About Us

While I was on a web development bootcamp in 2024, the idea was born to build a marketplace for musicians as a project. Ultimately, I didn't start to build it as me and my partner got assigned to different teams. However, a seed was born and I started to explore deeper.

Existing platforms are often overpriced and restrictive, charging artists up to $100 in listing fees or imposing booking commissions of 10–30%. These sites also make direct communication difficult, since they want to keep control over the booking so they can verify their commissions.

Because a listing platform is a relatively low-cost, lightweight app to maintain, it should work differently:

• Free Listings & Open Chat: Artists provide the value, so they should list for free and communicate directly with clients without platform interference.
• Minimalist Monetization: Since overhead is low, costs can be covered by non-intrusive revenue streams like some ads, sponsorships, or optional premium features.

The Name Gigest

The name Gigest is a tribute to my home of 12 years: Estonia. By combining the word "Gig" with the suffix "-est," the brand honors a country where music and singing are woven into the fabric of society.

Music and singing are a deeply engrained part of Estonian culture and while the platform is an international platform, it draws inspiration from the country Estonia, which used singing as a means to break free from the Soviet rule with the "Singing Revolution".

While we are still growing our community of artists and fans, we would love to already see you get on board. Creating your profile is quick and easy.

It's "set and forget." Once your profile is live, you don't need to check back constantly. Whenever a fan or booker reaches out, we'll send a notification directly to your email so you never miss a beat.

– Niels