02 — The report
The latest issue is live
Flip through all 11 pages below, or download the PDF.
The latest issue is live
Flip through all 11 pages below, or download the PDF.
The GigXchange Index · Issue 01
UK live music rates — April 2026
What gigs actually pay across the UK this month — by city, gig type and band size.
2,381Data points
14UK cities
345Rates
Last updated: 20 April 2026
01 — At a glance
5 panelsData points2,381
2,381 weighted observations — nine sources, quality-firewalled, rebuilt nightly. Where these numbers come from — the pipeline in plain English
2,381 weighted observations in this issue
Nine source classes, each with a published ceiling on how much of a cell it can own
The ceilings sum to 1.00 — no single source can carry a figure on its own
A quality firewall before any row can land — a re-sighted listing never counts twice
A regional layer fills thin cells; real data always wins
Rebuilt nightly at 05:00 UTC, with the whole method published in the open
| Full methodology | |
| UK market statistics | |
| Find out more | |
| Full methodology |
UK cities14
14 UK cities with enough data to publish. Which cities this issue can publish a rate for, and why
14 cities publish the same 23-cell grid
A cell publishes once it clears the sample floor, and every figure carries its n
Thin cells fall back to region, then the UK baseline
Every cell says which level actually answered it
Coverage grows wherever artists and venues sign up
City league tables run right through the report
| All UK cities | |
| Read the report | |
| Find out more | |
| Browse city directories |
Rates published345
345 rate cells published — free to cite, quote and redistribute. How many rate cells published — and how to reuse every one of them
345 rate cells published this issue
Each cell is one place × gig type × band size
Four percentiles per cell — p25/p50/p75/p90, never an average
All artist take-home, agency commission normalised out
Raw CSV behind every figure, DOI-registered on Zenodo, mirrored on Hugging Face and Kaggle
CC BY 4.0 — cite it, quote it, redistribute it, even commercially
| Download CSV | |
| Zenodo DOI | |
| Hugging Face | |
| Find out more | |
| Use the calculator |
The report11 pp
April 2026 — free, 11 pages, CC BY 4.0. Read the April 2026 issue in-browser, or take the PDF away
11 pages — city league tables, methodology notes and honest limits
Built from 2,381 weighted observations across 14 UK cities
Read in-browser, page by page, or download the PDF
A fresh issue in the third week of every month
Every back issue kept online and citable — plus the annual Yearbook and earnings specials
Free to read, free to cite, no signup, no paywall
| Read the report | |
| All reports | |
| Next issue | |
| Find out more | |
| Download PDF |
This month's headline£1,340
The figure that defines this issue. The headline medians from this issue, and what moved them
Wedding, corporate, pub and city-level medians
Artist take-home — agency commission normalised out
Percentiles p25/p50/p75/p90, never a flat average
Compared issue-on-issue so you can see the trend
Benchmark your own quote against it
Every figure free to cite under CC BY 4.0
| Key figures | |
| Issue FAQ | |
| Find out more | |
| Use the calculator |
The GigXchange Index · Issue 01 · April 2026
UK live music rates — April 2026
What gigs actually pay across the UK this month — by city, gig type and band size.
GX Index — April 2026
Other issues
Free report — 11 pages, CC BY 4.0
Last updated: 20 April 2026
Page 1 of 11
Cite this report
GigXchange (2026). GigXchange Index — April 2026. Issue 01. Available at: gigxchange.app/rates/reports/april-2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
03 — Cite this report
How to cite it
Cite this report
GigXchange (2026). GigXchange Index — April 2026. Issue 01. Available at: gigxchange.app/rates/reports/april-2026. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19663015 · PDF · CSV · Hugging Face · Kaggle
04 — The context
What UK live music actually pays in 2026
A free, monthly benchmark built from 2,381 real data points across 14 UK cities — for bands pricing gigs, venues setting budgets, agents benchmarking rate cards, and couples sanity-checking wedding quotes.
| AudienceWho the Index is forWorking musicians pricing themselves against the market. Venues and promoters budgeting realistic offers. Agents checking rate cards against national medians. Couples and event planners sanity-checking quotes. Journalists and researchers needing citable UK live-music data. |
| CoverageWhat this issue coversFees for seven gig types — wedding, corporate, private party, festival, ticketed club, theatre/pit and pub & bar — across fourteen UK cities and four band sizes. Every figure is a median with 25th–75th percentile ranges. |
| MethodologyWhy the Index is differentBuilt from 2,381 real observations weighted across nine sources: confirmed bookings, artist submissions, MU/Equity minimums, industry rate cards, venue budgets and public listings. Confirmed bookings carry the heaviest weight (1.00); asking-prices the lightest (0.16). |
05 — Key figures
This month's key figures
The headline numbers from the April 2026 issue — wedding, corporate, pub and city-level medians drawn from 2,381 weighted observations.
