Insights
Discover essential tips and advice from 51, the fastest-growing hospitality music marketplace and booking platform.
Our blog offers valuable insights to help you navigate the music industry. So whether you are an artist or venue, make the most of your musical journey with 51.
Signing up for 51 is quick and easy! Simply download the 51 app, then follow these steps:
- Click Sign Up and choose Artist as your account type.
- Enter your email address and create a password
- Fill in your basic details, including your artist or band name.
- Complete your profile with genres and styles, videos of your performances, you can set a minimum fee and any additional info that will help venue bookers to get an idea of what you can bring to their space.
No! 51 is and always will be free to artists. 51 has no hidden fees or charges for artists signing up, browsing gigs, or making bookings.
Yes! You can have as many artist profiles as you like on one log in — perfect if you're a soloist and also part of a band. You can find all your bookings in one place through 51.
Your artist profile with 51 is your chance to stand out to venues, so make sure to include:
- A high-quality profile picture (solo or band image).
- A short bio describing your music style and experience.
- Genres and performance type (solo, duo, band, DJ, country, rock, indie, pop, etc.).
- Your standard setlist or examples of songs you perform.
- Your location and availability for gigs.
- Your minimum fee and any special requirements (e.g. sound setup, equipment needs).
When you are on the 51 app, simply head to the “enquiries” section to see suitable gig offers for you.
Yes! Venues will choose the type of artists and the genres they are looking for from a performer, then send the gig offer to all the artists who match this criteria. This ensures you only see relevant gig opportunities.
Yes! You are in complete control over your fees, and any fee under this will be in a separate section of your app. We would never hide a gig offer from you.
Each venue sets payment terms which are displayed on the gig info and also on the invoice which is automatically generated after each gig.
Many of the venues that 51 works with use our 14 day artist payment option, where once they have signed off a gig, the artists will automatically be paid 14 days after the venue has signed off the invoice.
When it comes to increasing your chances of getting booked for gigs, we recommend having a complete profile that stands out, and creating profiles for each line up.
When you receive a gig offer, you can let the venue know of your availability by selecting the thumbs up icon if you are available, or the reject button if you aren’t. It’s worth noting that if you are unavailable for a gig and reject the booking, your rating will not be affected.
Every venue has a different booking process. With this in mind, if your availability changes you can communicate this by changing your thumbs up reaction on a gig offer to thumbs down if it’s not confirmed.
We understand that sometimes cancellations are unavoidable. In the event where you need to cancel a booking, you will need to either contact the venue directly, or email artists@gigpig.uk where our team can support.
We understand that life happens and sometimes you will need to cancel a booking in circumstances out of your control, please bear in mind that your rating will be impacted by cancellations, so we recommend keeping these to a minimum.
It’s also worth mentioning that last-minute cancellations could affect future bookings with your chosen venue(s). If you’re experiencing an emergency, reach out to 51 support for assistance.
51 makes invoicing easy. After you’ve completed a gig, an invoice is automatically generated based on the agreed fee. Here’s how it works: Need more advice on payments? Get in touch with the 51 team.
- 51 creates your invoice with all the necessary details, including payment terms set by the venue.
- You can review and download the invoice once the venue has signed it off.
- The venue processes the payment according to their specified payment terms.
If you need to track payments or follow up on a delayed payment, you can do so directly through 51.
If a venue cancels a gig at short notice, 51 will notify you immediately.
If you experience repeated cancellations or issues with a venue, you can report it through 51, and our dedicated team will review the situation. If a gig is cancelled within 24 hours, 51 recommends that the venue pays half of the gig fee.
We’re here to support you and help ensure fairness for all artists on the platform. If you need to speak to a member of our team, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Once you’ve set up your artist profile, you’ll be visible to a wide range of venues across the UK. If your profile matches the criteria of a gig, they will send you a gig offer. You will then receive a notification on the 51 app, to notify you of this offer. We recommend turning on your app notifications so you never miss an exciting gig offer.
Once you have received your gig offer, you can notify a venue that you are available by selecting the thumbs up icon. If you’re unable to accept the offer due to lack of availability, you simply select the reject button.
Venues will review responses from artists and choose the artist, band or musician that is the right fit for them.
After you have received and accepted a gig offer from a venue, we will notify you of this booking via the 51 app. All of your booking confirmation details will be in the app - all that’s left for you to do is perform.
Venues will send gigs out for the type of artist, DJ or musician they are looking for, and will contact you if you match their criteria. If you have any queries regarding a gig, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the 51 team.
When a gig enquiry is made from a venue, you’ll receive this information via a notification on the 51 app.
Yes, venues will get in touch if they wish to book you, or to discuss a booking in more detail.
Yes - if a venue reaches out with any queries within 48 hours, you will be notified on the 51 app.
Gigging across multiple venues can make for a busy lifestyle, and you may forget to log into your 51 app every day. Don’t worry, we’ll send you a daily reminder to log into your account and respond to any unanswered enquiries.
Similar to receiving gig enquiries from venues on the 51 app, you’ll receive a notification on the app. With this in mind, we recommend checking the 51 app regularly throughout the day.
To accept a gig offer from a venue, simply log in to the 51 app, open up the offer and click the thumbs up if you’d like to accept.
If you’re unable to accept a gig offer due to a clash in your schedule, simply open up the offer in the 51 app and select reject.
Yes, you will receive a reminder of your upcoming gigs 48 hours in advance. You will be notified via the 51 app. We recommend that you have your app notifications turned on so that you never miss a notification from us.
When you are booked by a venue, we will send you the booking confirmation for your gig via the 51 app.
Any issues should be resolved between you and the venue where possible, but do bring this to our attention so that we can offer advice and support.