UK Live Music Glossary

100 Terms Every Gig-Booker Should Know

From door splits to riders, PLI to PRS — the canonical A–Z of UK live music, defined by a working musician. Free to cite, free to share.

100

Terms

Apr 2026

Updated

Audiences

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100 terms, alphabetically organised. Grey letters have no defined terms yet — we’ll fill those in as the glossary grows. Every term has a direct-link anchor (e.g. glossary.html#term-door-split) for citation.

A

Acoustic: A performance style using non-amplified or lightly amplified instruments — typically vocal with acoustic guitar, piano or upright bass. In the UK pub and wedding market, ‘acoustic’ usually signals a solo or duo background-music booking rather than a full-band PA setup.
Advance: The pre-gig admin process where the venue or promoter confirms logistics with the artist — stage times, load-in, parking, rider, tech spec, payment terms. ‘Advancing a show’ typically happens 1–2 weeks out and is usually led by the promoter’s production manager or the venue’s bookings contact.
Agent: A booking agent represents a roster of artists, pitching them to venues, promoters and festivals and negotiating fees on their behalf. UK agents typically earn 10–20% commission on confirmed bookings. Agents differ from managers (career strategy) and promoters (event-side risk).
Artist: Any musician, band, DJ, solo act, or performer who creates a profile on GigXchange to be discovered and booked for live performances. Artists upload media, set their fee range and availability, and receive booking enquiries from venues and promoters.
Availability: The dates an artist has marked as free for bookings on their in-platform calendar. Venues and promoters can see an artist’s availability when browsing their profile, making it easy to identify who is free on a given date.

B

Backline: The stage instruments and amps actually used by the performers — guitar amps, bass amps, drum kit, keyboard rigs. Shared backline at multi-band shows reduces changeover time. The rider will specify whether backline is provided by the venue or brought by the artist.
Balance: The outstanding portion of the agreed fee, payable after the deposit. Common UK structures: 50% deposit on booking, 50% balance on the night or within 7 days of the gig. On GigXchange, balance is held in escrow via Stripe and released automatically on completion.
BMG: BMG Rights Management — one of the largest independent music publishers globally, with a significant UK presence. For live music, BMG matters mainly for publishing-rights clearance on original material; most grassroots UK acts will encounter BMG (if at all) through sync, not live.
Booker: The person at a venue, festival or promotion company who decides which acts get booked. In smaller UK pubs the landlord is the booker; in mid-size venues it is a dedicated bookings manager; at festivals it is usually the head of programming or talent buyer.
Booking: A confirmed agreement between an artist and a venue (or promoter) for a live performance on a specific date, with agreed terms, fee, and payment handled through the platform. Bookings follow a structured workflow from enquiry through to completion and review.
BPI: British Phonographic Industry — the UK trade body for recorded music labels. BPI runs the BRIT Awards and the Official Charts with OCC. Relevant to live music mainly through artist-development schemes and the Music Exports Growth Scheme (MEGS).
Buy-on: A practice where a support act pays the headliner or promoter for a slot on a tour or bill. Widely considered exploitative on the UK grassroots circuit and distinct from legitimate tour-support investment. Reputable UK agents and the Musicians’ Union discourage it.

