Definitely, dude. I've been to concerts now where 90% of the crowd discovered the band on Spotify. Or they're 20 and went down a pandora rabbit hole and ended up amongst old people like me seeing some early 80s band.
The rabbit hole is a big one for me.
I probably only listen to FM radio a few times a year and it's a station that plays 90's alternative and weird folky stuff.
I have no idea what top 40 radio sounds like. If it weren't for the stupid tabloid blurbs on the internet, I wouldn't have any idea who those artists are.
I've been a Rhapsody (now rebranded as Napster) subscriber for almost a decade.
Whenever I hear about a national touring band playing nearby, I give them a listen on Napster.
If I like them, I click on the similar artists tab and give those a listen, then the similar artists on those artist pages.
A few of the bands I'd like to see live disbanded years ago.
I also end up giving more things a chance because I don't have to financially invest in their album to listen to it.
Was invited to see Nels Cline a few weeks ago (wasn't familiar with his music).
Ran into a guy I knew there who said most people were there to see the keyboardist, who I'd also never heard of.
Next thing you know I'm listening to acid jazz. (Medeski, Martin, & Wood)
Going to see Pavlo Simtikidis tomorrow and John 5 on Sunday.
Hopefully John 5 gets me out of this weird easy listening vibe I've had going on for the past few weeks.