Apple now has a concert venue of its own. Apple Music Hall is a 600-capacity space inside London’s Battersea Power Station – the same building that houses Apple’s UK headquarters – and Elton John plays the opening show on September 28.
You don’t need to be in London to catch it, though. Shows are livestreamed globally through Apple Music, which is where most iPhone owners will actually experience the place.
What’s inside
For a room this size, the tech is serious. There’s a 38-foot stage that can switch between a regular front-facing setup and an in-the-round layout, plus a 48-speaker system wrapped around the audience so artists can perform in Spatial Audio in the room itself.
Backstage, two studios capture each show as a multitrack recording, mixed in Spatial Audio either live or after the event. Sixteen or more cameras – iPhones included, naturally – feed a dedicated broadcast control room. The pitch to artists is simple: play one intimate gig and walk away with a finished live recording and a concert film. Apple Music Radio’s London hosts are moving into new studios in the same building, too.
Who’s playing
After Elton John, the lineup runs through Baby Keem, Skye Newman, Troye Sivan, Arlo Parks, Burna Boy, and Chase & Status, before Charli XCX closes out the initial run on December 2. Tickets are available through the Apple Music Hall website.
The bigger picture
This isn’t Apple’s first go at live music. The iTunes Festival – later renamed the Apple Music Festival – ran in London from 2007, mostly at Camden’s Roundhouse, giving away tickets by prize draw until it was scrapped after the 2016 edition.
The backdrop is tougher this time. Roughly 400 UK music clubs closed between 2020 and 2025, according to the BBC, and a company Apple’s size opening its own stage invites questions. Apple Music VP Oliver Schusser told the BBC that “we’re not trying to compete with anyone,” adding that the modest capacity is deliberate.
The tickets aren’t really the point anyway. Inc. notes that every recording made here promotes Spatial Audio, AirPods, and an Apple Music subscription at once, describing the venue’s output as “an advertisement for all three.”
Still, it’s a decent perk for Apple Music users. We’ve long wanted the service to do more for live music, and between the concert listings Apple added earlier this year and front-row streams from the likes of Elton John, it’s finally heading that way.