Songkick

Songkick is a London-founded digital platform focused on discovering live music and helping audiences find concerts. Its consumer service allows people to search for upcoming performances by location, artist and event, while artist-tracking features notify users when musicians they follow announce shows in relevant markets. The service was designed around the practical problem of fragmented concert information: tour dates are distributed across artist websites, venues, promoters, ticketing companies and online music services, making it difficult for fans to identify shows that matter to them. The company began in 2007 when Ian Hogarth, Michelle You and Pete Smith founded it as a participant in the Y Combinator startup program. Its early commercial model relied primarily on referral fees from ticketing companies. Songkick later expanded beyond listings and alerts into infrastructure for artists and artist teams. In 2009 it introduced an API, enabling outside developers to work with concert data, although the company subsequently tightened access and moved toward paid licensing. In 2011 it released its first mobile application, extending its discovery and notification model to smartphones. In 2012 Songkick launched Tourbox, a tool for artists and their representatives to manage and distribute tour dates across multiple digital platforms. This broadened the brand from a fan-facing discovery destination into a business-to-business service for tour administration and promotion. Songkick also developed approaches intended to make primary ticketing more accessible and reduce the advantages of ticket resellers, including staged ticket releases and, in some cases, general-admission configurations. These efforts became particularly important after Songkick merged with CrowdSurge in 2015. CrowdSurge, founded by Matt Jones, provided artist-oriented ticketing and ticket-sale management services. The combined business continued to operate under the Songkick name, with Jones and Hogarth initially serving as co-chief executives and Jones later becoming chief executive. The company’s ticketing ambitions brought it into conflict with Live Nation and its Ticketmaster division. Songkick filed an antitrust action in 2016 and later expanded its allegations to include the theft of trade secrets involving former employees. Warner Music Group acquired the Songkick concert-discovery service and brand in 2017, while the ticketing business and litigation were excluded from that transaction. Songkick subsequently closed its ticketing operation in the United States. Live Nation settled the litigation in 2018 for a reported $110 million and acquired additional intellectual property connected with the dispute for an undisclosed amount. In 2020, Live Nation separately agreed to pay a $10 million penalty after admitting conduct involving improperly obtained competitor presale information; the related criminal case materials did not identify the competitor by name. Songkick remained associated with Warner Music Group’s broader music ecosystem until Warner sold the brand to generative-artificial-intelligence company Suno in November 2025. The transaction accompanied a wider Warner-Suno partnership and settlement. Public commentary suggested that Songkick’s audience and behavioral data may be valuable for developing AI-enabled live-music discovery, while a subsequent Suno job description described an opportunity to redesign concert discovery through AI. Songkick’s core identity therefore combines fan-facing concert search and alerts, artist and tour-date tools, and data about live-music preferences.

Songkick was established in London in 2007 by Ian Hogarth, Michelle You and Pete Smith. The company entered the Y Combinator program and built a service around the difficult task of finding relevant live concerts in an increasingly fragmented digital music market. Its initial product let users search events in their area and follow artists so that they could receive notifications when new shows were announced. The early business model was based largely on referral fees from ticketing providers. The company expanded its technical footprint in 2009 by launching an API at Music Hack Day. This encouraged third-party developers to use Songkick’s concert information in other applications, although the company later restricted approval for educational and hobbyist projects and introduced paid licensing with a stated starting fee of $500 per month. Songkick launched its first mobile application in 2011, making its alerts and discovery functions available on smartphones. In 2012, Songkick introduced Tourbox for artists and artist teams. The product was intended to simplify the management and global distribution of tour dates across multiple online platforms. Songkick also pursued a role in primary ticketing, using systems designed to reduce the benefits of ticket reselling. Its reported methods included multiple ticket releases and, where appropriate, general-admission areas rather than exclusively assigned seating. A major structural change occurred in June 2015, when Songkick merged with CrowdSurge. Founded by Matt Jones in 2008, CrowdSurge provided ticketing services on behalf of artists. The merged company retained the Songkick name and combined consumer discovery with artist-oriented ticketing and tour operations. Jones and Hogarth served as co-chief executives, and Jones became chief executive in January 2016. The ticketing business produced a major legal confrontation with Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Songkick filed an antitrust lawsuit in December 2016 and later added claims concerning alleged trade-secret theft involving former Songkick employees who joined Live Nation. Warner Music Group acquired the Songkick discovery service and brand in July 2017, but the ticketing operation and pending litigation were excluded. Songkick closed its ticketing business in October 2017. Live Nation settled the lawsuit in January 2018 for $110 million and acquired remaining intellectual property associated with the dispute for an undisclosed sum. In December 2020, Live Nation agreed to a $10 million penalty after admitting that an employee had used stolen credentials to access competitor presale information and had received instructions for exploiting a competitor’s URL system. The cited material did not identify the competitor, so the relationship between that matter and Songkick cannot be stated definitively. Warner Music Group sold Songkick to Suno in November 2025. The sale formed part of a wider Warner-Suno partnership and settlement that included arrangements concerning the use of recordings and likenesses by artists who opt in to Suno’s AI music service. Public discussion around the transaction emphasized the possible value of Songkick’s behavioral data and its potential use in AI-assisted live-music discovery. Songkick’s evolution thus spans consumer concert search, artist data distribution, ticketing infrastructure, legal conflict in the primary-ticket market and ownership by a generative-AI company.

