Stagehand

What Stagehand does

Stagehand, operated by Lumin Arts Inc., is a Calgary, Alberta-based web SaaS platform founded in 2015 that connects performing artists with venues for live music booking, contracting, scheduling, payment, and event promotion. The product is a self-service, single-tenant web application that serves three named user types — Artists (musicians and performers seeking gigs), Music Venues (cafes, breweries, music halls), and Public Spaces / Enterprise Venues (airports, malls, business improvement areas, office towers) — with the public-space segment positioned as a differentiated wedge beyond traditional booking incumbents.

The platform's technical surface includes profile management for artists and venues, a publicly searchable directory (~3,512 artists indexed), an online contracting module, automated scheduling that dynamically removes booked dates from the calendar, a partner-artist access-management system, an embeddable Venue Events Widget for venue websites, payment processing via Stripe and PayPal, public tipping, and a data-collection layer capturing attendance, till receipts, and artist-fit metadata per show. The platform runs on Amazon S3-hosted assets (luminlife-production-us-west-2-assets) and powers its support portal through Freshdesk.

Monetization is a transaction-fee model on platform payments and tips, per Terms of Service language referencing fees "detailed on the applicable payment page or the invoice issued by us"; specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. Distribution is product-led growth via direct sign-up on stagehand.app with no observable sales motion; marketing is organic through website content and social channels (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram). The company is small (1–10 employees), privately held and founder-led, acknowledges financial support from FACTOR, the Government of Canada, and Canada's private radio broadcasters, and operates primarily across Western Canada.

Name

Stagehand

Legal name

Lumin Arts Inc.

Website

https://stagehand.app

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stagehand is a Calgary-based web platform that connects performing artists with music venues and public spaces for live music booking, scheduling, contracting, and payments, serving artists, traditional venues, and enterprise venues like airports across Western Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Booking Platform

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Live Music Booking (Bands, Soloists, DJs) (HSACAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Artist Booking, Talent Buying & Agency Services (MPAGAAAF), Entertainment Booking & Speaker/Talent Management (HSACAAAI)

Keywords

• Live music booking
• Artist booking platform
• Venue management software
• Event scheduling platform
• Live event promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Platform Transaction Fees: Artists and Venues may be subject to certain fees for using the platform services. The Terms of Service indicates fees are detailed on applicable payment pages or invoices. Stripe and PayPal are used for payment processing.
2. Artist Tipping: Platform enables public to send tips to artists during performances. Transaction fees are charged for tips.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stagehand is a web-based SaaS platform operated by Lumin Arts Inc. that connects artists with venues to book and promote live music performances. It provides profile management for artists and venues, online contracting, automated scheduling, payment processing via Stripe and PayPal, an embeddable venue events widget, and performance data collection. The platform serves traditional music venues (cafes, breweries, music halls) as well as non-traditional venues such as airports, malls, downtown business improvement areas, and street performance programs.

Product overview

Stagehand is a single unified web-based platform that connects Artists with Venues and Public Spaces to book and promote live events. The core Stagehand Platform provides profile management for artists and venues, an online contracting system, event promotion, payment processing, and tipping functionality. Add-on features include the Venue Events Widget for automatic website integration and the Stagehand Support Center for customer assistance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stagehand Platform A web-based platform operated by Lumin Arts Inc. that connects artists with venues (including non-traditional public spaces such as airports, malls, and downtown business improvement areas) to book and promote live music performances. Provides profile management, online contracting, automated scheduling, event promotion, and payment processing through Stripe and PayPal for individual performers, SMB music venues, and enterprise venue operators.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduces venue booking time from 5 hours to 20 minutes
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party payment processing platform integrated into Stagehand for handling payments. Users may use Stripe for payment through the platform, governed by Stripe's own terms of use.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationAlternative third-party payment processing platform available for Stagehand users. Governed by PayPal's own terms of use.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Songkick: Songkick is an established concert discovery and ticketing platform focused on live music fans. While not a direct booking marketplace for venues, it operates in the live music ecosystem and is much larger, providing indirect competition for artist and venue mindshare.
• Bandsintown: Bandsintown is a large concert discovery platform used by artists to reach fans and announce shows. It overlaps with Stagehand in serving performing artists but focuses on fan-side concert discovery rather than venue booking infrastructure.
• Thumbtack: Thumbtack is a large North American services marketplace that includes event entertainment booking. It is a broad incumbent whose entertainment vertical competes with Stagehand for venue and event-organizer bookings.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a leading event ticketing and management platform that venues and promoters use to organize live music events. It is not a direct booking marketplace but operates in the same live music ecosystem where Stagehand's venues and artists meet.

Direct peers

• GigSalad: GigSalad is a marketplace connecting event hosts with entertainers including musicians, bands, and DJs. It overlaps directly with Stagehand's marketplace model, though it extends into broader event entertainment categories.
• The Bash (formerly GigMasters): The Bash is a North American marketplace where users book live entertainment - bands, DJs, and performers - for events. It competes head-to-head with Stagehand on the live music booking use case, though at a broader North American scale.
• Encore Musicians: Encore Musicians is a UK-based platform that lets event bookers search for and hire live musicians and bands for events. It mirrors Stagehand's core artist-venue matchmaking and contracting flow for the grassroots performance market.
• Sofar Sounds: Sofar Sounds curates intimate live music performances in non-traditional venues (living rooms, shops, offices) in cities worldwide. It shares Stagehand's thesis that any space can be a live music venue and serves a similar grassroots artist ecosystem.
• Gigmit: Gigmit is a European online marketplace that connects live musicians with venues and event organizers for booking gigs. It is the closest international analog to Stagehand's artist-venue booking model, though it operates primarily in Germany and surrounding markets.

Emerging players

• Indie on the Move: Indie on the Move is a resource and booking platform aimed at independent musicians seeking paid gigs. It shares Stagehand's grassroots artist audience and touring-focused booking use case but is positioned more as a content/community resource than a transactional marketplace.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Stagehandlive
• Facebookfacebook.com/stagehandlive
• Instagraminstagram.com/stagehandlive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stagehand