Summer Boom Expected For The Live Gigging Scene In Liverpool Pubs & Bars

Summer Boom Expected For The Live Gigging Scene In Liverpool Pubs & Bars

Summer boom expected for live gigging in Liverpool pubs and bars (Credit: The Liverpudlian/This image is an original piece of work by The Liverpudlian Team).

• 9 out of 10 hospitality venues are planning to increase their live music offering.

• More than 600 local artists have signed up to perform in the city's pubs, bars and restaurants.

• CEO of the UK's fastest growing live music marketplace makes a rallying call for hospitality venues to boost sales with live music.

With summer upon us, hospitality venues and artists are gearing up for a boom in live music across Liverpool. More than 600 artists have now signed up to perform in pubs, bars and restaurants in Liverpool via live music marketplace GigPig, helping to uncover a phenomenal range of new music across the city. 

The milestone was hit this month and data shows that soul, pop and motown acts have been the most popular genres booked in the city this year so far. The top three acts most booked in the city are DJs, bands and duos. 

The increase in artist sign-ups to GigPig comes as an industry-first report reveals the ‘seed’ music scene - musicians who gig at hospitality venues - is braced for dramatic growth in Liverpool. Nearly nine out of ten venues (87%) are planning to increase their live music offering this year, while 90% of artists expect to gig more often in hospitality venues during 2024.

Over the next few weeks, GigPig will be working directly with venues across Liverpool to showcase the variety of artists that operators can book through the platform and highlight the impact live music can have for their business.

Research shows that live music can boost sales by 33%, footfall by 36% and average spend per visit by 64%. By introducing live music, an individual pub could see their annual revenue increase by £90k, rising to £240k for bars and as much as £280k for nightclubs.

'We started to book live music through GigPig to attract customers into our venue earlier in the evenings, and have seen a significant increase in trade between 7pm-9pm because of this.' - Mark Leigh, Manager at Red Door on Berry Street in Liverpool.

GigPig is the UK’s fastest-growing live music marketplace, offering artists a free platform to find, play and get paid for gigs; and hospitality venues a streamlined way to search, book and manage entertainment in-house. Liverpool venues utilising the GigPig platform currently include Albert Schloss, Crazy Pedros, Mean Eyed Cat, BrewDog, Gravity Max, PINS, Red Door.

Michael Forster, CEO of GigPig, said: 'With the hospitality sector facing unprecedented challenges, we believe our mission to help every pub and bar maximise their potential with live music is more important than ever. Our platform has already helped hundreds of venues improve customer satisfaction, drive footfall and increase sales while giving thousands of artists an easier way to earn money gigging.'

He said: 'This is a rallying call to all Liverpool venues who want to introduce new live music and take a look at booking live entertainment in a different way, as that’s the only way to discover new talent. With more than 600 local artists signed up to our platform in Liverpool, venues now have unprecedented access to some of the best upcoming DJs, bands and musicians in the city.'

Michael added: 'Over the coming weeks, GigPig will be organising live music performances on the streets of Liverpool and in venues to celebrate the impact that gigging is having on the nightlife scene. This will include an exclusive event at Red Door for venue operators to see the music talent available through the GigPig platform.'

Mark Leigh, Manager at Red Door on Berry Street in Liverpool, said: 'We started to book live music through GigPig to attract customers into our venue earlier in the evenings, and have seen a significant increase in trade between 7pm-9pm because of this. We’re so pleased to fill our venue in what used to be a quieter time for us. Live music has the power to do this.'

He said: 'I've just booked DJs for the next six months for our Friday night slots via GigPig and this took me much less time than if I was sourcing myself. It’s a win-win for our customers, artists and the success of our business.'

Mark added: 'Liverpool has always been and always will be a musical city, so it’s fantastic to have the freedom to find and book new local artists so easily. It’s brilliant to hear that so many emerging artists from the city have signed up to GigPig and intend to gig more here this year.'

Daniela Pedro, a singer/songwriter covering funk, soul, pop and R&B, said: 'I’m planning to gig more in Liverpool hospitality venues this year and it’s fantastic that gigging artists are getting more opportunities to do so via GigPig. I’ll be part of the team of artists supporting GigPig’s event in Liverpool and hope to create even more noise about the amazing feeling that comes with gigging in your home city.'