C

Call Time: The time the artist is required to arrive at the venue — typically expressed separately from load-in and soundcheck. A 5pm call time means the artist must be on site by 5pm, ready to load in, even if doors are not until 7:30pm.
Cancellation Fee: A pre-agreed sum owed if a booking is cancelled by either party within a set window. Typical UK tiers: 100% of fee if cancelled inside 14 days, 50% inside 30 days, deposit retained beyond that. Should always be set out in the contract before booking is confirmed.
Cancellation Policy: The full terms governing what happens if a gig is called off — who owes what, by when, and under which circumstances. A complete policy covers artist cancellation, venue cancellation, force majeure, reschedule rights, and deposit forfeiture. Required in any professional UK performance contract.
Ceilidh: A traditional Scottish or Irish social dance event with live folk music and a caller who instructs the dancers. Ceilidh bands are a distinct UK booking category, especially for Burns Night, weddings and hogmanay, with a strongly established fee expectation.
Club Night: A regular DJ-led or curated event at a venue, usually themed by genre (indie, drum & bass, disco, techno) and running late. Club nights typically pay headline DJs a fee plus door percentage; opening and mid-slot DJs are often paid less or on a performance-cap basis.
Consent: Under UK GDPR, the legal basis for processing personal data where the individual has given clear affirmative agreement. For marketing emails to individuals, consent is usually the required basis under PECR. Pre-ticked boxes and silence do not count as consent.
Contract: The written performance agreement between artist and venue/promoter covering fee, date, times, cancellation, rider, and liability. On GigXchange, a digital contract is auto-generated from the booking terms and signed by both parties before the deposit is held.
Corporate Event: A private booking for a company — awards night, product launch, Christmas party, conference entertainment. Corporate fees in the UK are typically 2–4x the equivalent pub rate for the same act, with tighter dress code, set-length and content expectations.
Covers Band: A band whose setlist is built from other artists’ songs rather than originals. In the UK, covers bands dominate the pub, wedding, corporate and private-party market. PRS royalties apply to the original songwriters; the covers band do not need separate licensing beyond the venue’s existing PRS cover.

D

Dep / Depping: A ‘dep’ is a deputy musician who covers for a regular member of a band who can’t make a gig. Common in UK function, theatre and residency gigs. Depping is a significant income stream for jobbing session players and requires the ability to learn a setlist fast.
Deposit: An upfront payment made by the booker to secure the booking, typically 20–50% of the total fee. The deposit confirms the date and is usually non-refundable inside the cancellation window. On GigXchange, deposits are held in escrow via Stripe and released with the balance on completion.
DI Box: Direct Injection box — a small device that converts a high-impedance instrument signal (e.g. bass, acoustic guitar pickup, keyboard) into a balanced mic-level signal the sound engineer can plug into the mixing desk. Most UK venues have DIs available; high-end riders often specify preferred brands (Radial, BSS).
Discover Carousel: A featured-artist carousel on the GigXchange dashboard surfaced to venues, agents, and promoters. Featured artists rotate based on activity, profile completeness, and verification status, giving complete profiles extra exposure beyond search.
DJ Set: A performance by a DJ mixing recorded tracks, typically 1–4 hours. UK DJ bookings range from wedding receptions and corporate parties to club residencies and festival slots. Fees vary from £150 for a local wedding DJ to £10,000+ for a club headliner.
Doors: The time the venue opens to ticket-holders or general public. Doors is distinct from stage time — a 7:30pm doors / 9pm stage means attendees have 90 minutes of the venue’s bar trade before the act goes on. Doors time is a key line on any gig poster.
Door Split: An arrangement where ticket revenue is divided between artist and venue/promoter. UK grassroots variants include 70/30 in the artist’s favour, 80/20 after the venue’s hire costs are recouped, and sliding scales triggered by headcount. On deposit-based bookings door split is rare; on ticketed club shows it is standard.
Dry Hire: A venue rental without in-house sound, lighting, staffing or promotion — the booker brings everything. Dry hire is common for one-off promoter gigs in converted warehouses, church halls, and multi-use spaces. Cheaper per-night than a wet hire but the booker carries all production risk.
Duo: A two-piece act — typically vocal and guitar, vocal and piano, or two vocalists with backing. Pub, wedding and restaurant bookings often specify duo over full band for space, volume or budget reasons. Duo fees in the UK typically sit at 60–70% of a 4-piece covers band rate.

