AirBnB for Bands and DJs

What Gigstarter is about

Gigstarter.nl is an online marketplace for live music. Musicians - or their agents - create and manage their own profile online. Booking a band, DJ or solo-artist is facilitated by neat search functionality and an extensive booking and chat-system, in fact quite similar to AirBnb's. Anyone looking for an artist can get in direct contact when they find someone they like. Because we believe live music should be transparent and affordable, no commissions are charged on bookings. This makes Gigstarter unique, and this is a departure from the AirBnB business model, which charges a fee per booking.

In 2015 over 1100 artists from the Netherlands and Belgium have joined our community. Every possible musical genre is represented, meaning that the platform offers anything from classical orchestras to metal bands. Online interaction has proven to work; we currently facilitate over 100 bookings each month and have many returning customers. Artists got booked for events that vary from small unplugged sessions to big gigs in venues like Paradiso (which is one of the most prominent venues in Amsterdam).

On the 'back-end' of Gigstarter we work to create a single platform for artists to manage themselves more efficiently. We are continually integrating new managerial tools for purposes such as scheduling, promotion and administration. In the end, we make the different aspects of managing a band easier.

Money, money, money

By now, you must be wondering: "if booking through Gigstarter is free, how do they earn money". The truth is that some of the tools and functions mentioned above are only accessible by PRO-arists. Any member can become a PRO-artist by taking on a subscription that costs 10 euros (11 dollars) a month. Becoming a PRO-artist is lucrative, because it turns out PRO-artists get booked roughly 7 times more often than free users.

The innovation of Gigstarter lies in the autonomy of the system, where content is generated by musicians, communication with bookers is free and validated reviews are provided through bookings. Our goal? Gigstarter as a hub when it comes to arranging gigs.

So, Gigstarter is more or less the AirBnB for bands and DJs. Founded in 2012 in the Netherlands, Gigstarter quickly has grown to become to largest artist network of Holland. We are going to expand internationally. Do you feel that Gigstarter should move to your country next? Then reach out to us at info@gigstarter.nl.