Booking sites and agencies
Function Central and GigTag: two halves of a function band's year
Between agency dates, a function band plays bars, festivals and club nights where nobody is handling the audience. There, a listener needs a way to become a client. GigTag gives the band one permanent QR code on the mic stand: a booking enquiry form, your next gig and your links, opened with a phone camera. You may have come here from Function Central. This is for those other nights.
- No app for your audience
- Free to start
- One code that never changes
Why GigTag
Why party bands use GigTag beside Function Central
Function Central books and coordinates weddings and parties for the acts on its books. GigTag does something else: it makes the gigs you arrange yourselves produce enquiries. One scan, no app, and the person who has just watched the band is in touch with you directly, with no commission taken by GigTag.
- 1
Self-booked gigs can lead somewhere
A pub or festival gig you arranged yourselves has an audience and no agent. GigTag gives that audience a booking enquiry form on your page, reached in one scan. Function Central is built for clients who filter a roster online, so this is ground GigTag covers.
- 2
You hold the conversation
The enquiry comes to you on the website or in the GigTag app, and you carry it on yourselves. GigTag takes no commission. An agency is built to coordinate between client, act and venue, which suits the weddings it books.
- 3
Your own invoices, paid online
For work you take directly, Pro gives you invoices in the band's own design that the client pays online. Pro is £11.99 a month in the UK, or £119.99 a year, and also adds song requests and more than one act on the account.
- 4
Requests help you read the room
On Pro the crowd requests songs from your list and you see a live queue all night. In a marquee or a club that tells a party band what the room wants next. The same scan also shows your next gig for people to add to their calendar.
- 5
Any act, from soloist to nine-piece
GigTag works for a solo singer, a duo or a full band. The free plan covers one act with its tag design, print file, page, links, gigs and booking form. Band members can join the band, and the audience never needs an app or an account.
In short
Function Central and GigTag, in four lines
- Function Central is a UK agency that books function bands, musicians and DJs for weddings and parties.
- GigTag makes the gigs you book yourselves produce direct enquiries, with no commission taken by GigTag.
- One scan, no app: next gig, links, a booking form and, on Pro, song requests and invoices.
- Our recommendation: use GigTag on every self-booked gig, and leave agency weddings to run through the agency.
Side by side
GigTag vs Function Central, topic by topic
Choosing an act
They have already chosen: the band on stage
Nobody filters anything. The person scanning your tag has one act in mind: the one on stage in front of them.
Function CentralClients filter by genre, date, budget and region, watch videos, read reviews and add acts to an enquiry list before any quote is sent.
Confirming a booking
Direct enquiry, then your own invoice on Pro
A booking enquiry comes to you from your page. You agree the details yourself, and on Pro you can invoice the client online.
Function CentralA quote is emailed to the client, who replies to confirm, and the booking is secured with a signed booking agreement, its site says.
Standards for acts
Your own page, free for one act
Solo acts, duos and bands make their own page. The free plan covers one act, with the tag design and print file.
Function CentralIts site says acts must meet strict standards of quality and professionalism to join, and that it keeps monitoring performances after an act is on its books.
If plans change
Keep Function Central for replacement cover
You keep your own dates up to date. Your page shows your next gig and weekly residencies, managed from the website or the app.
Function CentralIts site says acts can cancel only in exceptional circumstances, and that the agency will provide a replacement from its roster if that happens.
Paperwork for venues
Keep Function Central for contracts and venue certificates
GigTag's paperwork is the invoice: on Pro, in your own design, paid online by the client. It is not an agency.
Function CentralIts site says the agency handles contracts and the certificates a venue asks for, and coordinates with the act, the venue or an event planner.
The quick view
| GigTag | Function Central | |
|---|---|---|
| A QR code your audience scans | Yes, one that never changes | – |
| Song requests from the crowd | Yes, on Pro | – |
| Tips by card or Apple Pay | Yes, on Pro, into your own Ziina or Stripe. GigTag takes 0% | – |
| Booking enquiries | Yes, on the free plan | Yes |
| Your gigs and weekly residencies | Yes, on the free plan | – |
| Invoices for bookings | Yes, on Pro | – |
| A printed tag for your mic stand | Yes, in your own design | – |
| Works without an app for the audience | Yes, it opens in the browser | – |
A dash means we did not confirm it for Function Central, not that it is missing: see what Function Central offers above, or ask on its site.
