Barney Monk
Barney Monk is a Cleveland-based event staffing and payroll services firm serving the live entertainment industry. Using 36 offices across the U.S. and Canada, it deploys 60,000+ daily workers from a 170,000+ labor pool to concerts, trade shows, conventions, and sporting events as an Employer of Record.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1998
- HeadquartersCleveland, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Barney Monk does
Barney Monk is an event staffing and payroll services firm headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, founded in 1998. The company operates as an Employer of Record (EOR) for the live entertainment industry, managing W-2 workforce deployment for concerts, trade shows, conventions, sporting events, and corporate events. From a labor pool of more than 170,000 workers, Barney Monk employs 60,000+ individuals on a daily basis across 36 offices in the United States and Canada, providing stagehands, riggers, AV technicians, conversion crews, and security personnel to tours and venues nationwide.
The firm's go-to-market is built on a payroll-markup model: clients receive turnkey labor including hiring, onboarding, payroll, tax withholding, workers' compensation, benefits, and union compliance, and Barney Monk earns a percentage fee on wages processed. Underlying technology is centered on Minutemen's proprietary payroll and HR platform (used following the 2022 merger), supplemented by OnTempWorks and Avionte for Canadian operations. The company maintains CBA signatory status with IATSE and holds ETCP, SPRAT, and ESA certifications that are required for specialized rigging, audio, and stage work on professional tours and arena events.
Barney Monk's customer base is concentrated in marquee entertainment acts and recurring venue relationships. Service clients include Beyoncé, Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, and other top-tier touring acts, alongside venues such as Ford Field, Progressive Field, The Gorge, and the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. The company holds an official partnership with Live Nation, one of the world's largest live entertainment promoters, and is a member of the broader Program Productions family alongside complementary entities XLTMS, ProCrewz, and PPI. Leadership includes Jay Lucarelli (CEO), Patrick Duffy (President), and Curt Watson (Operations Manager). The firm is privately held and does not disclose revenue or accept venture capital.
Barney Monk firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Barney Monk
- Legal name
- Barney Monk
- Website
- https://barneymonk.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1998
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Barney Monk is a Cleveland-based event staffing and payroll services firm serving the live entertainment industry. Using 36 offices across the U.S. and Canada, it deploys 60,000+ daily workers from a 170,000+ labor pool to concerts, trade shows, conventions, and sporting events as an Employer of Record.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Barney Monk industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Event Staffing & Payroll Services
- NAICS
- Other Performing Arts Companies (71119)
- SIC
- Services-Employment Agencies (7361)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Crew & Labor Services (Production Staff, Unions, Payroll) (MPADAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Event Technical Production Management & Crew (MPAGAKAH), Event/Commercial Setup Labor (Trade Shows, Pop-Ups, Staging) (HSAKAMAJ)
Keywords
Where Barney Monk is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cleveland
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Barney Monk business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Employer of Record (EOR) Payroll Services: As an Employer of Record, Barney Monk employs event staff and handles all payroll administration including tax withholding, benefits submission, workers' compensation, and pension management. Revenue generated through payroll processing fees and employer-of-record service charges.
- Event Staffing Services: Provides skilled and unskilled labor for live events including concerts, sporting events, trade shows, and conferences. Revenue generated through staffing service fees based on number of workers deployed and duration of assignments.
- Payroll Administration: Comprehensive payroll management including timesheet collection, processing, tax filing and remittance, benefits submission, workers' compensation insurance, pension management, and online document management.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | — | Quote-based pricing tailored to event size, staffing needs, and geographic coverage. No standard pricing tiers publicly available. |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Barney Monk product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Barney Monk is an Employer of Record for the live entertainment industry, providing skilled and unskilled event labor (stagehands, riggers, audiovisual technicians, carpenters, electricians, forklift/boom operators) for concerts, sporting events, trade shows, and conferences across 36 offices in the U.S. and Canada. It also administers the full payroll lifecycle for those deployed workers, including timesheet collection, tax withholding and filing, benefits submission, workers' compensation insurance, and pension management, drawing on a labor pool of 170,000+ workers and capacity to employ 60,000+ people daily.
Product overview
Barney Monk offers a unified Employer of Record (EOR) platform for the live entertainment industry, combining two integrated service modules: Event Staffing Services and Event Payroll Services. Event Staffing Services provides skilled and unskilled labor for venues, production companies, and event organizers across concerts, sporting events, trade shows, conferences, and corporate/private events. Event Payroll Services manages all aspects of payroll administration for event staff, from timesheet collection to fund disbursement. These services operate together as a comprehensive end-to-end staffing and payroll solution backed by Minutemen Workforce Solutions infrastructure.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Event Staffing Services Professional staffing solutions for live events including concerts, sporting events, trade shows, conferences, and corporate events. Provides skilled and unskilled labor positions such as stagehands, riggers, audiovisual technicians, forklift operators, carpenters, and electricians for venues, production companies, and event organizers across the U.S. and Canada.
- Event Payroll Services Comprehensive payroll management solutions for event staff, including payroll processing, federal/state/local tax withholding, on-time tax filing and remittance, benefits submission and reporting, workers' compensation insurance, pension management, and online document management. Functions as the Employer of Record for temporary event workers deployed through Barney Monk's staffing operations.
