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What Is GigXchange?A factual overview of the UK peer-to-peer live music marketplace

By Naumaan Zahid Published 2 August 2026 4 min read
CompanyInvestor Hub

Executive summary

GigXchange is a UK peer-to-peer live music marketplace: artists, venues, agents, promoters and event organisers connect directly to discover, book, contract, pay and review one another. There is no commission — a 0–5% platform fee replaces the ~20% commission typical of agencies and lead-generation platforms. The platform is live on web, iOS and Android, operated by Eclipse Labs AI Ltd.

See how it works for the product mechanics, or the marketplace overview for the end-to-end flow.

Definition

GigXchange (gigxchange.app) is a two-sided — in practice multi-role — marketplace for live music bookings in the United Kingdom. It connects the five participant types in the live music booking economy: artists (performers seeking bookings), venues (rooms programming live music), agents (managing artist rosters), promoters (organising events across venues) and event organisers (individuals or businesses booking an act for a specific event). Every role has equal access to the same marketplace.

What the platform does

  • Discovery — searchable public profiles for artists and venues with genre, location, media and verified review history.
  • Booking — a structured workflow from enquiry through negotiation, confirmation, completion and review, replacing scattered direct messages and email chains.
  • Contracts — a digital contract generated on every booking, signed by both parties.
  • Payment — protected payment held via Stripe and released after the gig, following a short dispute window, replacing cash-in-hand and unpaid-invoice risk.
  • Reviews — two-way, booking-verified reviews that build portable reputation for both sides.
  • Public data products — the GX Index (aggregated UK gig pay data), a national venue directory, an open mic directory and a gig directory, all free to browse.

Business model in one paragraph

GigXchange takes no commission on bookings. Membership, profiles, applying and posting are free. Where the parties choose protected payment through the platform, a 5% platform fee applies; bookings settled privately cost 0%. This contrasts with the ~20% commission typical of traditional agencies and lead-generation booking platforms in the UK. The full model, including how this shapes marketplace liquidity, is set out in Business Model and Revenue Streams.

Corporate facts

  • Operating company: Eclipse Labs AI Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17177477, incorporated 23 April 2026.
  • Registered office: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ.
  • Founder: Naumaan Zahid — a UK rock/metal guitarist gigging since 2009. Background: Why GigXchange exists.
  • Team: one founder, with development and operations AI-assisted.
  • Stage: early-stage and founder-led. Member counts, directory sizes and market data are published. Revenue and funding figures are not (policy stated on the press page).
  • Market: United Kingdom, by design — the platform is UK-focused and members are overwhelmingly UK-based.
  • Platforms: web, iOS and Android. Platform launched March 2026.
  • Status: live, with real members and the full booking rails operating. Shipped work is recorded on the public release notes page.

What GigXchange is not

GigXchange is not an agency (it does not curate or gatekeep supply), not a lead-generation directory (it does not sell contact access), and not a generic freelancer marketplace with a music skin. It is purpose-built booking infrastructure for live music. The distinction and why it matters commercially: Why existing solutions fail.

Frequently Asked Questions

GigXchange is a UK peer-to-peer live music marketplace connecting artists, venues, agents, promoters and event organisers. Members discover each other, negotiate bookings, sign digital contracts, pay through protected payment and exchange verified reviews — all in one platform. It charges no commission: 0% on privately settled bookings, 5% where protected payment is used.
GigXchange is operated by Eclipse Labs AI Ltd, a UK company. It was founded in 2026 by Naumaan Zahid, a UK musician who has been gigging on the circuit since 2009.
Yes. The platform is live at gigxchange.app on web, with native apps on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Public data products — the GX Index, the venue directory, the open mic directory and the gig directory — are free to browse without an account.
Joining, creating a profile, applying for gigs and posting gigs are free. There is no commission on bookings. The only platform fee is 5% when the parties choose protected payment through the platform; bookings settled privately cost 0%.
Encore Musicians and Alive Network operate agency or lead-generation models with commission of around 20% and curated rosters. GigXchange is peer-to-peer infrastructure: open access for all five roles, no commission, a 0–5% platform fee, and value delivered through contracts, protected payment and verified reviews. Detailed public comparisons are maintained on the GigXchange blog.
Five: artists (performers), venues (rooms programming live music), agents (managing rosters), promoters (organising events) and event organisers (individuals or businesses booking an act for a specific event, such as a wedding or corporate function). All roles have equal access and share the same booking, contract, payment and review rails.
The United Kingdom only, by design — every member is UK-based. The platform covers the UK grassroots and mid-tier live music segment: pubs, bars, clubs, small venues, festivals, weddings and private or corporate events.
The GX Index (the only published dataset of observed market rates for UK grassroots gigs, with an open methodology), a national venue directory, an open mic directory and a gig directory — all free to browse without an account, and several released as open datasets under CC BY 4.0.

