Stagehand
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCalgary, Canada
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
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.
Stagehand firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Stagehand industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Stagehand is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Calgary
- HQ country
- Canada
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Stagehand business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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
Stagehand product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Stagehand
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Stagehand technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature7 records
Stagehand partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- StripecoreThird-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.
- PayPalcoreAlternative 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
Stagehand competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad 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
Stagehand social profiles
Digital presenceStagehand financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Stagehand leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Stagehand funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Stagehand M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Stagehand
What does Stagehand do?
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.
Is Stagehand a public or private company?
Stagehand is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Stagehand founded?
Stagehand was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Stagehand based?
Stagehand is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, in the North America region.
How does Stagehand make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Platform Transaction Fees are the primary driver. The others are artist Tipping.
Who are Stagehand's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Songkick, Bandsintown, Thumbtack and Eventbrite. Direct peers are GigSalad, The Bash (formerly GigMasters), Encore Musicians, Sofar Sounds and Gigmit. Indie on the Move is listed as an emerging player.
Does Stagehand have an API?
No public API is recorded for Stagehand.
What industry is Stagehand in?
Stagehand's product category is Live Music Booking Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAHAA, Live Music Booking (Bands, Soloists, DJs), with a secondary code of MPAGAAAF, Artist Booking, Talent Buying & Agency Services. Its NAICS code is 7114 and its SIC code is 7900.