A new app for concertgoers called Jukely has just launched its Jukely Unlimited service in L.A., coming off a successful release in New York City. Billed as the “Netflix of concerts,” Jukely Unlimited offers music fans a pretty sweet deal: unlimited shows for $25 a month ($45 if you get Unlimited Plus, which gives you a plus one to every event). 

Jukely, a New York-based startup founded by former software engineer and EDM promoter Bora Celik and app designer Andrew Cornett, began as a way to easily look up shows in your area by genre or artist, as well as connect with friends or friends of friends who also want to go to the event.

The model came from Celik’s days as an EDM promoter in Hartford, Connecticut. “People don’t feel quite right about going alone,” Celik says. He realized that even if someone really wanted to see an artist, it was unlikely that they’d go solo. Jukely solved that problem by connecting these people with friends and acquaintances who were into the same music and interested in the same shows.

Last Friday, Jukely launched the L.A. edition of its Jukely Unlimited concert subscription service. With the price of a single show in L.A. often running upwards of $25, the $25-a-month deal seems almost too good to be true — especially since the membership works not only in L.A., but in any other city that Jukely Unlimited operates in. Right now that’s only New York, but Celik says the brand has an aggressive launch schedule for 2015, with rollouts planned in San Francisco, Austin, and even some international cities.

“I want it to be that you can be at an airport, open the app, and ask ‘What can I go to for free tonight?’” Celik says.

That may sound like a lofty goal, but Jukely seems to be doing a good job already of meeting it. The New York City version, which launched in early October, had 267 shows available to members in the past month, and Jukely’s data shows that Unlimited members are averaging 2.5 shows per month, which Celik claims kills the average of non-members, who attend more like one to two shows per year.

Although a few successful artists like Hardwell, Chromeo and Zola Jesus have been available through Jukely in New York, the service isn’t meant to give members uber-cheap tickets to sold out shows or big names. Instead, Celik hopes that music fans will use it to discover new and emerging artists, making it easier for new artists to get exposure and less risky for venues to book them. 

“Emerging artists suffer from building a fan base,” Celik says. It’s something he noticed while trying to promote unknown electronic music acts in Hartford, which at the time didn't have much of an EDM scene. “People don’t take chances with an artist they possibly might like.”

Jukely co-founder Bora Celik; Credit: Courtesy of Jukely

Jukely co-founder Bora Celik; Credit: Courtesy of Jukely

But if Jukely Unlimited is basically giving away tickets for free, how is it helping the music industry?

In fact, it’s predicted to help out a lot, Celik claims. Tickets released through Jukely would often otherwise remain unsold, but a partnership with Jukely means that the venue or promoter receives some compensation for any tickets given away to Jukely subscribers. (Celik declined to divulge specific numbers or percentages.)

Jukely Unlimited members see a concert show up on their Unlimited feeds three days in advance. At that point, they can RSVP with the click of a button, after which they’ll receive a confirmation text with instructions on when to arrive. Members can go to as many shows per month as they want, but can only have one active pass at a time.

The app can even dissuade members from claiming tickets and not showing up. If you blow off an event, your ability to get your next pass is blocked for 24 hours, a minor penalty that can be avoided by canceling as late as 5 p.m. the day of the show.

It’s too early to tell whether Jukely Unlimited's business model can succeed in markets as different as New York and Los Angeles. But Celik, unsurprisingly, is optimistic that his service will be a win-win for music fans and emerging artists alike.

“There’s no better way to get to know an artist than seeing them live,” he says.

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