CREDIT: MATT HENNICK
A new app called Scrute It makes it easy for users to find people near them with similar tastes in music.

A new app for music fans matches users with other people nearby based on similar tastes in music.

Scrute It is designed a lot like Tinder. Users set up a profile and add their favourite artists and then swipe left or right depending on whether or not they want to match with the other user. Users can communicate with the people they match with.

Matt Hennick, co-founder of the app and Fanshawe marketing management graduate, said the original idea for Scrute It was to be a music rating app, but it soon evolved into something he felt was missing in the music world.

“You can meet up for a concert or festival, or you can share new music with them,” Hennick said. “It’s about finding people who share this important thing in common with you.”

Hennick admits that the app will probably be used as a dating app, but he said he does not mind as long as it gets people using it.

“We just want to help you meet people who like the same music as you,” Hennick said.

Born and raised in Montreal, a city known for its vibrant music scene, Hennick said the best part of his job is to be able to go to concerts, something he used to do for his own enjoyment but is not a part of his job requirements.

“You get to see exactly what your target [market] is and how they’re interacting with it, you get to meet other people, so it’s been a really fun experience,” Hennick said.

Hennick said his education at Fanshawe helped with the marketing of Scrute It and said that the classes were modern and extremely relevant. He said it was about halfway through his education at Fanshawe that he came up with the original idea in the first place.

“[Fanshawe] helped in the sense that the programs focused a lot on new media, so we had a social media marketing course, we had a google analytics course,” Hennick said, adding that he applies many of the things he learned in school in his job.

Scrute It already seems to be doing fairly well. Most of its users are based in Montreal according to Hennick, but the company is trying to expand its user base into Ontario. Hennick said they have a lot of interest coming from both the music industry and the start-up industry as well.

A new feature in the next update of the app will let matched users know when a shared favourite artist is playing near them. Hennick said they hope to one day be able to sell tickets to concerts and festivals directly from the app.

“My favourite experience is always the shows, getting to experience more of them, and now it’s for work,” Hennick said.