Get Booked. Get Paid.
No Middlemen.
Skip the traditional agency taking up to 25% of your fees. Create a free profile in 5 minutes, get discovered by UK venues across 75 cities, and scout 8,800+ live gigs by city, genre and fee — digital contracts signed in 1 minute and the Stripe deposit released automatically 5 days after the gig.
Last updated: 9 September 2026
Why Artists Choose GIGXCHANGE
Everything you need to build a gigging career, in one place
No Gatekeepers
Approach any venue directly. No agents required, no auditions, no waiting for someone to "discover" you. Your talent speaks for itself.
Zero Commission
What you agree is what you get — no 15–25% agency cut eating into your fee. GigXchange is free to use; the only optional charge is 5% for protected payment, where the deposit is held safely until the gig is done.
Contracts & Payments Built In
Every booking comes with an auto-generated digital contract. Deposits are held securely via Stripe and released when the gig is complete.
See it in action
A look inside GigXchange Mainstage — the members app where artists, venues, agents and promoters manage bookings, messaging, events and payments. Scroll: the phone follows you through the app.
- 01 / 06
Your dashboard
The moment you log in, everything that matters is in front of you — what's booked, what you've earned, and what needs you next. No digging through tabs.
- Bookings at a glanceConfirmed, pending and upcoming gigs in one view — so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Earnings, trackedSee deposits held securely and payouts released, with a running total you can trust.
- Live activity feedNew messages, offers and event updates surface the second they happen — you're never the last to know.
- 02 / 06
Explore the scene
Find the right artists, venues and open gigs across the UK from one place — filtered by what actually matters to you: location, genre, date and budget.
- Search that fits youFilter by role, city, genre and availability to surface only the people and gigs worth your time.
- Smart Match suggestionsThe strongest matches rise to the top, so the right connection finds you — not just the loudest.
- Open gigs, liveBrowse gigs that need filling and apply in a tap — no cold outreach, no gatekeepers.
- 03 / 06
Bookings, end to end
Offer, negotiate and confirm a gig in a single thread — every date, fee and deposit agreed in one place and held to.
- One thread, start to finishThe whole deal lives in one conversation — no lost emails, no he-said-she-said.
- Negotiate with clarityCounter-offers, dates and fees are structured and tracked, so both sides always know where they stand.
- Held securelyThe deposit is held safely until the gig is done — performers get paid, bookers get peace of mind.
- 04 / 06
Messaging
Agree the details before you commit. Direct, real-time conversations with venues, artists, agents and promoters — with bookings built right in.
- Talk first, book secondSort the awkward questions — sound, timings, fee — before anything's signed.
- Bookings inside the chatTurn a conversation into a confirmed offer without ever leaving the thread.
- Share availability & filesSend your calendar, riders and posters in-line, so everyone's working from the same page.
- 05 / 06
Your profile & EPK
Your shop window to the whole UK scene — a profile and electronic press kit that does the selling for you, on the public web and inside the app.
- Built to be foundYour profile is a public page engineered for search and AI discovery — so people find you without you chasing them.
- A press kit that travelsMusic, photos, stats and past gigs in one shareable EPK that makes booking you an easy yes.
- Always currentUpdate once and it's live everywhere — no stale links, no outdated one-sheets.
- 06 / 06
Setlists
Build a polished setlist in minutes and share it with the room — songs, keys and running order, ready for the night.
- Drag-and-drop running orderReorder songs in a tap and see the whole set take shape, page by page.
- Share it anywhereSend a clean, branded setlist to the band, the venue or the sound engineer in one tap.
- Reuse and adaptSave sets per act or venue and tweak the running order for the next gig without starting over.
- 01 / 06
Your dashboard
The moment you log in, everything that matters is in front of you — what's booked, what you've earned, and what needs you next. No digging through tabs.
- Bookings at a glanceConfirmed, pending and upcoming gigs in one view — so nothing slips through the cracks.
- Earnings, trackedSee deposits held securely and payouts released, with a running total you can trust.
- Live activity feedNew messages, offers and event updates surface the second they happen — you're never the last to know.
- 02 / 06
Explore the scene
Find the right artists, venues and open gigs across the UK from one place — filtered by what actually matters to you: location, genre, date and budget.
