Songkick

Songkick

Company type	Private
Industry	Music, Ticketing, Event promotion
Founded	2007
Founder	Ian Hogarth, Michelle You, Pete Smith
Headquarters	Brooklyn , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Matt Jones (CEO as of 2016)
Products	Concert discovery platform, Tourbox
Owner	Warner Music Group
Website	songkick.com

Songkick operates as a platform for discovering concerts and is currently owned by Warner Music Group. It allows users to locate upcoming live performances in their area and follow artists to receive alerts. Additionally, the service provides artist teams with tools to organize and promote tour schedules worldwide.

Established in 2007 with backing from Y Combinator, Songkick combined forces with CrowdSurge in 2015, merging concert discovery features with artist ticketing solutions. In 2017, Warner Music Group purchased Songkick’s concert discovery segment and brand identity, whereas the ticketing operations were transferred to Live Nation Entertainment in 2018 as part of a legal settlement.

In 2012, Songkick launched Tourbox, a tool designed for artists and their management to coordinate and share live event dates across various digital platforms.

History

Songkick was created in 2007 by Ian Hogarth, Michelle You, and Pete Smith during their participation in the Y Combinator accelerator. The company’s initial income stream came from referral commissions paid by ticket vendors. Its first mobile application was released in 2011. The 2015 merger with CrowdSurge, which Matt Jones founded in 2008, sought to streamline the live music industry by integrating concert discovery with ticket sales.

To combat ticket scalping, Songkick introduced measures that limited secondary market sales to just 1.5% of total tickets through tactics such as general admission sections and phased ticket releases. Hogarth and Jones shared CEO responsibilities until January 2016 when Jones assumed sole leadership.

In December 2016, Songkick initiated an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, later expanding allegations to include trade secret misappropriation by former employees who had joined Live Nation.

Warner Music Group acquired the concert discovery component and brand of Songkick in July 2017, excluding the ticketing division and ongoing litigation matters. By October 2017, Songkick ceased its ticketing services after Live Nation effectively obstructed its U.S. ticketing operations. In January 2018, Live Nation resolved the lawsuit through a $110 million settlement and obtained remaining intellectual property assets not previously sold to WMG.

In December 2020, Live Nation was fined $10 million for unauthorized access incidents involving competitor data, which included misuse of stolen credentials to acquire confidential ticket presale information.

API

Songkick introduced its API in 2009 during the first-ever Music Hack Day. While initially encouraging developers to utilize it freely for educational or hobbyist projects, the company now restricts access and requires a licensing fee starting at $500 monthly for standard usage.

Awards and recognition

• 2017: Honored at the Webby Awards for Best Music Mobile Site/App
• 2017: Ranked fifth among Fast Company’s Most Innovative Music Companies
• 2017: Nominated for Best Ticketing Company at the Music Week Awards
• 2014: Awarded Best Technology for Marketing an Event / Building Event Attendance
• 2012: Webby Awards Honoree for Best Music Mobile Site/App
• 2011: Received Music Week’s Consumer-Facing Digital Music Service of the Year
• 2010: Placed third on Billboard Magazine's list of Top Digital Music Startups
• 2010: Winner of Best Innovation Award at the BT Digital Music Awards