Fill Your Stage.
Book Direct.
Stop paying agencies 30% to find live music. Browse 378 artists across 65 cities, post gigs in 2 minutes, and book direct — auto-generated digital contracts, Stripe payments released within 7 days, and two-way reviews on every booking.
Venue Guides
How to Find Live Music for Your Venue
A 6-step guide covering where to source acts, what to pay, how to vet quality, and build a roster of regulars.
The Complete Toolkit for UK Music Venues
Every free tool a UK venue gets on GigXchange — rich listings, Smart Match, team & multi-site management, contracts, escrow payments and licensing, in one place.
How to Promote Live Music at Your Venue
Break-even maths, 7-channel playbook, cross-promotion agreements, and 4 KPIs to track weekly.
Martyn’s Law for Small UK Venues
The biggest change to venue law in a generation reaches every 200+ room from ~2027 — the threshold, the two tiers, the four procedures, and a 5-step plan to be ready early.
How to Choose a Band or Musician
What to look for, what to ask, and how to compare acts before committing — from a 16-year musician.
AI for UK Music Venues: 9 Guides
9 field-tested AI guides for UK pubs, bars and theatres — from copy-paste inbox replies to automated booking workflows.
Ready to fill your stage?
Free to list — 2 minutes to set up.
Last updated: 7 July 2026
Why Venues Choose GIGXCHANGE
Everything you need to keep your stage full, in one place
Browse 378 UK Artists
Search 378 artists across 65 cities by genre, location, budget, and capacity in under 2 minutes. Filter solo acts, duos, bands, and DJs to find exactly the right fit for your venue and your crowd.
Post Gigs & Get Applications
Post what you need — date, genre, budget, requirements — and let artists come to you. Review profiles, listen to samples, and pick the best act.
Contracts & Payments Handled
Every booking comes with an auto-generated digital contract. Deposits are held securely via Stripe and released when the gig is complete. No cash, no invoices.
See it in action
A look inside GigXchange Mainstage — the members app where artists, venues, agents and promoters manage bookings, messaging, events and payments. Switch between the iOS app, Android app and web app, then tap any shot to enlarge.
How It Works
From signup to showtime — four simple steps
List Your Venue
Add your capacity, location, venue type, equipment, and the genres you book. Help artists understand what you're looking for.
Search or Post
Browse artist profiles with audio, video, and reviews. Or post a gig listing with your requirements and let artists apply directly.
Book & Sign
Send a booking request, agree terms, and sign a digital contract. Everything is documented — no back-and-forth emails or handshake deals.
Host & Pay
The artist turns up, plays the gig, and both sides confirm completion. Funds release automatically via Stripe. Simple, clean, done.
Built for Live Music Venues
Not a generic directory — a proper live music booking platform
Advanced Search Filters
Find the right band, duo or DJ for your venue in minutes — filter UK artists by genre, location, budget, capacity, backline and availability, not hours of emails.
Gig Posting
Post your date, genre, budget and requirements and let UK artists apply to you — review profiles, audio and video, then pick the best fit.
Calendar Management
Run your whole entertainment calendar in one place, synced with Google Calendar or iCal — no double-bookings, no spreadsheets.
Reviews & Ratings
Rate every act after the gig and build your venue’s reputation — two-way reviews keep both sides accountable and transparent.
Secure Payments
Deposits held in Stripe escrow and released only when both sides confirm the gig is done — no cash on the night, no invoicing, no chasing.
Emergency Cover
If an act cancels last-minute, GigXchange auto-alerts matching available artists near you — fill the slot fast and keep the night on, without the panic.
Licensing Checker
Answer a few quick questions and see exactly which UK music licences your venue needs — from TheMusicLicence to a Temporary Event Notice — each linked to the official source. No more guessing.
Compliance Checklist
An interactive licensing, health & safety, sound and payments checklist to tick off before every event — each step linked to official gov.uk and industry guidance, so nothing gets missed on the night.
