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Reflecting on Venue Day 2024
Last week, co-founders we had the privilege of attending the 10th Music Venue Trust's Venue Day—a key event that brings together grassroots venues, artists, and managers to shape the future of live music. The feeling in the room was that of hope and it was mentioned repeatedly throughout the day, not just by the incredible work that the Music Venue Trust has done over the last decade but also by all of the attendees to champion and protect grassroots music venues. This also resulted in this year's Music Venue Trust contributor of the year being awarded to everyone for their amazing work.
Throughout the day we spoke to many venues, artists and managers and the need was the same from all, they needed more time. This was highlighted in one of the stand out panels of the day titled "What Do Musicians Want and Need from Grassroots Venues?" hosted by Sam Duckworth (Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly). The panellists shared their thoughts on the challenges musicians face when organising gigs and offered a fascinating, and familiar, wish: the need for more time. When Sam asked the question of “If you had a magic wand what would you do” the answer was to create a team of "Admin Gnomes" to run around and handle the logistical chaos that surrounds live events.
This struck a chord with us at Stage Portal, as these are the very challenges we have been looking to solve with our platform. Our mission is to put effective, affordable, industry specific tech in the hands of grassroots venues and artists, giving them more time, impactful insights, connect workflows and a base from which to thrive.
Sam Duckworth’s panellists expressed a desire for "Admin Gnomes" to manage everything from communicating with venues, organising backlines, and handling the behind-the-scenes logistics. Excitingly this is exactly what Stage Portal is designed to do: to streamline and automate tasks that normally take hours or even days.
Instead of endless back-and-forth emails, messages and a series of different google drives, Stage Portal centralises all communications and details in one place. Venue owners can easily manage bookings, soundchecks, and equipment lists with just a few clicks, while artists can see exactly what’s available at the venue before they even set foot on stage.
Lily Meff from The Meffs raised a critical point about the costs associated with bringing your own backline to a gig. Many artists struggle with this additional expense, especially in cities where travel is expensive and often don’t find out until it’s too late that the venue could have provided the equipment.
With Stage Portal, this problem disappears. Venues can list all available equipment—everything from drum kits to cabs—so artists know exactly what is provided ahead of time. This transparency not only saves artists time and money, but it also ensures they are better prepared, reducing stress on show day.
Another key point raised by Stina Tweeddale from Honeyblood was the need to know in advance what facilities a venue offers, such as green rooms or parking access. Artists often arrive at a venue not knowing what to expect, or even what time they can get into the venue from which can lead to frustration and unnecessary delays.
Stage Portal allows venues to highlight all the facilities they offer in their profile. Whether it’s a green room or on-site parking, artists can view these details as part of the booking request, as well as seeing get in times well in advance, helping them plan their logistics more effectively.
For venues, Stage Portal makes life much easier. Instead of manually managing bookings, equipment lists, or soundcheck times, everything is automated and organised through the platform. Venues can instantly upload their available backline, update artist performance schedules, and communicate directly with artists and their teams. This means less paperwork, fewer missed emails, and a lot more time focused on what matters: running successful, amazing events.
Artists and their managers often find themselves juggling multiple venues, each with different processes and communication methods. Stage Portal removes this headache by centralising all communication in one place. Musicians and managers can access everything they need—schedules, equipment details, green room info, and more—without endless email threads or last-minute surprises.
By automating and organising the administrative side of live events, Stage Portal helps create a more seamless relationship between artists and venues. When artists have access to all the necessary information upfront, it makes their experience at the venue better and stress-free. And when venues can easily manage and communicate all event details, it helps them become more organised and attractive to artists.
Listening to the needs of grassroots artists, managers, and venues at Music Venue Trust’s Venue Day further confirmed why we built Stage Portal in the first place. Musicians need clarity, venues need organisation, managers need both and they all need more time.
So, whether you're a venue, artist or manager looking to save time and reduce admin headaches, Stage Portal has you covered. If we didn’t get to talk to you at the event, please get in touch and we can discuss how we can help you get much needed time back.
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