Quantifiable outcome
- Employs more than 60,000 people daily
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Barney Monk
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Barney Monk technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Barney Monk partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- Minutemen StaffingcoreIn 2022, Patrick Duffy and Jay Lucarelli (CEO of Minutemen) merged Barney Monk with Minutemen. This merger combined Patrick's entertainment industry expertise and relationships with Minutemen's powerful payroll and HR platform and labor pool of 170,000 workers, creating one of the largest providers to the live concert, live event, convention, and trade show industries.
- Live NationflagshipOfficial Partner of Live Nation, providing reliable staffing solutions for Live Nation events, venues, and productions across North America. Live Nation is a major force in live entertainment, owning and operating venues and promoting concerts and events.
- Program ProductionscoreBarney Monk is a member of Program Productions' Family of Companies. Program Productions is a major provider of event staffing solutions for the live entertainment industry.
- Armstrong HallminorPartner company within the Program Productions family of companies providing event production services.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Barney Monk competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Freeman: Freeman is one of the largest event staffing and experience providers in North America, supplying crew, installation labor, and on-site support for trade shows, conventions, and corporate events — a closely overlapping customer base and service model to Barney Monk's event staffing business.
- PRG (Production Resource Group): PRG is a leading provider of production technology, crew, and event services for concerts, tours, and live broadcasts. While more equipment-focused, it competes for the same production-company and venue labor budgets that Barney Monk staffs.
- On Location Experiences: On Location Experiences provides premium-event staffing, hospitality, and production support for major sporting events (Super Bowl, NCAA Final Four, etc.). It shares the same customer segment of large-scale, high-skill event labor deployments as Barney Monk.
- GES (Global Experience Specialists): GES provides event labor, exhibit services, and on-site staffing for trade shows and conventions across North America. Like Barney Monk, it focuses on temporary, high-volume event labor and serves venue and organizer customers with similar fulfillment dynamics.
- Program Productions: Program Productions is the parent family of companies within which Barney Monk operates, providing event staffing solutions for the live entertainment industry. It is a direct peer in event staffing and shares overlapping venue and tour customers.
- Minutemen Workforce Solutions: Minutemen is Barney Monk's parent company and the operator of the shared HR/payroll platform and 170,000-worker labor pool. It is also a direct EOR/staffing peer operating in adjacent verticals and providing the infrastructure behind Barney Monk's service.
Broad incumbents
- PeopleReady (TrueBlue): TrueBlue's PeopleReady is a major generalist staffing firm with deep event, hospitality, and convention staffing offerings. It overlaps with Barney Monk's trade-show and convention labor business but operates as a broad-incumbent across many verticals.
- Live Nation Entertainment: Live Nation is Barney Monk's flagship strategic partner and a major promoter/venue operator in live entertainment. While primarily a customer, its scale and ownership of venues makes it a broad incumbent that could in-source staffing over time.
- ManpowerGroup: ManpowerGroup is a global staffing and workforce-solutions major with event and entertainment-adjacent offerings. As a broad incumbent, it could compete for marquee event contracts and represents the type of scale competitor Barney Monk may face.
- Adecco: Adecco is one of the world's largest staffing firms with event, hospitality, and convention labor offerings. As a broad incumbent, it competes for event labor RFPs and possesses the scale to undercut specialty staffing pricing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Barney Monk social profiles
Digital presenceBarney Monk financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Barney Monk leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Barney Monk funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Barney Monk 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 Barney Monk
What does Barney Monk do?
Barney Monk is an Employer of Record for the live entertainment industry, providing skilled and unskilled event labor (stagehands, riggers, audiovisual technicians, carpenters, electricians, forklift/boom operators) for concerts, sporting events, trade shows, and conferences across 36 offices in the U.S. and Canada. It also administers the full payroll lifecycle for those deployed workers, including timesheet collection, tax withholding and filing, benefits submission, workers' compensation insurance, and pension management, drawing on a labor pool of 170,000+ workers and capacity to employ 60,000+ people daily.
Is Barney Monk a public or private company?
Barney Monk is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Barney Monk founded?
Barney Monk was founded in 1998. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Barney Monk based?
Barney Monk is headquartered in Cleveland, United States, in the North America region.
How does Barney Monk make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Employer of Record (EOR) Payroll Services are the primary driver. The others are event Staffing Services and payroll Administration.
Who are Barney Monk's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Freeman, PRG (Production Resource Group), On Location Experiences, GES (Global Experience Specialists), Program Productions and Minutemen Workforce Solutions. Broad incumbents are PeopleReady (TrueBlue), Live Nation Entertainment, ManpowerGroup and Adecco.
Does Barney Monk have an API?
No public API is recorded for Barney Monk.
What industry is Barney Monk in?
Barney Monk's product category is Event Staffing & Payroll Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAFAA, Crew & Labor Services (Production Staff, Unions, Payroll), with a secondary code of MPAGAKAH, Event Technical Production Management & Crew. Its NAICS code is 71119 and its SIC code is 7361.