Spotify Personalises Concert Discovery With Live Events Feed

Spotify has upgraded concert discovery in its app with a new Live Events Feed.

It replaces the in-app Concert Hub it introduced in 2015 by allowing users to find events from favourite artists in their area based on their own interests.

This is Spotify’s first step in a wider live events strategy, which could mean new search tools, playlist formats and other integrations.

Sam Sheridan, product manager for Live Events Discovery, revealed the company had been for the last two years studying the music industry, its products and its users.

This was done through Concert Hub which helped users during lockdowns with details on livestreams and podcast recordings.

“One of the key behaviours we see is that fans engage with artists on-platform, but then they leave to search for listings online or to even follow artists on social media for the sole purpose of staying on top of their events,” Sheridan said.

“We think the Live Events Feed is an opportunity to help close this loop.

“This helps ease the burden on fans, reduces the competition artists need to contend with to stand out, and creates new efficiencies around marketing.”

Spotify will continue to use its Concert Hub ticketing partners including Ticketmaster, DICE and Eventbrite.

It has not disclosed its financial arrangements with them, but it is assumed there’s a commission based on ticket sales generated by the app.

The Live Events Feed provides more features, including artist images with the date details, listings on acts coming up at the venue, a link to buy tickets, and a messaging tool that alerts users to live events based on listening habits collected by the app.

Spotify says the feed will push more fans to live events and play a major role in the revival of the international concert industry.

“We’re not stopping here,” Sheridan revealed.

“From here we’ll work to even further integrate event discovery directly into the app, whether through more advanced search tools, new playlist formats, or new integrations into key surfaces—meaning event discovery is integrated right into the listening experience.”