Function Central or GigTag
Where GigTag is different from Function Central
An enquiry list, or one scan
On Function Central a client adds acts to an enquiry list and receives a quote by email. A GigTag enquiry is about one act: the one playing. The QR code is on a small tag on your mic stand. A guest scans it, your page opens in the browser, and they send a booking enquiry before the encore. No app, no account, nothing to download.
The gigs between the functions
Function Central is built for weddings and parties. GigTag is built for any live set, including the ones that never go near an agency: the local bar, the food festival, the weekly residency. Your page lists your next gig and your residencies, people can add them to their calendar, and on Pro they can request songs from your list while you play.
Who the client talks to
Function Central's site says it coordinates between the client, the act and the venue. With GigTag, the enquiry comes to you on the website or in the GigTag app and you carry on the conversation yourself. If it becomes a booking, Pro lets you send an invoice in your own design that the client pays online. GigTag takes no commission on it.
A night with GigTag
A party band in the beer festival marquee
The marquee is full by eight and your party band is on a stage at one end, under a string of festoon lights. You took this booking yourselves through a friend on the committee. The tag hangs from the lead singer's stand. People queueing for the bar are close enough to scan it, and they do: the page opens in their browser while they wait. Some follow your socials. Others see your next gig listed, a pub date the following weekend, and add it to their calendar.
You are on Pro, and requests from your song list arrive in the live queue all evening, which makes choosing the encore easy. As the lights come up, someone from a local firm sends a booking enquiry from your page about a staff party. It is in the GigTag app on the drive home. You reply the next day, and when the date is fixed you send an invoice in the band's design that the firm pays online. Nothing is taken from the booking by GigTag.
About Function Central
What is Function Central?
Function Central is a UK booking agency for function bands, background musicians and DJs, mainly for weddings and parties, with corporate events as well. Its site says the agency was founded by two musicians and that acts have to meet strict standards of quality and professionalism to be taken on. Clients browse hundreds of acts, from soul and Motown bands and string quartets to ceilidh bands and DJs, with videos on each profile.
A client filters acts by genre, date, budget and region, watches videos, reads reviews and adds acts to an enquiry list. A quote comes back by email, and the booking is confirmed with a booking agreement. Its site says the agency handles contracts and coordinates with the act and the venue, puts client and act in touch before the event, and has emergency support at all hours.
- Where
- United Kingdom
- Website
- functioncentral.co.uk
How Function Central works
- 1
Filter the acts. A client narrows the roster down by genre, date, budget and region, which leaves them looking only at the acts that could suit their event.
- 2
Watch and shortlist. They watch videos and read reviews on the acts' profiles, then add the ones they are interested in to an enquiry list on the site.
- 3
Receive a quote. A quote arrives by email. The client replies to confirm, and the booking is then secured with a signed booking agreement, according to its site.
- 4
Agency coordinates. The agency deals with contracts and any certificates the venue needs, and liaises with the act and venue. Client and act can speak before the event.
Who Function Central is for
Couples getting married. Couples booking an evening band, daytime musicians such as a string quartet or harpist, or a DJ. Its site is written mainly for them, and says it works with a large number of brides and grooms every year.
Parties and celebrations. Hosts of birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas parties who want a function band or background music. Its site lists these alongside weddings, with categories running from soul and rock bands to acoustic acts, tribute bands and swing.
Corporate and venue bookings. Companies planning events are among the bookers its site mentions, together with hotels and restaurants wanting live music and people organising student events. Corporate work sits beside weddings and parties in the agency's own description.
The verdict
GigTag or Function Central: which should you choose?
The bottom line
If your band plays anywhere outside the agency diary, we recommend GigTag for those gigs. The strongest reason is that nothing else is working on that audience: one scan lets them send a booking enquiry to you directly, with no commission taken by GigTag. Function Central remains the better fit for weddings and parties where you want an agency to bring the client, issue the booking agreement and coordinate the day, so a busy band can run both.
Stay on an agency's books for the weddings and parties it brings, and use GigTag for the audiences you play to on your own account. They cover different halves of a function band's year. At an agency booking, stick to your agreement with the agency about enquiries from guests. At your own gigs, the tag on the stand does the asking for you.
- Step 1
Keep agency dates as they are
Carry on with the weddings and parties the agency books, under its booking agreements and with its team coordinating between you, the client and the venue.
