Your Next Gig Is Waiting
Free profile, 5 minutes to set up, no card needed. Join 291 artists across 40 cities on the UK's peer-to-peer marketplace.
For Artists & Musicians
Get Booked. Get Paid.
No Middlemen.
Skip the traditional agency taking 20% of your fees. Create a free profile in 5 minutes, get discovered by UK venues across 40 cities, and scout 9,447 live gigs in the directory by city, genre and fee — digital contracts signed in 1 minute, Stripe payments cleared within 7 days, two-way reviews on every booking.
215
Artists on GigXchange
0–8%
Platform fee
2026
Founded
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 15–35% platform cut eating into your fee. GigXchange charges a small platform fee on confirmed bookings only.
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.
How It Works
From signup to getting paid — four simple steps
Onboarding
Build Your Profile
Add your genre, location, pricing, availability, photos, audio, and video. Show venues exactly what you bring to the stage.
Discovery
Get Discovered
Venues search by genre, location, budget, and capacity. Your profile works for you 24/7 — even while you sleep.
Booking
Book & Sign
Receive booking requests, negotiate terms, and sign a digital contract. Or browse open gigs and venues and apply directly.
Payment
Play & Get Paid
Show up, play your set, and funds are released automatically via Stripe. No chasing invoices, no cash on the night.
Built for Working Musicians
Not a generic directory — a proper live music booking platform
Media-Rich Profile
Upload photos, audio tracks, and video clips. Venues hear your sound and see your stage presence before they reach out.
Gig Directory
Browse open gigs posted by venues and promoters. Filter by city, genre, date, and fee. Apply with one click.
Reviews & Reputation
Build a verified track record with two-way reviews after every gig. Your reputation follows you and grows over time.
Calendar Sync
Import your Google Calendar or iCal feed. Your availability updates automatically — no double-bookings, no manual updates.
Direct Messaging
Chat with venues directly on the platform. Share files, discuss details, and keep everything in one thread per booking.
Smart Matching
AI-powered recommendations surface your profile to venues looking for exactly your genre, location, and price range.
Why Peer-to-Peer Beats Agencies
Traditional agencies work for big-budget events. Most gigs aren't that.
Agencies like Encore Musicians and Alive Network charge 20% to 35% commission and focus on weddings and corporate events. If you're playing pubs, bars, or small festivals — gigs that pay 150 to 600 GBP per gig — no 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 charges an 8% booking fee to the transaction — not to you. 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 | Traditional Agencies | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | 0% on your fee (8% booking fee) | 15–35% 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 escrow, auto-release | Cash / invoice / varies |
| Gig types | All — pubs to festivals | Weddings & corporate focus |
| Cost to join | Free | Audition / application |
Artist FAQ
Free to join, free to create your profile in 5 minutes, free to browse 9,447 gigs. We only charge an 8% platform fee when a booking is confirmed and paid — so you never pay unless you're earning. Compare us to typical UK agency rates in our UK market statistics.
Zero commission on your fee. Unlike agencies that take 15–35%, GigXchange charges a small platform fee on the transaction — not a cut of your performance fee. What you agree with the venue is what you get. See typical UK gig rates in the GX Rate Calculator.
Payments are handled through Stripe Connect. When a booking is confirmed, the deposit is held securely for up to 7 days. Once both parties mark the gig as complete, funds are released directly to your bank account — usually within 2 days. No invoicing, no chasing. Every booking includes an auto-generated agreement from our Booking Contract Generator. Doing gigs off-platform too? See our guide to getting paid as a UK musician — invoicing, HMRC and the Late Payment Act lever for chasing late venues.
No. GigXchange is built for independent musicians who want to handle their own bookings. That said, if you do have an agent, they can manage your bookings on the platform too — see how it works for agents. Agents are a first-class user type.
All of them. Solo artists, duos, trios, full bands, DJs, classical ensembles — if you perform live music, you belong here. Jazz, rock, acoustic, electronic, folk, blues, pop, covers, originals — browse profiles across every genre, or jump into our genre hub to see what other UK acts are doing.
Our emergency cover system protects you. If a venue cancels after a deposit has been paid, the dispute resolution process ensures you're treated fairly. Deposits are held by the platform, not by the venue. Venues face the same protection on their side if an artist cancels.
Yes — beyond the platform, we publish free tools for working UK musicians:
- UK Open Mic Finder — 1,568 weekly open mic listings across 74 cities, filter by day, fee or backline
- UK Gig Rate Calculator — live market percentiles by city, band size and event type
- Venue Outreach Email Templates — 6 customisable pitch templates with auto-fill, logo upload and copy-to-Gmail
- 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, refreshed nightly
- 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