E

Enquiry: The initial message sent from a venue or promoter to an artist (or from an artist applying to a gig listing) expressing interest in a booking. Enquiries are the first step in the booking process and are handled through the platform’s messaging system.
EPK (Electronic Press Kit): A digital portfolio used by musicians to pitch themselves to venues, promoters, agents, festivals, and the press. A traditional EPK is a static PDF or paid hosted website. A GigXchange artist profile is a fully featured digital EPK that auto-updates as your gigs and content change, lives on a clean shareable URL, and connects directly to a live booking marketplace.
Equity: The UK trade union for performers and creative practitioners, including many working musicians, MDs, dancers and variety acts. Equity publishes minimum rate cards for theatre and television work that often inform live-music negotiations at the higher end of the market.
Explore: The search and discovery section of GigXchange. Users browse artist and venue profiles using filters for genre, location, fee range, rating, and availability. Explore includes audio playback and video previews so users can evaluate performers without leaving the platform.

F

Fee: The total performance payment agreed between artist and booker, usually quoted as a single figure covering the performance (not the door split). UK fees vary enormously — £80 pub solo, £1,200 wedding 4-piece, £5,000+ festival headliner — and should always be expressed as take-home, pre-agency commission.
Festival: A multi-artist event, usually over one or more days, curated around a theme, genre or location. UK festival fees are typically paid as a single guarantee, with artist bearing travel and accommodation unless otherwise negotiated. Slot position (opening, sub-headline, headline) materially affects fee.
Fold-back: British English term for on-stage monitoring — the sound sent back to the performers so they can hear themselves and each other. Fold-back can be via wedge monitors on the floor or in-ear monitors. Poor fold-back is the single most common technical complaint on UK grassroots stages.
Force Majeure: A contract clause excusing performance when an unforeseeable event (flood, pandemic, national emergency) makes the gig impossible. The 2020–21 COVID period triggered widespread use of force majeure in UK live-music contracts. Well-drafted clauses specify what happens to the deposit.
Front-of-house Engineer: The FOH engineer mixes the sound the audience hears — EQ, levels, effects, dynamics. At UK grassroots venues FOH is often the in-house sound engineer; touring acts may bring their own FOH. ‘FOH’ can also refer to the mixing desk position itself, usually at the back of the room.
Function Band: A band built for private events — weddings, corporate, parties — playing a broad mix of crowd-pleasing covers across eras. UK function bands typically offer 4–6 piece configurations, sometimes with DJ add-ons. It is one of the most reliably paid corners of the UK live market.
Function Set: The setlist format used by function and wedding bands — typically two 45–60 minute sets with a break in between, covering a rolling decade-by-decade selection plus current chart hits. Often paired with a DJ or playlist service during the break and after the band finishes.

G

GDPR: UK General Data Protection Regulation — the data-protection framework governing how personal data is collected, stored and processed in the UK. Venues and artists processing contact details, booking records or marketing lists must comply. Key lawful bases: consent, contract, legitimate interests.
Gig Listing: A post created by a venue or promoter describing an available performance slot. Listings include the date, time, genre preferences, budget, and any specific requirements. Artists browse gig listings and apply directly to the ones that match their style and availability.
Grassroots Venue: A small, usually independently operated music venue — typically 80–500 capacity — where emerging and touring artists play early-career shows. Represented by the Music Venue Trust (MVT). Grassroots venues are the foundation of the UK live pipeline and face significant commercial pressure.
Green Room: A backstage room where performers wait, warm up, eat and relax before and between sets. Green rooms vary wildly in UK venues — from a pub’s back corridor to fully fitted dressing suites at mid-sized venues. Rider requirements (food, drink, towels) are typically provided here.
Guarantee: A fixed fee the artist is guaranteed regardless of ticket sales or door take. Often paired with a percentage upside: ‘guarantee vs. 80% of net door, whichever is higher’. UK grassroots touring acts frequently negotiate guarantees as protection against low turnout.

