Check the online music charts for trends and emerging artists or songs. The United States-based "Billboard" charts provide a comprehensive view of tracks and albums detailing total time on the chart, previous position on the chart, whether it's climbing in sales or dropping in sales and also summaries of the biggest jumps and biggest falls. They are updated weekly.
Listen to a variety of radio stations. Whether it's in the car on the way to work or online through your headphones while you're typing away, you will always hear emerging tunes on the radio.
Log onto the website of your local or national radio stations and check out their "playlists" section. Radio stations make it their business to stay on top of the latest trends in music and you can be sure to find a list of everything they play here, as well as general music industry news.
Join Twitter and follow the feeds of other music industry enthusiasts. Search "#music" as a starting point and also follow music-specific tweeters like NME Magazine, Spinner, Tiny Mix Tapes, Hype M and Guardian Music.
Bookmark music blogs such as Pitchfork Media, Popjustice and Brooklyn Vegan, (see Resources). These are a good starting point as they are renowned for keeping their finger on the musical pulse. Blogs will always keep a list of other blogs they recommend so build a list of your favorites and read them regularly.
Visit the websites of record labels. Begin with majors such as Sony Music, Universal, EMI and Time Warner (see Resources). You will find up-to-date news and information on upcoming releases and tours.