As an avid concert goer myself, sometimes going to two or more per month, I fully believe that hearing music live is way better than listening to it on Spotify.

First off, if you’re going to hear it live, you’re more than likely going with a friend. What’s better than being at the barricade singing along to your favorite songs? Nothing! Being with my best friends at a concert for an artist we all love dearly has grown to be one of my happy places.

Second, you get to hear things live that you’ll never get to hear with a pre-recorded track. Something that’s pre-recorded is the same thing over and over again, you can never change it, but with live music, it’s different every time. Some bands that I’ve seen throw in extra guitar solos or drum solos and even climb into the audience to let fans sing into their microphones, which is something you don’t get to hear on pre-recorded tracks.

There is no autotune at a concert, and if the artist is really good, they sound just like they do on the pre-recorded track. All Time Low is a great example of this - and if you haven’t seen them live, I highly recommend that you do! They are one of my favorite bands and they put on an amazing show whether it’s your first one or your one hundredth.

Acoustic songs and hearing the crowd sing the song right back is something that will always give me chills, especially big arena shows with more than 15,000 people in attendance. Nothing warms my heart more than knowing that thousands of people are there together for one night to do one thing - sing their hearts out to their favorite artists.

Getting the chance to possibly meet the artist is another added benefit of live music that I like to throw in. If you don’t have meet and greet, most artists will usually meet fans in the back by the busses! It’s one of the most exciting things about the after-concert, hoping they’ll come out and say hello.

I could go on forever about why live music is better than pre-recorded, but if I had to pick a reason over everything, I would say the memories of live music.

Sure, I can capture them on my phone and re-watch them later, but nothing beats being there with your friends and listening to all your favorite songs unfold in front of you. Nothing beats screaming the lyrics and forgetting about everything stressful in your life for awhile.

My next concert is not until June and I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do until then. Attending concerts is one of my favorite past times, and this year, my friends and I will be traveling to see quite a few shows, which I can’t wait for.

Next time you attend a live show, think of all of these things discussed in this article and ask yourself which you prefer: live music or pre-recorded?