Direct-to-fan ticket company CrowdSurge has merged with Songkick, the world’s largest concert discovery service.

The joint company will do business under the Songkick brand, bringing together more than 500 artists, with a usership of 10 million monthly fans, ticketing a combined 10,000 events worldwide annually.

CrowdSurge entered the competitive market by offering artist allocations of tickets directly to fans.

Crowdsurge said in a statement: “Live music is now eclipsing recorded music, with artists making more than 80% of their income from touring. Despite this, concert attendance rates are stagnant, with the same 40-50% of tickets left unsold today as when I started CrowdSurge.

“At the same time, my friend Ian Hogarth was building the world’s biggest concert discovery service (Songkick), making it easier than ever for fans to learn about concerts. I’ve long been a user, and today I’m thrilled to join Ian Hogarth as the company’s co-chief executive, helping to bring Songkick’s innovative service and its incredibly active userbase closer to artists – the incredible individuals that brought us all here.”

He added that Paul McCartney has saved his fans more than US$500,000 (£327,000) in ticketing fees as a result of CrowdSurge’s service fees, which are typically 10% of face value, compared to industry norms of more than 25%.

Songkick plans to expand its ticketing business into the US, where many venues have exclusive deals with large ticketing providers such as Ticketmaster – a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment.