We’ve all been there. That sinking feeling when you open Instagram on a Saturday morning, only to see stories from a friend at a surprise gig by your favourite indie artist—a gig you had no idea was even happening. The live music scene is booming, but keeping track of who’s playing where can feel like a full-time job.
It seems Spotify was listening to our collective FOMO. The music streaming giant has rolled out a feature that changes how we discover live music: Spotify now lets people follow venues to find out about concerts, connecting you directly to the pulse of your city’s music scene.
How to Follow Venues on Spotify
Until now, Spotify’s “Live Events Feed” was primarily artist-driven. You’d get a notification if an artist you follow announced a show nearby. Now, you can flip the script. By following a venue, their upcoming events will automatically appear in your feed.
Here’s how it works:
1. Open the Spotify app and go to the Search tab.
2. Type in the name of your favourite local venue (e.g., antiSOCIAL Mumbai, The Piano Man Jazz Club Delhi).
3. On the venue’s official page, tap the “Follow” button.
Once you follow a venue, their scheduled concerts will populate your Live Events Feed alongside shows from artists you follow, creating a powerful, two-pronged discovery engine.
A Game-Changer for Fans, Artists, and Venues
This simple addition is a massive win for the entire music ecosystem, enhancing concert discovery and making it easier to support live music.
For Music Fans: A Centralized Concert Hub
This feature provides a centralised, reliable source for concert information directly within the app you already use for music. No more endless scrolling through social media or missing announcements. It encourages music lovers to be more adventurous, trust a venue’s curation, and discover new artists they might not have otherwise found.
For Artists: A Direct Line to Local Listeners
For emerging and independent artists, this is a golden ticket. Getting your gig listed by a venue means you’re instantly promoted to that venue’s dedicated local followers. It democratises visibility, giving smaller artists a direct line to an engaged audience that is already geographically and culturally aligned with their music.
For Venues: Building a Loyal Community
This feature transforms venues into direct marketing channels. It empowers them to build a community of followers who will be the first to know about new shows, helping to sell tickets and create a buzz right from the announcement.
Connecting Streaming to the Live Scene
In a country like India with a diverse and rapidly growing independent music scene, this feature couldn’t have come at a better time. It bridges the gap between online streaming and the raw energy of a live performance. Spotify is solidifying its position not just as a platform to listen to music, but as an all-encompassing hub for your entire music life.
So, open your Spotify app and look up your local haunt. That follow button is more than just a click—it’s your all-access pass to your city’s soundscape.
