Ian Hogarth, Pete Smith and Michelle You: Songkick

Ian Hogarth, Pete Smith and Michelle You, 29
Company: Songkick
Web: www.songkick.com

Songkick is only three years old but today is the second largest concert site on the internet after Ticketmaster. The concept, devised by Ian Hogarth (pictured right), Pete Smith (pictured left) and Michelle You, is based around making going to concerts as easy as it is to go to the movies. Songkick tracks your favourite artists so you never miss them live in your home town or any location internationally by creating personalised alerts and calendars.The site saw an impressive 800% growth in traffic in 2010 the founders are hoping to see it become the largest online concert service.

To this end, it has partnered with brands including Bandcamp, BBC, foursquare, VEVO, Warner Music Group and YouTube. From the user’s point of view, the service interprets your taste preferences handily with Last FM, Pandora and iTunes. Private investment in the start-up so far has totalled $2m, and the founders are now focusing on innovation in order to grow the service into a sustainable, and highly profitable, business. As music streaming services gain traction it has become easier and easier to check out a new artist whether they are from Sao Paulo, San Francisco, or Cape Town, and Songkick’s mobile products such as their iPhone app help fans keep track on the go.