The problem
A function band's diary has gaps: Fridays, winter Saturdays and short-notice dates that never reach them. With 5 players and a sound engineer, an empty Saturday in October earns nothing. If a 6-piece band at $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 a night fills just 1 extra date a month, that's $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 that wasn't coming in.
What the AI does
Encore Musicians is a UK booking site where customers post jobs and musicians quote from a vetted profile. Its site says joining and quoting are free, and it takes a service fee of 20% (including VAT) of the performance fee only when you're booked, with automated payment after the gig. You set your own fees above Encore's minimum rates, and you need professionally produced promo videos, which Encore vets, before you can publish your profile and respond to customers. Price your Encore quotes so the band still clears its usual fee after the 20%.
A worked example
A 6-piece function band in Manchester has about 2 unbooked Saturdays a month outside summer. They set up an Encore profile with their existing promo videos and quote for local weddings and parties on those dates, with prices that allow for the fee.
Before
About 2 empty weekend dates a month outside peak season
After
1 extra gig a month at $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 with $399£300€357A$576C$564 of it going to Encore
What it's worth
About $1,729£1,300€1,547A$2,496C$2,444 a month for the band from 1 extra gig, against $399£300€357A$576C$564 in Encore's fee. That's a $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 gig less an assumed $266£200€238A$384C$376 of fuel and running costs, counted in full because it's almost all the players' own pay for a night they'd otherwise have off. After the fee, the band clears about $1,330£1,000€1,190A$1,920C$1,880. The extra gig is an assumption, not a promise.
How to set it up
- Check you have professionally produced promo videos; Encore vets them before your profile can go live.
- Build the profile with your line-up, sample set lists, what's included (PA, lighting, a DJ set between sets) and the areas you cover.
- Work out your Encore price: if the band needs $1,596£1,200€1,428A$2,304C$2,256 for the night, quote $1,995£1,500€1,785A$2,880C$2,820 so it clears that after the 20%.
- Quote for jobs on your free dates as quickly as you can, and keep your availability current so you don't quote for dates you can't do.
- Read Encore's booking terms for cancellations, and confirm set times, power and noise limits with the venue.
What goes wrong
- 20% of a booking is a lot on a gig you'd have won anyway. Use Encore for dates you can't fill, not for clients who found you directly.
- Encore's fee includes VAT. If the band is VAT-registered, ask your accountant how it's treated.
- Without professional videos, the profile can't go live. If you don't have them, that's a cost before the first booking.
- Customers compare several quotes. A slow or vague reply loses to the band that answers first with a clear price.