- Step 2
Add GigTag to self-booked gigs
Create the band's page, add the gigs you arrange yourselves and hang the tag on the singer's stand at the pubs, festivals and club nights you play.
- Step 3
Send your own invoices
When one of those gigs produces a booking, reply to the enquiry yourselves and use Pro to send an invoice that the client pays online.
Choose GigTag if
You want the gigs you book yourself to produce enquiries too, straight from the audience to you, through one permanent code.
Start freeFunction Central may still suit you if
You are a function band, musician or DJ who wants a UK agency to bring wedding and party bookings and handle the contract.
GigTag FreeYour page, your tag design, every gig and residency, a booking form. One act.
GigTag ProSong requests, tips, invoices, more than one act. AED 30, £11.99 or $15.99 a month.
GigTag Printed tagFrom AED 100 in the UAE, £24.99 in the UK or €28.99 in the EU, delivered free, with a large size for more; $32.99 elsewhere, plus postage from the UK. Or print your own, anywhere, for free.
Questions
Function Central and GigTag: what people ask
Something else? Ask us. A person reads every message.
Is GigTag better than Function Central for a party band?
For the gigs a party band books itself, GigTag is the one built for the job: a permanent QR code, a booking enquiry form, next gig and links on the free plan, and song requests and invoices on Pro. It is not an agency and does not find wedding clients. Function Central is built for that, so the honest answer is to use each for its own work.
What does GigTag add for a band already on Function Central's books?
It adds something for every night that is not an agency booking. Audiences at your pub, festival and club gigs can send a booking enquiry directly, save your next date and request songs on Pro, in the browser with no app. GigTag takes no commission. For agency events, keep to your agreement with the agency.
What is Function Central?
Function Central is a UK booking agency for function bands, musicians and DJs, mostly for weddings and parties. Clients filter acts, watch videos, add them to an enquiry list and receive a quote by email. Its site says the agency handles contracts and coordinates with the act and venue. See its site for prices.
Does GigTag find wedding clients the way Function Central does?
No. GigTag is not an agency or a marketplace and does not find clients. It works with people who are already at your gig. They scan the code on your stand, and from your page they can send a booking enquiry, which could be for a wedding or party of their own. The enquiry form is on the free plan.
Can a band on Function Central's books also use GigTag?
GigTag does a separate job, so there is nothing on its side to stop you. Whether and how you take direct enquiries alongside an agency depends on your agreement with that agency, so check it. A band could keep GigTag for gigs it arranges itself and leave agency bookings to run the agency's way.
Is GigTag only for function bands like those on Function Central?
No. It is for any live act: solo, duo or band. A singer with a guitar in a restaurant can use it the same way as a nine-piece. The free plan covers one act. Pro adds song requests, invoices and more than one act on one account, and tips, where GigTag takes 0%.
How does Function Central choose its acts?
Its site says acts have to meet strict standards of quality and professionalism to be accepted, that the founders scout for musicians and DJs, and that performances are monitored after an act joins. GigTag is not a roster: a solo act, duo or band sets up its own page and puts the tag on a mic stand.
How do I get bookings from pub and festival gigs?
Let the people enjoying the set contact you there and then. A GigTag on the mic stand opens your page in their browser, where a booking enquiry form sits beside your next gig and your links. Enquiries come to you directly. Agency bookings, such as those through Function Central, continue on their own track.
Is there a monthly fee for GigTag?
Not on the free plan, which covers one act with the tag design and print file, page, links, gigs, residencies and booking enquiry form. Pro is £11.99 a month or £119.99 a year in the UK and adds song requests, invoices and more than one act. For Function Central, see its site for prices.
What do I need to bring to a gig to use GigTag?
Only the tag. It is small, made to hang on a mic stand, and carries your permanent QR code in your own design. The audience needs a phone with a camera and nothing else. You can check enquiries and requests afterwards on the website or in the GigTag app, whichever agencies, Function Central included, you also work with.
Looking for Function Central itself?
This page is GigTag's. Function Central's sign-in, prices, reviews and support are on its own site.
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Function Central is the name of its owner's product; GigTag is not connected with it. What is said about Function Central here comes from its own public website, checked on 7 October 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
For musicians
One code on your stand. Requests, tips and the next gig behind it.
No app for your audience, nothing to download. Free to start.