Copyright VICE
Well, well, well. After years of complaints that music streaming has hollowed out the music industry’s bread-and-butter economic model of selling records, with streaming’s paltry returns, Spotify’s now released a new feature called Live Events that wants to nudge you into the audience of shows near you. live events central? After album sales declined under the relentless but inevitable onslaught of the streaming music buffet services, like Spotify and Apple Music, touring musicians found concerts once again becoming one of their most important cash cows. Videos by VICE Back in March 2025, Spotify debuted Concerts Near You. The name is self-explanatory. The feature lets you sign up for news of concerts by your favorite artists. This was for those shows that you plan your vacation days around, where you travel for what’s potentially a once-in-a-lifetime major show. On October 20, Spotify announced an expansion of this feature. Live Events lets you stay informed of live music shows at your favorite local venues, discover new venues near you, and check out their upcoming lineups. Rather than following specific bands and musicians and then being alerted as to when they’re playing shows, like with Concerts Near You, Live Events flips that on its head. You follow the venues and then potentially discover new artists through following the venues. Trying it out is on my to-do list, but anything that A) helps expose new artists to new audiences they may not otherwise find and B) promotes local live venues gets five big thumbs-ups from me. Five. At the time of its launch, Live Events includes more than 20,000 venues across the world, “from iconic arenas to beloved independent clubs,” as Spotify put it in their announcement. Want to give it a whirl? Live Events works for free users and not just those who pay for a premium subscription.
