BeatLink: ESP32 Music Display with Spotify + Ticketmaster

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  esp32 setup

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  LCD1

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  LCD2

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  Potentiometer

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  Final Setup

Inspiration

Music connects people, and we wanted to bring that connection into a visual, interactive form. We were inspired by the idea of linking the digital world of streaming platforms with real-world hardware — allowing music and data to be seen, not just heard.

What it does

BeatLink displays real-time music information such as top songs, artist names, and upcoming concerts on dual LCD screens. It connects your computer to an ESP32 over Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and uses APIs from Spotify and Ticketmaster to fetch live data. The result is a compact “music dashboard” that blends art, tech, and creativity.

How we built it

ESP32 handles Bluetooth communication and displays data on two I2C LCD screens. Python script connects to Spotify and Ticketmaster APIs to retrieve live music data. The ESP32 receives and parses the information, displaying it in a clean format. It was built using bleak for BLE communication, requests for API calls, and Arduino IDE for the microcontroller firmware.

Challenges we ran into

Challenges we ran into include managing stable BLE connections between ESP32 and PC, handling inconsistent API responses from Ticketmaster, formatting special characters and ensuring LCD text stayed readable, and synchronizing multiple data sources without exceeding rate limits.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Achievements that we're proud of include achieving seamless real-time BLE data transfer, successfully integrating two APIs (Spotify + Ticketmaster), building a clear and functional display interface, and creating a visually appealing and interactive project for the Hackathon presentation.

What we learned

We learned how to integrate hardware and APIs together, the importance of efficient data parsing and encoding, debugging BLE systems using Python and ESP32, and how to collaborate across hardware and software boundaries.

What's next for BeatLink: ESP32 Music Display with Spotify + Ticketmaster

Next steps for this project include adding song lyrics and live playback integration, implementing voice-based artist lookup, creating a mobile app to control display settings, and developing a 3D-printed enclosure for a polished, portable design.

Built With

• arduino
• breadboard
• c/c++
• esp32
• lcd
• potentiometer
• python
• spotify
• ticketmaster