Music Glue

Music Glue

Company type	Ltd.
Industry	Music E-commerce Technology
Founded	London, United Kingdom (March 19, 2007 (2007-03-19))
Founder	Mark Meharry
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Mark Meharry (CEO)
Services	Direct-to-fan E-commerce Tickets
Website	musicglue.com

Music Glue is a specialist e-commerce platform for the music business which allows artists to sell physical and digital music, merchandise, and event tickets in multiple currencies and languages direct-to-fan. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} The company is headquartered in London, with offices in New York, Sydney and Vancouver. ^{[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]}

History

Music Glue was launched in 2007 by Mark Meharry, with the goal of allowing artists to sell their music directly to consumers. ^{[10] [4] [11]} "Controlled filesharing" was introduced with the band Marillion. ^{[12] [13]}

In 2013, Music Glue launched its direct-to-fan platform at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton, United Kingdom. By this time, Music Glue had worked with artists including Mumford and Sons, Gabrielle Aplin, Nina Nesbitt, Enter Shikari, Ben Howard, Ghostpoet. ^{[4] [14]}

In July 2014, Music Glue became the primary ticket vendor for Gentlemen of the Road, a two-day festival in Lewes, Sussex. ^[15]

In September 2014, UK promotion group MAMA & Company announced a partnership with Music Glue for all applications for The Great Escape 2015, whereby artists applying to play the Brighton-based festival would need to create a Music Glue profile in order for their application to be accepted. ^[16]

Music Glue now runs the apply to play service for The Great Escape, Bushstock, Mondo NYC, Live at Leeds, Kendall Calling, Focus Wales, Evolution Emerging, Norwich Sound & Vision, Metropolis Rising. ^{[17] [18]}

In 2015, Public Service Broadcasting used Music Glue for pre-orders and direct-to-fan sales for their album The Race For Space which charted at number 11 in the UK Albums chart and number 1 in the UK Independent Albums chart, and for tickets for The Race For Space tour. That year, Music Glue also was the ticketing vendor for Mumford & Sons UK Arena Tour with up to 50% of tickets per show sold via the platform. ^[19]

In 2017, Music Glue celebrated their 10th birthday ^[20] and announced a partnership with Probity, an independently owned music merchandising company offering worldwide tour, retail and licensing services. ^{[21] [22] [23]}

Music Glue has been chosen by British Rock band Enter Shikari to be their official tickets partner on their UK and EU arena tour, selling direct to fans. ^{[24] [25]} Their album “A Kiss for the Whole World” debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart on 28th April 2023, becoming the band's first number-one album on the chart after five top-10 albums. ^[26]

In March 2025, Mark Meharry - the company’s CEO - published an opinion article in Music Business Worldwide, discussing the evolving landscape of direct-to-fan commerce and Music Glue’s role. ^[27]

In April 2025, Music Glue announced a newly integrated ticketing solution, offering global ticketing, pre-sale access via album pre-orders, as well as VIP and Meet & Greet experiences. ^[28]

Music Glue’s Ticket Access Pass feature - which allows fans to pre-order an album in exchange for access to pre-sale tickets - was shortlisted for Music Consumer Innovation at the Music Week Awards 2025 ^[29] and for Product Innovation at the 2025 Ticketing Business Awards. ^[30]

In April 2025, the company also expanded its North American presence with a new Vancouver office, aiming to support US and Canadian artists with D2C sales in Europe. ^[9]

Recognition

In October 2007, Music Glue was nominated for a Best Innovation award at the BT Digital Music Awards. ^[31] Music Glue had been called one of the "Top 100 tech media companies" by The Guardian . ^[32]

In March 2025, Music Glue was featured by MusicRadar as one of the best website builders for bands, and recognised as the platform that’s Best for Sales. ^[33]

In early 2025, Music Glue received its second consecutive nomination for Best Music Consumer Innovation at the Music Week Awards. ^[29] It was also shortlisted for Product Innovation at the 2025 Ticketing Business Awards. ^[30]

References

1. Coleman, Alison. "How The Music Retail Industry Is Being Disrupted Beyond All Recognition". Forbes.com.
2. "Independent venues on Music Glue". Musicglue.com.
3. Lindvall, Helienne (2012-11-28). "How music lovers lose out from fan-to-fan ticket exchanges". The Guardian . Retrieved 28 November 2012.
4. "Music Glue announce new D2C platform release". Recordoftheday.com. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
5. "Music Glue contact details". Musicglue.com. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
6. "Direct-to-fan specialist Music Glue expands with UK and US hires". Musicbusinessworldwide.com. 13 November 2015.
7. "Music Glue appoints Neil Robertson head of A&R Australia". Musicweek.com.
8. "Digital Stores founder joins Music Glue - Complete Music Update". Completemusicupdate.com.
9. "Amid potential trade wars, Music Glue says Vancouver office will help North American acts in Europe". Music Week . 1 April 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
10. Coleman, Alison. "How The Music Retail Industry Is Being Disrupted Beyond All Recognition". Forbes.com.
11. Robinson, Tom (7 April 2009). "Interview with Mark Meharry". Freshonthenet.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
12. "Marillion Use P2P for Album Release". Antimusic.com. 2008-11-09. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
13. "The music industry is leaving billions on the table because we frustrate fans". Musicbusinessworldwide.com. 14 September 2016.
14. "Live Tour Dates | Bands on Tour | Live Band Tour". Celebrityaccess.com. 16 April 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
15. "Mumford and Sons - Lewes". Gentlemenoftheroad.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
16. "The Great Escape - Apply to play". Greatescapefestival.com. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
17. "Music Glue - Apply to play". Musicglue.com.
18. "The Great Escape Festival - 18th - 20th May 2017". greatescapefestival.com. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
19. Hughes, Diane; Evans, Mark; Morrow, Guy; Keith, Sarah (27 September 2016). The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery. Springer. ISBN   9783319403649 – via Google Books.
20. "Music Glue - Music Glue is 10: 10 years of learning, adapting, listening, innovating and solving your problems". Musicglue.com.
21. "Music Glue announces partnership with merch firm Probity - Complete Music Update". Completemusicupdate.com.
22. "Metallica and Chili Peppers join Music Glue as part of Probity partnership". Musicweek.com.
23. "Music Glue Announces Partnership with Probity". Recordoftheday.com.
24. "Music Glue - Enter Shikari 2017 arena tour: The biggest to date". Musicglue.com.
25. "Enter Shikari Have Announced A Tour - News - Rock Sound Magazine". Rocksound.tv.
26. "Enter Shikari net first-ever Number 1 album with A Kiss for the Whole World". Official Charts Company . 28 April 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
27. "On… understanding the critical value of data ownership". Music Business Worldwide . 24 March 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
28. "Music Glue launches enhanced direct-to-fan ticketing solution". theticketingbusiness.com. 30 Apr 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
29. "2025 Finalists". Music Week . Retrieved 22 May 2025.
30. "#TBA25 Shortlists: Congrats to the Finalists!". ticketingbusinessforum.com. 18 February 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
31. Oatts, Joanne (3 October 2007). "In full: BT Digital Music Awards 2007 winners". Digitalspy.co.uk.
32. "The top 100 tech media companies". The Guardian . 7 September 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
33. "Best website builders for bands and musicians 2025: Sell tickets, offer merch and expand your digital reach with your own band website". musicradar.com. 6 March 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.