Team & Multi-Site Management
Run your venue as a team and manage multiple sites from one account — invite staff by email, set who can do what, and switch venues without separate logins.
Payments Insights
See what you’ve spent on entertainment over any period, how it’s trending, who you book most and your busiest months — answers without a spreadsheet in sight.
Discover artists directly by genre, location and budget, then keep the details that usually get lost in DMs together: fee, date, set length, arrival time, deposit, contract, messages and review trail.
What Do UK Gigs Actually Pay?
Real 2026 fee ranges from 3,696 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 Direct Booking Beats Agencies
Agencies work for big-budget events. Most venue nights aren't that.
Traditional UK booking agencies charge 20–35% on top of the artist’s fee and focus on weddings and corporate events. If you’re booking weekly pub nights, open mic hosts, or small festival stages — you’re on your own.
Not sure if you need a music license? Read our UK live music license guide first. Not sure where to start? Our guide on how to find live music for your venue walks through the full 6-step process. GigXchange lets you browse artists directly, post gigs and receive applications, and handle the entire booking with contracts and Stripe payments built in. The platform is free to use, with a 5% fee only for protected payments — see how artists use the platform on their side — a fraction of what agencies take. You pick the artist, agree the fee, and deal direct.
| GIGXCHANGE | UK Booking Agencies | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free — optional 5% protected-payment fee | 20–35% on top of artist fee |
| Contact with artist | Direct messaging | Via the agency |
| Artist selection | Browse hundreds, filter by genre | Agency picks for you |
| Contracts | Auto-generated, digital | Manual / varies |
| Payments | Stripe escrow, auto-release | Cash / invoice / varies |
| Cancellation cover | Emergency cover system | Call around yourself |
| Cost to list | Free | N/A — venues don't list |
Free Tools for UK Venues
Published for every venue and booker — no signup needed
Gig Rate Calculator
Know the going rate before you budget — live UK gig percentiles by city, band size and event type, benchmarked against Musicians’ Union minimums.
Flyer & Events Poster
Design gig flyers from on-brand templates or auto-build a poster of your upcoming events in one click — ready to post to socials in seconds.
Contract Generator
Generate a UK-compliant gig contract in under 2 minutes — 8 standard clauses, deposit terms, dual e-signatures and an instant PDF.
GX Index
The GX Index — the UK’s open live-music rate dataset, refreshed nightly, so you can benchmark what acts cost before you budget (CC BY 4.0).
Member Spotlight
A 1,500-word editorial profiling your venue, a press-kit PDF and a Spotlight badge — free music PR for active venues.
Finding & Hiring Local Bands
6 proven sources for finding UK musicians, plus a vetting checklist so you book the right act first time.
How to Promote a Live Music Night
A practical playbook for filling your room — the channels, timing and cross-promotion that actually sell tickets to a local live music night.
UK Live Music Licence Guide
Do you need a licence? TheMusicLicence, PRS, PPL and TEN exemptions — the 2026 rules explained for UK pubs and bars.
Venue FAQ
- UK Open Mic Finder — 1,100+ open-mic listings across 78 cities, plus 13,800+ gigs in the wider directory, list yours free
- UK Gig Rate Calculator — live market percentiles by city, band size and event type
- Setlist Builder — see at a glance what an act actually plays before you book them
- 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
- How Much UK Live Music Actually Costs in 2026 — venue-side budget guide by gig type and band size, drawn from the GX Index
Booking-contract generator, setlist/stage-plot builder and venue-legitimacy checker are next.
- How to hire a covers band — what to ask, what to pay, and red flags to watch for
- Corporate event booking — timelines, riders, and getting the brief right
- Booking lead times — how far ahead to book by event type and season
- Band cancelled your event? — your rights, emergency cover and deposit recovery
- Deposit disputes — how the escrow process protects both sides
- Dealing with no-shows — what to do when the act doesn’t turn up
Fill Your Stage
378 artists across 65 cities, all in one place. Free to list, free to message, 5 minutes to set up — emergency cover within 48 hours if an act cancels.