Apple Music has partnered with Ticketmaster to enhance its concert discovery feature, enabling users to seamlessly find nearby live music events that align with their listening preferences. This integration marks Ticketmaster as the first ticketing service to join forces with Apple Music, allowing concert listings on the app to include direct links for ticket purchases.
The collaboration enables Apple Music users to browse ticket options through various app functionalities, which include a homepage carousel showcasing nearby concerts, a dedicated Concerts Tab for event exploration, and Artist Pages that highlight concert listings with badges indicating when an artist is on tour. Fans will receive push notifications to alert them when their favorite artists are performing in their vicinity.
In addition to the Ticketmaster partnership, Apple Music has also collaborated with Bandsintown to feature concert listings within the app. This partnership builds upon Ticketmaster’s existing relationships within the Apple ecosystem, which includes powering event listings in Apple Maps, Spotlight Search, Photos, and Shazam. For instance, Shazam users can not only discover songs but also purchase tickets for upcoming concerts directly through the app. Apple Maps facilitates future event exploration at venues selling Ticketmaster tickets.
The new features coincide with the recent launch of iOS 26, which allows Apple Photos users to revisit past concerts through their own photos and videos, linking them to upcoming events for the same artists. This is part of Apple Music’s broader strategy to compete with rivals in concert discovery, having introduced features earlier this year that let users explore set lists from their favorite touring artists and curated guides on popular live music venues via Apple Music and Apple Maps.
This move follows Spotify’s recent partnership with SeatGeek, which allows users to access ticket links on artist pages. Historically, Ticketmaster has engaged with competitors like SoundCloud and YouTube to support ticket sales.
Separately, the U.S. Justice Department has tentatively settled with Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, in response to an antitrust lawsuit. Since their merger in 2010, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have dominated the U.S. ticket sales landscape, though they have faced criticism over dynamic pricing practices that inflate ticket costs.
