US entertainment giant Warner Music Group has made some huge announcement this week. The American record label conglomerate has just announced that it has acquired selected assets of concert discovery service Songkick, including the core mobile app.
According to TechCrunch, which got the full details of the story, the New York-based entertainment giant has acquired selected core assets of concert discovery service Songkick, which includes its website, the mobile app for finding concerts and the company’s trademark.
However, the deal will not include Songkick’s ticketing business due to some litigation issues with industry giants Ticketmaster and LiveNation.
The concert discovery service claims that the retailer has violated the antitrust laws and has hacked into the company’s system to steal some trade secrets.
Songkick’s discovery service will now operate as a standalone brand under the Warner Music’s label service division. Some Songkick employees will be joining Warner Music Group, though exact turnover is yet to be announced by the company.
The deal will help expands Warner Group Music’s market reach and will result in additional offering for Songkick users.
A closer look at Songkick
Founded in 2007 and based in New York, Songkick provides concert discovery services and ticket service for live music events. The company’s discovery platform allows users to track their favorite artists, set customized notification to receive alerts for possible concerts in the user’s areas and even purchase tickets directly through the mobile app.
Songkick has offices in London, Nashville and Los Angeles, California. The company’s concert discovery service is currently available in 61 countries. Songkick’s mobile app, which claimed to reach 15 million visitors monthly, is available on Android, iOS, and the web.
In addition to the concert discovery service, Songkick also provides software services for artists to sell their concert directly to their fans.
Some of the big name artists who have already used Songkick’s ticketing platform include Adele, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and more.
Additionally, the company also provides a service called Tourbox, which allows artists and managers to control how their concerts are promoted to Songkick’s platform. The Tourbox service automates the grueling process of publicizing tour dates on any of the company’s partner websites.
Before the Warner Music deal, Songkick has managed to raise $15 million in funding from leading investor Access Industries, a company owned by Warner Music board member Len Blavatnik. Overall, Access Industries has invested around $30 million into the discovery service. Both companies have not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.
Other Songkick-related news
The discovery service has been involved in a lawsuit against ticketing giant Ticketmaster, which allegedly violated antitrust laws and made some intentional interference. A lawsuit was filed against industry giants Ticketmaster and LiveNation in December 2015.
Songkick also claimed that a Ticketmaster employee has managed to hack into the company’s protected CrowdSurge system and steal some trade secrets. The company’s CEO has already announced that it's committed to continuing the litigation battle against Ticketmaster and LiveNation.