- Search that fits youFilter by role, city, genre and availability to surface only the people and gigs worth your time.
- Smart Match suggestionsThe strongest matches rise to the top, so the right connection finds you — not just the loudest.
- Open gigs, liveBrowse gigs that need filling and apply in a tap — no cold outreach, no gatekeepers.
- 03 / 06
Bookings, end to end
Offer, negotiate and confirm a gig in a single thread — every date, fee and deposit agreed in one place and held to.
- One thread, start to finishThe whole deal lives in one conversation — no lost emails, no he-said-she-said.
- Negotiate with clarityCounter-offers, dates and fees are structured and tracked, so both sides always know where they stand.
- Held securelyThe deposit is held safely until the gig is done — performers get paid, bookers get peace of mind.
- 04 / 06
Messaging
Agree the details before you commit. Direct, real-time conversations with venues, artists, agents and promoters — with bookings built right in.
- Talk first, book secondSort the awkward questions — sound, timings, fee — before anything's signed.
- Bookings inside the chatTurn a conversation into a confirmed offer without ever leaving the thread.
- Share availability & filesSend your calendar, riders and posters in-line, so everyone's working from the same page.
- 05 / 06
Your profile & EPK
Your shop window to the whole UK scene — a profile and electronic press kit that does the selling for you, on the public web and inside the app.
- Built to be foundYour profile is a public page engineered for search and AI discovery — so people find you without you chasing them.
- A press kit that travelsMusic, photos, stats and past gigs in one shareable EPK that makes booking you an easy yes.
- Always currentUpdate once and it's live everywhere — no stale links, no outdated one-sheets.
- 06 / 06
Setlists
Build a polished setlist in minutes and share it with the room — songs, keys and running order, ready for the night.
- Drag-and-drop running orderReorder songs in a tap and see the whole set take shape, page by page.
- Share it anywhereSend a clean, branded setlist to the band, the venue or the sound engineer in one tap.
- Reuse and adaptSave sets per act or venue and tweak the running order for the next gig without starting over.
How It Works
From signup to getting paid — four simple steps
Click or tap the deck to advance. The corner button opens it full screen.
Ready for your next gig?
Free profile — 5 minutes to set up.
Built for Working Musicians
Not a generic directory — a proper live music booking platform
Gig Directory & Smart Match
Scout thousands of live UK gigs by city, genre and fee, and apply to open ones in a click. Or tell Smart Match when you’re free and the kind of room you want — it surfaces your best-fit venues to pitch, so the right gigs come to you.
Pro EPK in One Click
A press kit bookers actually open — auto-built from your profile with your bio, music, video and stats, live at its own shareable link. It updates itself as your profile grows, so what you paste into a pitch is always current.
Tour Posters & Flyers
Auto-build a tour poster from your confirmed GigXchange gigs — pick a style and format, add a scannable QR and your logo. Spin up gig flyers from five on-brand templates, sized for Instagram, stories or print. Share in-app or export in seconds, all saved in your account.
Stage Plot & Setlist
Map your stage and channel list so the venue’s engineer knows exactly where everything goes. Build a setlist that doubles as a shareable poster — sets, timings, keys and a scannable QR link, in the style and format you want. Share both in-app or as a PDF, all saved in your account and sent before you load in.
Professional Invoicing & Held Payments
Invoices that look like an established business — company and VAT details, per-line VAT, PO references, payment terms and due dates. Share them in-app or as a branded PDF, all saved in your account. On platform bookings, Stripe holds the deposit and releases it on completion — no cash on the night, no chasing.
Fans & Mailing List
Turn one-off crowds into a following — capture fans, import your existing contacts, and send branded email updates that fill your next room. Your mailing list, owned by you — not rented from a social platform.
Venues discover you directly through your profile and availability. From first enquiry to paid gig, GigXchange keeps the booking trail together: date, fee, deposit, contract, payment status, messages and review history.
What Do UK Gigs Actually Pay?
