Apple Music partners with Ticketmaster to power its concert discovery feature

On Tuesday, Apple Music unveiled its new collaboration with Ticketmaster, aimed at enriching its Concert Discovery feature. This integration is designed to help users find live music events that resonate with their unique listening preferences. As the first ticketing service to team up with Apple Music, Ticketmaster will enable users to easily locate concerts and events in their vicinity. Each event listed in the Apple Music app now offers a direct link to Ticketmaster for seamless ticket purchasing. The revamped experience allows Apple Music subscribers to explore ticket options through various app features. These include a homepage carousel that showcases nearby concerts aligned with their listening habits, a dedicated Concerts Tab for browsing events, and Artist Pages that showcase concert listings with indicators for when an artist is on tour. Additionally, users will receive push notifications when their favorite artists are scheduled to perform nearby. This partnership expands Ticketmaster's existing role within the Apple ecosystem, which includes integration with Apple Maps, Spotlight Search, Photos, and Shazam. For instance, users can discover and purchase tickets for upcoming concerts after identifying songs with Shazam, while searches for artists on iOS devices conveniently display related Ticketmaster events. Furthermore, with the introduction of iOS 16, Apple Photos allows fans to revisit memories from past concerts through their images and videos, linking them directly to future events for those artists. This latest development is part of Apple Music's strategy to enhance its concert discovery capabilities amid competition. Earlier this year, it launched a feature enabling users to browse and listen to set lists from their favorite touring artists. The platform also features curated guides on Apple Music and Apple Maps that highlight premier live music venues in popular cities. This integration comes shortly after Spotify, a major competitor, partnered with SeatGeek to provide ticket links for music fans when viewing artist pages or upcoming tour dates. Ticketmaster has previously collaborated with rivals like SoundCloud and YouTube to facilitate ticket sales. In a separate note, the U.S. Justice Department recently announced a tentative settlement with Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, following an antitrust lawsuit. Since their merger in 2010, these companies have dominated the ticketing landscape in the U.S., although they have faced criticism over pricing practices that impact consumers.