way.

The very same restrictions may also lead to a situation where you search for a video in DISCO, and results are displayed, but the video itself won't play. Even though the video won't play in DISCO, the results can still be trusted. 

Length of the video

Ensure that videos are no longer than 30 minutes. Not only will the analysis not run, but finding something similar for 30+ minutes of audio is going to be impossible. If there are certain parts of the video you want to find similar audio for, please try to find just that scene (e.g. if it was from a movie) in its own video and try again.

Questions, comments, or concerns?

At DISCO, we value your feedback and we want to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Similarity Search or any other DISCO feature, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact our support team at support@disco.ac and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.