H

Headliner: The top-billed act on a gig — typically performs last and receives the largest share of the fee pool. Headliner status carries marketing obligations (being used to sell the show) and production priority (longest set, preferred soundcheck slot).
Help Musicians UK: An independent UK charity providing financial, health and career support to professional musicians, including hardship funds, mental health services (Music Minds Matter), and development grants. A key safety net for the UK working-musician community.
Holding Fee: A (usually small) payment made to reserve an artist’s availability on a date before the full booking is confirmed. Less common in UK grassroots markets than in agency-led bookings. Holding fees typically credit against the final fee if the booking proceeds and are forfeited if the booker walks away.

I

In-ears: In-ear monitors (IEMs) — earpieces that replace stage wedges, delivering a personalised mix directly to the performer. Standard on professional UK tours and increasingly common at mid-tier function bands. Reduce stage volume and protect hearing.
Input List: A technical document listing every audio source on stage and which input channel it maps to on the mixing desk — e.g. ‘Ch1 Kick, Ch2 Snare Top, Ch3 Hi-hat…’. Submitted with the stage plot as part of the rider so the sound engineer can patch the show in advance.
IR35: UK tax legislation determining whether someone providing services through their own limited company should be treated as employed or self-employed for tax purposes. Relevant to session musicians and MDs working long-term engagements via a company structure; less relevant to one-off gig fees.

L

Listening Room: A venue configured so the audience is seated, quiet and focused on the performance — no chatter, no bar service during sets. Common for folk, jazz, acoustic singer-songwriter and spoken-word events. UK examples include the Green Note (London) and the Bush Hall’s seated shows.
Load-in: The time window for the artist to bring gear into the venue and set up on stage. Pub load-ins can be 30 minutes; touring productions can need 4+ hours. The load-in time is usually the earliest point the artist is contractually required on site.

M

Mechanical Rights: The copyright in the reproduction of a musical composition — e.g. pressing CDs, selling downloads, streaming. Distinct from performing rights (PRS) and master recording rights. In the UK, mechanical royalties are collected for songwriters/publishers by MCPS (now integrated with PRS).
Merchandise Table: The point-of-sale setup for selling band merch at the gig — t-shirts, vinyl, CDs, posters, signed items. At UK venues, merch is a meaningful revenue stream, especially on low-fee touring gigs. Some venues take a merch cut (typically 10–20%); grassroots venues increasingly waive this.
Monitors: Speakers (wedges) positioned on stage pointing at the performers so they can hear themselves. Can also refer to the engineer who mixes the on-stage sound, separate from the FOH engineer. At smaller UK venues FOH typically doubles as monitor engineer.
MU (Musicians’ Union): The UK trade union for professional musicians, founded 1893. Publishes minimum recommended rate cards for live, session and teaching work, provides public liability insurance and instrument cover for members, and lobbies government on music policy.
MVT (Music Venue Trust): A UK registered charity protecting, securing and improving UK grassroots music venues. Runs the Grassroots Music Venues network, the Music Venue Alliance, and Venues Day. A critical lobbying voice for the bottom of the UK live pipeline.

N

Noise Restrictions: Local-authority or licence conditions limiting sound levels, bass content, or end times at a venue. UK noise restrictions are enforced via the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and premises licences. Common causes: residential complaints, proximity to hospitals, and Sunday trading.

O

Originals Act: An artist or band performing material they have written themselves, as opposed to a covers band or tribute act. Originals acts typically earn less per gig on the UK circuit but build catalogue value via recordings, streaming and publishing royalties.

