Concert tracking · 2026 guide
Songkick was acquired by Suno — an AI music company — in late 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 late 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 | ✓ Strong | In roadmap |
| Artist following | ✓ 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 |
| Import past shows at signup | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Day one |
| AI music company affiliation | ✗ None | ✗ None | ✗ None — fan-first |
| Free to use | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Status | Live | Live | Early access · rolling out |
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
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
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
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.
We're rolling out city by city, invite-only. You can add past shows from the moment you sign up — so your passport starts full on day one, not empty.
What is the best Songkick alternative in 2026?
For concert discovery and show alerts, Bandsintown is currently the closest like-for-like replacement. For fans who care about owning their concert history permanently, Afterglow (early access) is built specifically around that — GPS-verified check-ins, a permanent passport, and no AI company behind it. 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 late 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. You can import your past show history from day one, so you don't start from scratch. It's currently in invite-only early access, rolling out city by city — you can request access via the waitlist below.
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.
Leave your email and we'll pull you in as seats open in your city. Your show history will be waiting.
Early access · rolling out city by city · weareafterglow.app