Real 2026 fee ranges from 4,000+ observations in the GX Index
| Solo | Duo | Full Band | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pub / bar | £100–£250 | £200–£400 | £300–£700 |
| Wedding | £300–£700 | £500–£900 | £1,200–£2,500 |
| Corporate | £400–£800 | £600–£1,200 | £1,500–£4,000+ |
| Private party | £250–£500 | £350–£600 | £600–£1,500 |
| Festival (30–45 min) | £150–£400 | £200–£600 | £200–£800 |
Why Peer-to-Peer Beats Agencies
Traditional agencies work for big-budget events. Most gigs aren't that.
Traditional UK booking agencies charge 15% to 25% commission and focus on weddings and corporate events. If you’re playing pubs, bars, or small festivals — gigs that pay £150 to £600 per night — no commission-based agency is going to represent you at that level.
GigXchange is built for exactly those gigs. You keep 100% of your agreed fee. The platform is free to use — the only optional charge is 5% for protected payment, where the deposit is held safely until the gig is done. You set your own price, choose your own gigs, and deal directly with the venue. No exclusivity contracts, no auditions, no waiting to be picked.
| GIGXCHANGE | UK Booking Agencies | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | None — optional 5% protected-payment fee | 15–25% of your fee |
| Contact with venue | Direct messaging | Via the agency |
| Exclusivity | None — book anywhere | Often required |
| Contracts | Auto-generated, digital | Manual / varies |
| Payments | Stripe, auto-release | Cash / invoice / varies |
| Gig types | All — pubs to festivals | Weddings & corporate focus |
| Cost to join | Free | Audition / application |
Free Tools for UK Artists
Free for every UK musician — tools, data and guides, no paywall
Gig Rate Calculator
See what UK gigs actually pay in 2026 — live percentile rates by city, band size and event type, benchmarked against Musicians’ Union minimums. Quote with data, not guesswork.
Open Mic Finder
1,300+ open mic nights mapped across 91 UK cities — filter by day, entry fee or backline and lock in your next stage this week.
Contract Generator
Generate a UK-compliant gig contract in under 2 minutes — 8 standard clauses, deposit terms and dual e-signatures, exported as an instant PDF. Every booking protected.
Outreach Templates
6 proven venue-outreach email templates with auto-fill, logo upload and one-click copy to Gmail — the fastest way to pitch UK venues and land more gigs.
Member Spotlight
Get featured: a 1,500-word editorial, A4 press-kit PDF, share card and Spotlight badge — professional music PR worth £400+, free for members.
GX Index
The GX Index — the UK’s open live-music rate dataset, updated monthly and free to cite anywhere under CC BY 4.0. The data behind fair gig pay.
UK Musician Earnings 2026
What UK musicians really earn in 2026 — a data-backed report breaking down pay by gig type, city and band size, free to cite (CC BY 4.0).
How to Get More UK Gigs
The 7-step playbook to book more UK gigs — city-by-city scene guides, outreach scripts and real 2026 fee benchmarks for independent artists.
Artist FAQ
- UK Open Mic Finder — 1,300+ open mic listings across 91 cities, filter by day, fee or backline
- UK Gig Rate Calculator — live market percentiles by city, band size and event type
- Setlist Builder — drag-reorder songs, auto-calc set duration, design poster-ready setlists, share by link or PDF
- Booking Contract Generator — UK-compliant performance agreement, 8 standard clauses, dual e-signatures, instant PDF
- GX Index — the full open UK live-music rate dataset, updated monthly
- UK Musician Earnings 2026 — data-backed report on what UK musicians actually earn (CC BY 4.0)
- UK Market Statistics — venues, fees and industry benchmarks
- What You Should Charge in 2026 — UK gig pay broken down by city, gig type and band size with real percentile data
- How to actually get gigs in the UK — the 7-step playbook for independent artists, with city-by-city scenes and 2026 fee context
- How to set your gig price — a step-by-step framework for quoting confidently
- What to include in a gig contract — the 8 clauses every UK musician needs
- Venue cancelled your gig? — your rights, deposit recovery and next steps
- Handling a bad review — when to respond, when to ignore, and how to turn it around
- Dealing with no-shows — what to do when the other side doesn’t turn up
Your Next Gig Is Waiting
Free profile, 5 minutes to set up, no card needed. Join 880 artists across 40 cities on the UK’s peer-to-peer marketplace.