• 2025

  Suno acquisition

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Suno acquires Songkick from Warner Music Group as part of a broader partnership.

• 2018

  Live Nation settlement

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Live Nation settles Songkick’s litigation for $110 million and acquires additional related intellectual property.

• 2017

  Warner acquires the discovery business

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Warner Music Group acquires Songkick’s discovery service and brand, excluding the ticketing business and litigation.

• 2016

  Antitrust litigation begins

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Songkick files an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

• 2015

  Merger with CrowdSurge

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Songkick combines with CrowdSurge and expands into artist ticketing and live-event management.

• 2012

  Tourbox launches

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  The company releases a tool for artists and teams to manage and distribute tour dates.

• 2011

  First mobile application launches

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Songkick brings its concert discovery and notification service to mobile devices.

• 2009

  Concert-data API launches

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Songkick introduces an API for developers working with concert information.

• 2007

  Songkick is founded

  [1]Songkicken.wikipedia.org

  Ian Hogarth, Michelle You and Pete Smith establish Songkick and participate in Y Combinator.

A data-driven, fan-oriented live-music discovery platform that also serves artists and touring teams.

• Consumer concert-discovery service · 2007

  Songkick Concert Discovery

  The core Songkick service helps users search for upcoming concerts by place, artist and event. Its value proposition is the aggregation and personalization of live-music information that is otherwise spread among venues, artists, promoters and ticketing services.

• Fan engagement · 2007

  Artist Tracking and Alerts

  Users can track individual artists and receive notifications when those artists announce performances in relevant locations. The feature turns a static concert database into a personalized alerting service for fans.

• Artist and tour-management software · 2012

  Tourbox

  Tourbox was introduced for artists and their teams to manage live-event information and distribute tour dates across multiple digital platforms. It extended Songkick’s role into tour administration and artist marketing.

• Primary ticketing · 2015

  Songkick Ticketing Services

  Following the CrowdSurge merger, Songkick provided ticket-sale management services for artists. Its approach sought to improve access for ordinary fans and limit incentives for secondary-market reselling. The ticketing operation was closed in 2017.

• Developer platform and data licensing · 2009

  Songkick API

  Songkick’s API exposed concert information for third-party applications. The company later stopped approving some educational and hobbyist requests and offered access through a paid licensing model.

• 2020

  Live Nation competitor-data enforcement matter

  Live Nation agreed to a $10 million penalty after admitting conduct involving stolen credentials and unauthorized access to competitor presale information. The cited source does not identify the competitor, so a direct attribution to Songkick is not established.

  Source

• 2018

  Settlement of Songkick-related litigation

  Live Nation settled the litigation for $110 million and acquired additional intellectual property connected to the dispute for an undisclosed amount.

  Source

• 2016

  Songkick antitrust and trade-secret lawsuit

  Songkick sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster, alleging anticompetitive conduct. The complaint was later amended to include allegations that former Songkick employees had helped transfer trade secrets after joining Live Nation.

  Source

Read more

• 2025

  Sale to SunoM&A

  Background

  Warner Music Group and Suno entered a broader partnership and settlement involving Warner artists and Suno’s generative-AI music service.

  Action taken

  Suno acquired Songkick from Warner Music Group.

  Aftermath

  The transaction positioned Songkick’s concert-discovery audience and behavioral data as potential inputs for AI-enabled live-music experiences.

  Warner-Suno settlement. $500 million settlement (2025)

  Source

• 2017

  Exit from ticketingStrategy

  Background

  Warner Music Group acquired Songkick’s discovery service and brand but excluded the ticketing operation and pending litigation.

  Action taken

  Songkick shut its ticketing business in October 2017.

  Aftermath

  The brand continued primarily as a concert-discovery service, while Live Nation later settled the related litigation and acquired additional intellectual property.

  Source

• 2015

  Merge with CrowdSurgeM&A

  Background

  Songkick and CrowdSurge identified fragmentation and inefficiency in live-event discovery and ticketing.

  Action taken

  The companies merged while continuing under the Songkick name, combining concert discovery with artist ticketing services.

  Aftermath

  The combined company gained a broader role in the live-music value chain but later exited ticketing after its dispute with Live Nation.

  Source

1. 1Songkicken.wikipedia.org
2. 2Songkick official websitesongkick.com