Songkick has been bought out by Warner effective immediately

Warner Music Group has now - and with immediate effect - acquired "many of the core assets" including the Songkick website, discovery app, and trademark for an undisclosed sum.

Songkick has 15 million monthly users and will operate mostly as a separate entity - although WEA, the artist and label service division at Warner, will "oversee" proceedings.

"The move expands WMG's growing network of direct-­to-­fan destinations and will lead to additional offerings for Songkick users," WMG say in a statement.

Matt Jones, CEO and co-founder of Songkick, adds: "Songkick was founded on the promise of improving the live experience for fans and the artists they love. Over the years, we have helped 10s of millions find their next great live experience. And today, I’m excited to pass the baton on the discovery service to the great team at WMG, an ideal organization to carry on this mission and to take it in new, innovative directions. And, on behalf of the many artists and fans we’ve served over the last decade, we are committed to continuing our litigation against Live Nation and Ticketmaster independently."

As well as the litigation - which will continue despite the sale - the ticketing aspects of Songkick are explicitly not part of the deal.