£1,3403–4 piece median
£1,779Edinburgh — top
£487Pubs — lowest
£839Corporate median
£367Solo median
£1,098Private party median
| Wedding band fees, UK nationalThe typical UK fee for a 3–4 piece wedding band in April 2026 is £1,340. Most bookings fall between £995 and £1,757. | |
| Top city: EdinburghEdinburgh leads at £1,779, with Glasgow second at £1,678. Cardiff (£1,480), Brighton (£1,424) and Leeds (£1,366) complete the top five. | |
| Pub & bar gigsThe lowest-paying gig type in the Index. A 3–4 piece pub gig typically pays £487, with most fees between £433 and £649. | |
| Corporate eventsCorporate bookings pay £839 for a 3–4 piece — about 37% below the wedding median. Shorter sets and fewer special requests explain the gap. | |
| Solo wedding actsA solo wedding singer or DJ charges a UK median of £367. Browse artist profiles to compare rates and hear demos. | |
| Private partiesPrivate party bookings pay £1,098 for a 3–4 piece — the second highest gig type after weddings. Festivals pay £757 and theatre/pit work £631. |
06 — Questions9 answersApril 2026 Index FAQ
The April 2026 UK median for a 3–4 piece wedding band is £1,340. The middle 50% of bookings fall between £995 and £1,757, with the top end reaching £2,241. Use the live rate calculator for a personalised quote by city and band size.
The UK median for a solo wedding act in April 2026 is £367, with most bookings between £305 and £560. The top end reaches £650. Browse artist profiles to compare rates and listen to demos.
The UK median for a 5+ piece wedding band is £2,000, with most bookings between £1,595 and £2,570. Each extra musician typically adds £600–£700 to the fee. See our guide to live band pricing for a full breakdown.
The UK median for a 3–4 piece pub or bar gig is £487, with most fees between £433 and £649. Rates vary by city — check the Gig Directory for live listings near you.
Corporate events typically pay £839 for a 3–4 piece in April 2026. Private parties pay £1,098, festivals £757, and theatre/pit work £631. The rate calculator breaks this down by city and band size.
Nine sources, weighted by trust: confirmed GigXchange bookings (1.00), artist-confirmed post-event submissions (0.85), Musicians’ Union and Equity recommended rates (0.60), industry rate cards (0.48), venue gig budgets (0.25), anonymous submissions (0.16) and artist profile asking rates (0.16). The April 2026 issue is built from 2,381 active observations.
Yes — the report, the live calculator and the underlying data are all free under CC BY 4.0. Raw data is mirrored on Hugging Face, Zenodo and Kaggle.
The underlying figures rebuild every night at 05:00 UTC. Industry rate cards rescan weekly on Mondays. A full monthly report is published the third week of every month.
07 — Read next
7 reportsEvery report, free to cite
| GX Index — May 2026Next issue · 11 pages · PDF | |
| GIGXCHANGE Index — September 20266 Oct 2026 · Index · 11 pages · PDF | |
| GIGXCHANGE Index — August 20263 Sept 2026 · Index · 11 pages · PDF | |
| State of the Circuit 20266 Aug 2026 · Annual · 11 pages · PDF | |
| GIGXCHANGE Index — July 202631 Jul 2026 · Index · 11 pages · PDF | |
| GIGXCHANGE Index — June 20264 Jul 2026 · Index · 11 pages · PDF | |
| UK Musician Earnings 202623 Apr 2026 · Special · 11 pages · PDF | |
| Browse all reports & datasets |
08 — Keep exploring
More from the GX Index
Live dataBenchmark your fee against the live UK rate index, refreshed nightly.
| Live rate calculator |
Add your real gig fees to the UK Gig Pay Survey — anonymous, ~60 seconds, and every entry sharpens the next GX Index.
| Take the survey |
| UK market statistics | |
| Gig directory |
Help us make the next issue better
Every gig you've done is a data point we need. Submit three rates anonymously and you unlock every figure for 30 days.
