Requests

Whoever is looking to organise an event can use Gigstarter to a find a musical act. By searching in the database, a booker can see your profile. If the potential booker wants to approach you, that person can do so by placing a request. An request is a completely non-binding way to find out an artist's availability, price etc.

After a first message from the booker, maintain your contact with them through the Gigstarter chat system. If all issues have been discussed and the applicant wishes to proceed with a booking, you can send a confirmation from the chat system.

In most cases, the offer request contains information about the event the booker is planning to organize. We have noticed that bookers often don't communicate all the essential information, so make sure you get all the details needed from the booker. Keep in mind questions like “How many people are coming? What is the occasion? Where will the event take place? Is the necessary equipment available on location or should you bring everything yourself?”

Be quick when communicating with the booker. If you have to check whether your band members are available, let the booker know as well. When you don't communicate with your booker, it is possible that the booker will search for another band. After you and the booker have managed to reach an agreement on a price and other details it is time to confirm the booking. You can do this by sending a confirmation.

It's hard to say how many requests you can expect to get, because there are too many factors involved. Do you have a good profile and a good balance between your price/quality? If so, our numbers indicate that you'll receive multiple gigs a year. Interested in knowing how to attain more inquiries? Check out our next question: How do I receive more requests. Gigstarter is constantly working on promoting artists to bookers. We contact bookers on all kinds of fields, from private bookers and music cafes to party locations and organisers for festivals.

There are two ways of being contacted by the booker: private messaging and open calls. The first option is available for all users of the platform, second one is only for PRO and PRO Plus users.

Private messaging is done through the red "check availability" button on each artist's profile, where the booker can make an offer request. This is a free service that we offer to provide direct and personal contact with the desired musician. Once the form with performance details is completed, the artist receives an email containing a link. By clicking on the link, you can talk through all the necessary arrangements with the booker in the chat.

Utilizing an open call feature streamlines the process of booking artists, allowing bookers to efficiently discover desired talents without the need for extensive manual searching through our database. The requests arrive at Gigstarter and the AI-based algorithm selects artists from the database according to the desired style. The selected artists can fill in their availability for the event, while the booker only sees the message of musicians who are PRO and available.

Professional Profile

A good profile contains a clear description of your act, a nice profile picture, good video and audio material, and a fair price/quality ratio. In addition, you can provide as many social media channels as possible to create a good overview for the booker. Finally, we recommend that you put your upcoming gigs in the Gigstarter Agenda, this way the future bookers know how often you perform and where they can see you. As a PRO or PRO+ member your gigs can also be highlighted in the agenda on the homepage.

Reviews

Reviews are extremely important when it comes to getting more requests. There are two crucial factors that have a significant influence on your ranking in the search engine: 1) the average grade from your reviews and 2) the time that has passed since your last review. If you wish for more people to visit your profile, this is one of the first steps to take.

Promotion

If you have a well-established profile with multiple reviews, the promotion can be started. Inform your Facebook followers that you are now available for bookings through Gigstarter and consider placing the Gigstarter Booking Button on your website. Additionally, Gigstarter frequently showcases artists on social media posts, blog articles, and Spotify playlists.

If you receive a booking via Gigstarter, you do not have to pay any commissions to Gigstarter. This means that the price you ask the booker is entirely for you. You are of course responsible for possible assignments to the tax authorities.

Do you like to boost your chances of bookings and use more of Gigstarter's services? Then consider becoming a PRO Member.