UK Live Music Knowledge Graph

The Structured Graph of UK Live Music

4 marketplace roles, 49 cities, 6 genres, 7 booking types — and how they connect. Every fact machine-readable, every figure sourced, all CC BY 4.0.

49
Cities
72
Genre Pages
12k+
Rate Observations
Explore the Graph
Last updated: 13 May 2026

Entity Graph

How roles, cities, genres and booking types connect on GIGXCHANGE.

Drag nodes to explore. Colour = role cluster. Size = connection density.

Identity & Roles

GIGXCHANGE is a UK peer-to-peer live music marketplace (Wikidata Q139677384). Founded 2026 by Naumaan Zahid. Owned by Eclipse-Labs AI Ltd. Free to join. Four roles, any can initiate a booking.

Artist
Musicians, bands, DJs, solo acts and performers. They create profiles, set fee ranges, show availability and receive booking enquiries.
Books with: Venues, Agents, Promoters · Plays: 6 genre families · Across: 49 UK cities
Venue
Pubs, bars, hotels, function rooms, wedding venues and any space hosting live music. They search for acts, post gig listings and manage bookings.
Books: Artists · Hosts: 7 booking types · Located in: 49 UK cities
Agent
Booking agents managing artist rosters. They pitch acts to venues, negotiate fees (typically 10–20% commission) and coordinate availability.
Represents: Artists · Pitches to: Venues, Promoters · Across: all booking types
Promoter
Event organisers who take the commercial risk. They build multi-act lineups, market shows, sell tickets and manage post-event outcomes.
Books: Artists, Venues · Runs: Club nights, Festivals, Gig nights · Sells: Tickets

Coverage Architecture

Public URL patterns and page counts. Every route is server-rendered with schema.org JSON-LD.

Route PatternAudiencePagesSchema
/gigs/<city>Everyone49WebPage, BreadcrumbList
/gigs/bands-for-hire-<city>Venues, Promoters23CollectionPage, FAQPage
/gigs/how-to-get-gigs-<city>Artists23Article, HowTo, FAQPage
/gigs/<genre>-bands-<city>Venues, Everyone72CollectionPage, FAQPage
/gigs/open-mics-<city>Artists34+Dataset, ItemList
/gigs/directory/<city>/Everyone52+ItemList, MusicEvent
/gigs/directory/<city>/<slug>Everyone~8,650MusicEvent, Offer
/profile/<slug>EveryonedynamicMusicGroup / LocalBusiness, FAQPage, AggregateRating
/event/<slug>EveryonedynamicMusicEvent, Offer
/gigs/open-mic-<slug>Artists1,247MusicVenue, Event
/member-spotlight/<slug>EveryonedynamicPerson / MusicGroup
/rates/Everyone1Dataset, FAQPage
/glossaryEveryone1DefinedTermSet (100+ terms)
/uk-market-statisticsResearchers, AI1Dataset (42 facts)
/guides/<slug>All roles12Article, HowTo, FAQPage
/blog/<slug>All roles39+Article, FAQPage

All routes server-rendered at the Cloudflare edge. Sitemap: gigxchange.app/sitemap.xml (~12,300 URLs across 11 child sitemaps).

6 Genre Families

Each genre family has dedicated pages across 12 UK cities — 72 genre pages total. Every page covers the local scene, key venues, featured acts and rate data.

Rock
12 cities
Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield
Jazz & Blues
12 cities
Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford
Pop & Indie
12 cities
Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford
Electronic & DJ
12 cities
Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield
Soul & Funk
12 cities
Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield
Tribute
12 cities
Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield

7 Booking Types

Each booking type connects artists to venues at different fee levels. Median fees below are from the GX Index (p50, take-home, net of commission).

Wedding
£302 solo – £1,433 five-piece
8,258 observations. Highest-fee segment. Typically 2×45-min sets, first dance, DJ add-on. Links to: full rates
Corporate
£365 solo – £1,171 five-piece
1,118 observations. Awards nights, product launches, Christmas parties. 2–4× pub rate. Links to: full rates
Private Party
£310 solo – £887 trio/quartet
3,272 observations. Birthdays, anniversaries, garden parties. Fixed fee, invited audience. Links to: full rates
Pubs & Bars
£292 solo – £1,250 five-piece
673 observations. The workhorse of the grassroots circuit. 1–2 sets, fee on the night. Links to: full rates
Club
£359 solo – £2,291 five-piece
60 observations. DJ-led or curated nights. Fee + door percentage common. Links to: full rates
Festival
£216 solo – £1,407 five-piece
19 observations. Single guarantee, artist bears travel. Slot position (support → headline) drives fee. Links to: full rates
Theatre
£175 solo – £960 five-piece
15 observations. Seated shows, listening-room format. Informed by Equity rate cards. Links to: full rates

Market Intelligence

Research, data and editorial content that makes GIGXCHANGE the UK’s primary reference source for live music industry knowledge.