P

PA System: The public address system — the amplification chain of mixing desk, power amps and speakers that projects sound to the audience. UK pub PAs might be a 1kW pair of tops; a mid-sized venue runs 5–10kW with subs; festival main stages run line arrays delivering 100kW+.
PAT Test: Portable Appliance Testing — the inspection of electrical equipment (amps, pedals, chargers) for safety. Many UK venues require artist backline to be PAT tested annually, especially corporate and council-run spaces. Stickers are valid for the period stated, typically 12 months.
Pay-to-play: A controversial UK promoter model where the act is required to sell a minimum number of tickets to cover room hire, with unsold tickets charged back to the band. Widely criticised by the MU and MVT as exploitative of emerging artists; GigXchange does not permit it.
Performance Licence: The premises licence permission required under the Licensing Act 2003 to host live music in England and Wales. Many venues operate under the Live Music Act 2012 deregulations, which exempt unamplified or small-venue live music from separate licensing up to certain limits.
Performing Rights: The copyright controlling the public performance of musical works. In the UK, performing rights for songwriters and publishers are collectively licensed by PRS for Music. Venues hold a blanket PRS licence; artists do not need a separate performing-rights licence to play covers.
PLI (Public Liability Insurance): Insurance covering claims from third parties (audiences, venues, staff) for injury or property damage caused by the artist’s activity. UK venues increasingly require artists to carry minimum £5m or £10m PLI. The Musicians’ Union includes £10m PLI as a standard member benefit.
Pop-up: A temporary venue configuration — a warehouse, car park, rooftop, disused shop — hosting gigs for a limited run. Pop-ups often operate under TENS (Temporary Event Notices) rather than full premises licences. A fertile source of adventurous UK promoter-led bookings.
PPL: Phonographic Performance Limited — the UK collective management organisation that licences the broadcast and public performance of recorded music and collects royalties for record labels and performers. PPL is separate from PRS; most venues hold both a PRS and a PPL licence under TheMusicLicence joint arrangement.
Private Function: A closed, non-ticketed event — wedding, birthday, anniversary, corporate party — where the booker pays a fixed fee and the audience is invited rather than paying at the door. UK private-function fees are typically the highest per-gig rate on the live-music market.
Profile: A public page on GigXchange that showcases an artist’s or venue’s details — bio, genre, location, media (audio tracks, video showreels, photos), reviews, and fee information. Profiles have shareable URLs and are indexed by search engines.
Promoter: The person or company that takes the commercial risk on a gig — booking the act, booking the venue, marketing the show, selling tickets, and keeping the surplus (or absorbing the loss). UK promoters range from bedroom operators running club nights to majors like SJM, Kilimanjaro, and Academy Music Group.
PRS for Music: The UK collective management organisation that licences the performing and mechanical rights in songwriters’ and publishers’ compositions and distributes royalties. Venues hosting live or recorded music typically require a PRS (or joint PRS/PPL) licence.
Pub Gig: A live music booking in a pub or bar — the workhorse of the UK grassroots circuit. Typically solo, duo or 4-piece covers/originals, one or two 45–60 minute sets, fee paid on the night by bank transfer or cash. A consistent entry-level market for emerging artists.

Q

Quartet: A four-piece act. In the UK pop/rock tradition usually vocals/guitar/bass/drums; in jazz often sax/piano/bass/drums; in classical strings two violins/viola/cello. The default size for UK function bands and small wedding bands.

R

Retainer: A recurring fee paid to an artist or MD for ongoing availability over a fixed period — common in residency gigs and corporate entertainment partnerships. Less common in one-off gig bookings; the UK functional equivalent is usually a holding fee or multi-date contract.
Review: A star rating and written feedback left by both the artist and the venue after a completed booking. Reviews are public on profiles and help other users assess reliability, professionalism, and quality before making a booking decision.
Rider: The document specifying the artist’s requirements for the performance — technical rider (PA, backline, monitors, power, stage size) and hospitality rider (food, drink, towels, dressing room). UK grassroots riders are typically modest; festival and corporate riders can be extensive and negotiated line-by-line.

