Concert tracking · 2026 guide
Songkick was acquired by Suno — an AI music company — in November 2025. Your years of concert history now sit inside a different company's data strategy. Here's an honest comparison of every real alternative, and what to do next.
In November 2025, Songkick was acquired by Suno — the AI music generation company. This means Suno is now the data controller for your Songkick account: your concert attendance history, your followed artists, your location data, your engagement signals.
For many users, that's the line. Concert history feels personal — it's a record of your life as a music fan, not an asset to power generative AI. The communities on Reddit have been vocal: account deletions spiked immediately after the news broke.
"My concert history is being turned into training data for AI music systems I never agreed to support."
— Sentiment across r/Concerts and r/indieheads, 2025Whether or not that's exactly what Suno intends, the perception has shifted. Songkick is no longer a neutral utility. And you have GDPR rights — including the right to request erasure and to object to changes in how your data is processed.
Bandsintown vs JamBase vs Afterglow — a straightforward look at what each platform actually offers.
| Feature | Bandsintown | JamBase | Afterglow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concert discovery | ✓ Strong — algorithmic | ✓ Strong — editorial | ✓ Through friends, not an algorithm |
| Artist following & alerts | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Planned |
| Concert history / passport | ~ Basic | ✗ No | ✓ Core feature |
| GPS-verified attendance | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes — proof you were there |
| Social / crowd photos | ~ Limited | ✗ No | ✓ With verified attendees only |
| Add past shows | ✗ No | ✗ No | ~ Manually, one at a time |
| AI music company affiliation | ✗ None | ✗ None | ✗ None — fan-first |
| Free to use | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes — no paid tier |
| Platforms | iOS · Android · Web | iOS · Android · Web | ✓ Android app + any browser |
| Status | Live | Live | ✓ Live — open to everyone |
We've used all of these. Here's the straight take — including our own.
The most direct Songkick replacement for concert discovery. Follow artists, get alerts, see upcoming shows near you. The experience is familiar if you're coming from Songkick.
Best for: Fans who mainly want upcoming show alerts · Full Bandsintown comparison
Strong in the US, particularly for jam bands, festival-heavy genres, and setlist culture. Discovery is good. Less strong as a tracking or social platform.
Best for: US-based fans, jam band and festival followers · If it's setlists you want
We built Afterglow because your concert history is yours — not a dataset. GPS-verified check-ins prove you were actually there. Every show, stamped forever in your permanent passport.
Best for: Fans who care about owning their history · vs Concert Archives
The thing that stings about the Songkick acquisition isn't the acquisition itself — it's what it reveals. Your years of show history, the artists you followed obsessively, the cities you travelled to for one night — all of that existed inside a company's database, waiting for the right buyer.
Afterglow is built on a different premise. Your concert passport belongs to you. GPS verification means every stamp is real — you were actually there. And because we're not an AI company with a training data agenda, your history stays what it always was: a record of your life as a music fan.
Check in at the venue. Proof you were actually there — not just someone who bought a ticket.
Every show, locked in forever. Your passport doesn't disappear when a company gets acquired.
Photos and memories shared only with people who were verified at the same show.
No AI company behind us. No data strategy beyond making a great product for live music fans.
Afterglow is live and free to join. You can add past shows from the moment you sign up — one at a time, so your passport doesn't have to start empty. If you're rebuilding years of history, our guide to finding every concert you've been to shows you where the records are hiding. Use it in any browser, or install the Android app from Google Play.
What is the best Songkick alternative in 2026?
For concert discovery and show alerts, Bandsintown is currently the closest like-for-like replacement — we compare all six apps in this space in our honest roundup. For fans who care about owning their concert history permanently, Afterglow is built specifically around that — GPS-verified check-ins, a permanent passport, and no AI company behind it. It's live, free, and available on the web and on Google Play. JamBase is strong for US indie and festival-heavy tastes.
Why are people leaving Songkick?
Songkick was acquired by Suno — an AI music generation company — in November 2025. Suno is now the data controller for all Songkick accounts: concert attendance history, followed artists, location data, engagement signals. Many users interpret this as their personal fan data being repurposed for AI systems they never consented to support, and have deleted their accounts as a result.
Can I export or delete my Songkick data?
Yes. Under GDPR you have the right to request a full export of your data, the right to erasure (the right to be forgotten), and the right to object to your data being processed for new purposes — such as AI training. Contact Songkick's support or data protection officer directly to exercise these rights.
Does Afterglow replace Songkick?
Afterglow is built around a different core idea: a permanent, GPS-verified concert passport rather than a discovery feed — think Letterboxd, but for gigs. You can add your past shows yourself, one at a time — there's no bulk import, because ticket vendors don't give third-party apps access to order histories. It's live and free to join — use it in any browser, or install the Android app from Google Play.
Is Bandsintown a good replacement for Songkick?
For the core discovery use case — following artists and getting show alerts — yes, Bandsintown is the strongest direct replacement available today. It has a large global database and a solid mobile app. Its weaknesses are that it has no meaningful concert history tracking, and social features are limited compared to what fans want.
Add every show you've already been to as you sign up — your passport starts full, not empty.
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Works in any browser · weareafterglow.app