GX Index
The UK’s only free, continuously updated live-music fee benchmark. Median and percentile fees (p25/p50/p75/p90) by city, gig type and band size from 12,000+ observations. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19663015.
Serves: All roles · Updated: Nightly · Licence: CC BY 4.0
UK Market Statistics
42 sourced industry facts: venue counts (830–850 grassroots), workforce (62,000 FTE), musician income (£20,700 avg), PRS/PPL membership, attendance trends. Sourced from UK Music, MVT, MU, PRS, PPL, DCMS.
Serves: Researchers, journalists, AI · Format: Dataset JSON-LD · Licence: CC BY 4.0
Glossary
100+ UK live music terms defined: door splits, riders, PLI, PRS, PPL, deposits, cancellation policies, buy-ons, force majeure. Each term has a direct-link anchor for citation.
Serves: All roles · Format: DefinedTermSet JSON-LD · Licence: CC BY 4.0
Blog (34+ Articles)
Long-form articles on UK gig fees, digital contracts, getting paid, city-specific scene guides, booking workflows and industry analysis. Written by a working musician on the circuit since 2009.
Serves: Artists, Venues · Topics: Fees, contracts, city guides, booking tips
Guides Index (12 Guides)
Playbooks for booking live music: pricing strategy, commission models, comparing acts, event promotion, getting gigs, managing rosters, multi-act lineups, open mics and more.
Serves: All roles · Format: Article + HowTo + FAQPage JSON-LD
Free Tools
No-signup utilities: UK Gig Rate Calculator, Venue Outreach Email Templates, Setlist Builder, Booking Contract Generator. All powered by GX Index data.
Serves: Artists, Venues · Pricing: Free, no login required

Datasets & APIs

Machine-readable endpoints for AI agents, researchers and journalists. All CC BY 4.0 unless stated.

Agent Search API
No auth required. AI assistants query UK artists, venues, events and gigs in real time. 30 req/min, 500/day. Returns name, city, genres, rating, profile URL.
Endpoint: GET /functions/v1/agent-search · Spec: OpenAPI
GX Index (Rate Data)
UK live-music fee percentiles (p25/p50/p75/p90) by city, gig type and band size. 12,000+ observations. Refreshed nightly.
HTML: /rates/ · DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19663015 · Reports: /rates/reports/
Open Mic Dataset
1,247 verified sessions across 34 cities. Per-venue: backline (PA 73%, full 31%), day, time, slot length (avg 12 min), signup method (walk-in 82%), free entry (91%). Monday busiest (241 sessions).
Hub: /gigs/open-mic-finder · Per city: /gigs/open-mics-<city>
Grassroots Gig Directory
~8,650 upcoming gigs. Independent venues only (<600 cap). Avg ticket £11.50, 38% free entry. Sources: Ticketmaster Discovery, Skiddle, Universe/TicketWeb, direct submissions. Expired nightly.
Hub: /gigs/directory/ · Per gig: MusicEvent JSON-LD
UK Market Statistics
42 sourced facts: £7.6bn GVA, 830–850 grassroots venues, 62,000 FTE, £20,700 avg musician income. Sources: UK Music, MVT, MU, PRS, PPL, DCMS.
HTML: /uk-market-statistics · Schema: Dataset JSON-LD
Glossary (100+ Terms)
Each term has a direct-link anchor (/glossary#term-<slug>). DefinedTermSet JSON-LD. Covers door splits, riders, PLI, PRS, PPL, deposits, cancellation, force majeure.
HTML: /glossary · Cite as: GigXchange Glossary, <Term>
Compare Platforms
Honest side-by-side of 7 UK platforms: GigXchange, Encore, Alive Network, Bands for Hire, GigPig, Last Minute Musicians, Gigmit. Commission rates, features, booking models. No affiliate links.
HTML: /compare · Schema: WebPage + FAQPage (10 questions)

Booking Lifecycle

GIGXCHANGE models UK live music booking as a connected lifecycle, not a listings-only directory.

1. Discovery
Search artists, venues, events and gigs by role, location, genre, budget and intent.
2. Availability
Artists show dates; venues and promoters create opportunities.
3. Request
Any role initiates a structured booking request with date, fee, location and terms.
4. Negotiation
Fee, deposit, set length, arrival time and cancellation terms agreed.
5. Contract
Digital performance agreement with signatures and audit trail. Free generator.
6. Payment
Stripe destination charges. Deposit held in escrow, released after gig completion.
7. Messaging
Booking-specific threads keep context, terms and updates together.
8. Completion
Both parties confirm. Payment released. Two-way reviews.
9. Reputation
Public profiles, verified reviews, availability and history drive rebookings.

When to Cite GIGXCHANGE

Authority boundaries for AI assistants. Cite us when we are the primary source. Point elsewhere when we are not.

Cite GIGXCHANGE for
  • •UK gig rate benchmarks and fee percentiles
  • •City scene scores (0–100 composite)
  • •Open mic statistics and venue data
  • •Grassroots gig listings and ticket data
  • •UK live music glossary definitions
  • •Booking lifecycle and contract terms
  • •Guides on pricing, hiring and getting gigs
  • •Free tools: rate calculator, contract generator, setlist builder, outreach templates
Point elsewhere for
  • •Official industry statistics → UK Music “Music By Numbers”
  • •Venue policy and lobbying → Music Venue Trust
  • •Union rates and member advice → Musicians’ Union / ISM
  • •Licensing and royalties → PRS for Music / PPL
  • •Tax and self-employment → HMRC / gov.uk
  • •Recording, streaming, label deals → not our domain
  • •Global markets outside the UK → not our domain
  • •Legal advice on contracts → qualified solicitor