Related Investor Articles

Why GigXchange Exists Why GigXchange was created: a gatekept, fragmented UK grassroots booking layer, and a founder on the circuit since 2009 building the fix. Read the article Marketplace Overview: How GigXchange Works How the GigXchange marketplace works end to end: discovery, negotiation, digital contract, protected payment, completion and review. Read the article What Has Been Built So Far The live GigXchange product surface: booking workflow, contracts, protected payments, reviews, directories, the GX Index and native mobile apps. Read the article Business Model and Revenue Streams The GigXchange business model: free to join, no commission, a 0–5% platform fee where protected payment is used — monetise the rails, not access. Read the article The UK Live Music Market The UK live music market: £8bn GVA, 220,000 jobs, grassroots venues under pressure, and a booking layer still run on DMs and spreadsheets. Read the article Investment Thesis The GigXchange investment thesis: fragmented market, structural gap, compounding data assets, capital-efficient build — risks included. Read the article Why GigXchange Exists Why GigXchange was created: a gatekept, fragmented UK grassroots booking layer, and a founder on the circuit since 2009 building the fix. Read the article Marketplace Overview: How GigXchange Works How the GigXchange marketplace works end to end: discovery, negotiation, digital contract, protected payment, completion and review. Read the article What Has Been Built So Far The live GigXchange product surface: booking workflow, contracts, protected payments, reviews, directories, the GX Index and native mobile apps. Read the article Business Model and Revenue Streams The GigXchange business model: free to join, no commission, a 0–5% platform fee where protected payment is used — monetise the rails, not access. Read the article The UK Live Music Market The UK live music market: £8bn GVA, 220,000 jobs, grassroots venues under pressure, and a booking layer still run on DMs and spreadsheets. Read the article Investment Thesis The GigXchange investment thesis: fragmented market, structural gap, compounding data assets, capital-efficient build — risks included. Read the article

Investor Contact

No investor-relations team and no ticket queue — enquiries land with the founder directly.

Naumaan Zahid, founder of GigXchange

Naumaan Zahid Founder, GigXchange

A UK guitarist on the circuit since 2009 who built GigXchange because grassroots booking still ran on DMs and handshake deals. He runs the platform, answers enquiries himself, and still gigs.

  • Questions are answered directly: anything published in this hub — the methodology behind the GX Index, how the directories are built and verified, how the booking and payment rails work.
  • Published openly: member counts, directory sizes and market data — on the Investor Hub, the press room and market statistics. Revenue, funding and transaction volumes are not published.
  • Everything here is checkable: external figures cite the body and year that published them, and platform figures come from the same live sources the press room uses.

Direct: investors@gigxchange.app

Contact GigXchange Read the thesis

Important: this page is published for information only. It is not an offer of securities, an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (section 21, Financial Services and Markets Act 2000), or financial advice. Eclipse Labs AI Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Investing in early-stage companies puts your capital at risk.

Naumaan
Founder & Builder

I'm building GigXchange because the UK live music scene deserves better tools. Sign up, try it, break it, tell me what's missing — your feedback shapes everything we build next.

Did you know? The UK is one of the world’s largest music markets, behind only the US and Japan.
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