S

Session Musician: A musician hired on a per-gig or per-session basis rather than as a permanent band member — typically an experienced reader or improviser who can deliver the part fast. UK session scene is concentrated in London but spreads through every regional function-band and theatre circuit.
Setlist: An ordered list of songs an artist performs at a gig, including title, original artist, duration, and whether each song is a cover or an original. The GigXchange setlist builder turns a setlist into a shareable poster graphic that lives on the artist’s public profile, so venues can see exactly what an artist plays before booking them.
Showreel: A short video — usually a couple of minutes — that demonstrates how an artist performs live. Showreels are uploaded as YouTube embeds on a GigXchange profile and appear as a clickable thumbnail grid. Bookers can watch a showreel without ever leaving the artist’s page.
Solo Act: A single performer — typically vocal plus one instrument (acoustic guitar, piano, loop pedal, or backing tracks). The smallest and usually lowest-fee configuration on the UK circuit, ideal for pubs, restaurants, cafes, wedding ceremonies and small private events.
Soundcheck: The pre-show rehearsal where the band plays through part of the set while the sound engineer sets levels and EQ on the PA and monitors. UK soundchecks are typically 30–60 minutes for a headliner, 15–20 for support acts, and sometimes skipped entirely at pub-level gigs.
Stage Plot: A top-down diagram of the stage showing where each performer stands, where their amps and monitors go, and where DI and mic points are. Submitted with the input list as part of the rider so the venue can pre-patch the stage and set up monitors before the band arrives.
Support Slot: An opening or mid-bill performance on a multi-act show, typically shorter in length and lower in fee than the headline slot. UK support slots are a key part of the grassroots development pipeline — they put emerging acts in front of a buying audience built by the headliner.

T

Tech Pack: The complete technical documentation package from an artist — rider, stage plot, input list, patch list, power requirements and any specific equipment notes. Professional UK agents typically send the tech pack with the contract; grassroots artists often send it on request.
TENS (Temporary Event Notice): A notification to the local licensing authority in England and Wales allowing a time-limited, small-scale licensable activity (live music, alcohol sales) at premises without a full premises licence. TENS are the legal basis for many UK pop-up gigs, private events and festivals on unlicensed sites.
Tour Poster: A print-quality graphic listing an artist’s upcoming dates, venues, and cities. The GigXchange tour poster builder auto-pulls confirmed bookings from your calendar, lets you add manual dates, and renders the poster in one of four templates (Modern, Bold, Minimal, Classic). The published poster lives on your public profile and updates automatically as you confirm new gigs.
Tribute Act: A band dedicated to performing the catalogue of one specific artist or group — e.g. an ABBA tribute, Oasis tribute, Queen tribute. A substantial and consistently paid corner of the UK covers market, especially in pubs, theatres and themed corporate events.
Trio: A three-piece act — in pop/rock typically guitar/bass/drums with a lead vocal shared; in jazz piano/bass/drums; in acoustic duo-plus-percussion. A common mid-weight option for UK pubs, weddings and restaurants where a full 4-piece is too loud or too large.

U

UK Music: The UK industry-wide umbrella body representing the commercial music industry — labels, publishers, songwriters, performers, managers, studios, music venues. Produces the annual ‘Music By Numbers’ economic report and lobbies government on music policy.

V

Venue: A pub, bar, hotel, restaurant, function room, wedding venue, or any space that hosts live music. Venues create profiles describing their space, capacity, and equipment, then use GigXchange to search for artists or post gig listings.
Verified Badge: A trust signal that appears on an artist or venue profile and across DMs once their account has been manually verified by GigXchange. Verified accounts rank higher in search and stand out in messaging threads, especially for first contacts where neither side has worked together before.

W

Wedding Band: A band specialising in wedding receptions — typically a function-band format with a tailored setlist covering first-dance, dinner background, and full-floor party. UK wedding band fees are among the highest in the live market, reflecting long day, travel, and high reliability expectations.
Wedges: Floor monitor speakers angled upward at the performers — the traditional alternative to in-ear monitors. Most UK grassroots venues provide 2–4 wedges on the house PA. Wedges produce higher stage volume than IEMs, which affects FOH mix headroom in small rooms.