What UK live music actually pays in 2026
A free, monthly benchmark built from 2,381 real data points across 14 UK cities — for bands pricing gigs, venues setting budgets, agents benchmarking rate cards, and couples sanity-checking wedding quotes.
Audience
Who the Index is for
Working musicians pricing themselves against the market. Venues and promoters budgeting realistic offers. Agents checking rate cards against national medians. Couples and event planners sanity-checking quotes. Journalists and researchers needing citable UK live-music data.
Coverage
What this issue covers
Fees for seven gig types — wedding, corporate, private party, festival, ticketed club, theatre/pit and pub & bar — across fourteen UK cities and four band sizes. Every figure is a median with 25th–75th percentile ranges.
Methodology
Why the Index is different
Built from 2,381 real observations weighted across nine sources: confirmed bookings, artist submissions, MU/Equity minimums, industry rate cards, venue budgets and public listings. Confirmed bookings carry the heaviest weight (1.00); asking-prices the lightest (0.16).
This month's key figures
The headline numbers from the April 2026 issue — wedding, corporate, pub and city-level medians drawn from 2,381 weighted observations.
Wedding band fees, UK national
The typical UK fee for a 3–4 piece wedding band in April 2026 is £1,340. Most bookings fall between £995 and £1,757.
£1,340
3–4 piece median
Top city: Edinburgh
Edinburgh leads at £1,779, with Glasgow second at £1,678. Cardiff (£1,480), Brighton (£1,424) and Leeds (£1,366) complete the top five.
£1,779
Edinburgh — top
Pub & bar gigs
The lowest-paying gig type in the Index. A 3–4 piece pub gig typically pays £487, with most fees between £433 and £649.
£487
Pubs — lowest
Corporate events
Corporate bookings pay £839 for a 3–4 piece — about 37% below the wedding median. Shorter sets and fewer special requests explain the gap.
£839
Corporate median
Solo wedding acts
A solo wedding singer or DJ charges a UK median of £367. Browse artist profiles to compare rates and hear demos.
£367
Solo median
Private parties
Private party bookings pay £1,098 for a 3–4 piece — the second highest gig type after weddings. Festivals pay £757 and theatre/pit work £631.
£1,098
Private party median
April 2026 Index FAQ
Everything artists, venues and event planners ask about UK gig fees in April 2026 — answered with real data from 2,381 observations across 14 cities.
The April 2026 UK median for a 3–4 piece wedding band is £1,340. The middle 50% of bookings fall between £995 and £1,757, with the top end reaching £2,241. Use the live rate calculator for a personalised quote by city and band size.
The UK median for a solo wedding act in April 2026 is £367, with most bookings between £305 and £560. The top end reaches £650. Browse artist profiles to compare rates and listen to demos.
The UK median for a 5+ piece wedding band is £2,000, with most bookings between £1,595 and £2,570. Each extra musician typically adds £600–£700 to the fee. See our guide to live band pricing for a full breakdown.
The UK median for a 3–4 piece pub or bar gig is £487, with most fees between £433 and £649. Rates vary by city — check the Gig Directory for live listings near you.
Corporate events typically pay £839 for a 3–4 piece in April 2026. Private parties pay £1,098, festivals £757, and theatre/pit work £631. The rate calculator breaks this down by city and band size.
Nine sources, weighted by trust: confirmed GigXchange bookings (1.00), artist-confirmed post-event submissions (0.85), Musicians’ Union and Equity recommended rates (0.60), industry rate cards (0.48), venue gig budgets (0.25), anonymous submissions (0.16) and artist profile asking rates (0.16). The April 2026 issue is built from 2,381 active observations.
Yes — the report, the live calculator and the underlying data are all free under CC BY 4.0. Raw data is mirrored on Hugging Face, Zenodo and Kaggle.
The underlying figures rebuild every night at 05:00 UTC. Industry rate cards rescan weekly on Mondays. A full monthly report is published the third week of every month.
Help us make the next issue better
Every gig you've done is a data point we need. Submit three rates anonymously and you unlock every figure for 30 days.