Apple Music wants to connect you to your favorite artists with the new Set Lists feature
Apple is giving up live music. Starting today, Apple Music fans will be able to access two new features to help them discover upcoming shows and concerts in more than 10 cities around the world.
Look out for a brand new feature called “Set Lists” that will be available to all Apple Music subscribers starting today (May 16, 2023). This new content will be placed in a new dedicated space within the app, allowing subscribers to browse upcoming tours that may be of interest to them.
Apple knows that an artist’s setlist is often sought after by fans who want to either prepare for an upcoming show by memorizing lyrics or reliving previous live performances, so it will line up these playlists in playlists in a new space.
The first artists to be available in Apple Music’s new “Set Lists” feature are Sam Smith, BLACKPINK, Peso Pluma, Kane Brown, blink-182 and of course Ed Sheeran – Sheeran’s performance at Eventim Apollo in London is also on Apple Music Live , which is available for streaming to Apple TV Plus subscribers.
As part of its new live music features, Apple will also launch Apple Music Guides on Maps, which will highlight live music venues in more than 10 cities, including Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, London, Paris, Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney and Mexico.
More than 40 guides, each curated by Apple Music editors, will be made available today, allowing subscribers to browse upcoming concerts on Map venues via the Shazam concert discovery module.
The enduring power of live music streaming
Being able to see your favorite music artist or band in person at a top-notch music venue or festival is a monumental event in most people’s lives. This is something many of us have missed during the pandemic as many live streaming companies have shut down.
The rate of discontinuation by live streaming companies has not completely slowed down in years since the peak of lockdowns when Mandolin Live Stream closed its doors in April. Pandora and Spotify Live sessions also shut down last month.
However, Apple’s recent push to focus on live music streaming is a sign that there is still a demand for this type of content. Indeed, in the past few months, Amazon’s Freevee debuted a new live music streaming program called Monumental: The artist’s cave experience, featuring live performances and exclusive interviews. Tidal also recently launched a new live music streaming feature that allows subscribers to live music sessions.
As one of the best music streaming services out there, Apple Music is a firm favorite for us – not least because you can stream in the incredibly immersive Dolby Atmos. And for those of us who can’t make it to our favorite artist’s upcoming performance, this is a welcome solution to ensure we don’t miss them entirely.