Booking sites and agencies
Beyond Poptop parties: a QR tag for your public gigs
A pub or restaurant gig is full of people who will throw a party at some point. What you need is a way for them to ask you tonight. GigTag gives your act one permanent QR code on the mic stand, opening a page with a booking enquiry form, your next gig and your links. If you were looking at Poptop for party work, add this for your public gigs.
- No app for your audience
- Free to start
- One code that never changes
Why GigTag
Why acts with public gigs add GigTag to Poptop
Poptop is built for people planning a party online. GigTag is built for a live act on a stage. If most of your diary is pubs, restaurants and weekly slots, GigTag is the one working on those nights: dates to save, songs to request on Pro and party enquiries direct to you, with no commission taken by GigTag.
- 1
It works on every public gig
A pub Sunday or a restaurant Friday has no planner behind it, only an audience. GigTag is there for all of those nights: the tag hangs on your mic stand and anyone listening can open your page. Poptop is built for the moment someone plans an event online.
- 2
Party enquiries with no commission
When someone in the garden wants you for a birthday, they fill in the booking enquiry form on your page and it comes to you. You agree the details between you. GigTag takes no commission, and on Pro you can send an invoice in your own design that they pay online.
- 3
Regulars know where you are next
Your page lists your next gig and your weekly residencies, and people add them to their calendar from the same scan. That gives a pub crowd a reason to come back, and helps you build a following from the gigs you play in public.
- 4
Requests keep the room involved
On Pro, the audience picks songs from your list, or asks for anything if you open requests, and you see a live queue on your phone. For an acoustic duo playing three sets, that takes the guesswork out of the afternoon. It is a feature made for the performance itself.
- 5
Free to try on your next gig
The free plan gives one act its tag design, print file, page, links, gigs, residencies and booking form. In the UK you can print the tag yourself for free or order one with free delivery. There is no app for the audience and no account to create.
In short
Poptop and GigTag, in four lines
- Poptop is a UK marketplace where people planning a party book suppliers, live music among them.
- GigTag works on your public gigs: one scan shows your next date and takes a party enquiry.
- Enquiries come straight to you, with no commission taken by GigTag and no app for the audience.
- Our recommendation: use GigTag at every pub and restaurant gig, and keep Poptop for private party bookings.
Side by side
GigTag vs Poptop, topic by topic
Seeing availability
Your next gig and residencies, ready to save
Your page shows where you are playing: your next gig and weekly residencies, which people can add to their calendar. Bookings start with an enquiry.
PoptopIts site says customers enter their event details and see live pricing and availability across the options that fit, instead of sending out requests and waiting.
Deposits and protection
Keep Poptop for protected party deposits
On Pro you send the client an invoice in your own design, which they pay online. GigTag takes no commission on the booking.
PoptopIts site says deposits are held securely, with a money-back promise if a supplier cancels and help finding a replacement for the event.
Who is listed
A page for any solo act, duo or band
Any live act can have a page: solo, duo or band. The free plan covers one act, and Pro allows more than one.
PoptopSuppliers are described on its site as vetted and curated, across catering, drinks, entertainment, transport, equipment and photography, with musicians and DJs under entertainment.
Customer reviews
They have just heard you live
GigTag relies on the gig itself. People who enjoyed the set use your page to follow your socials, website and music links.
PoptopIts site shows customer reviews of suppliers, describes them as verified and says it does not edit or remove the reviews it receives.
Tools for the act
Gigs, enquiries, requests and invoices in one place
From the website or the GigTag phone app you manage gigs, residencies and enquiries, plus the request queue and invoices on Pro.
PoptopIts supplier page talks about tools meant to bring in more bookings and reduce admin for the businesses listed on the marketplace.
The quick view
| GigTag | Poptop | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Poptop, not that it is missing: see what Poptop offers above, or ask on its site.
Poptop or GigTag
Where GigTag is different from Poptop
Party planners and pub regulars
Poptop is for someone planning a private event. GigTag is for the audience at a gig that is already happening. Your QR code sits on a small tag on the mic stand in the pub, the restaurant or the hotel bar. People scan it, your page opens in the browser, and they can see your next gig and weekly residencies and add them to their calendar.
A listing to book, a form to ask
Poptop's site shows a customer what is available and lets them book. A GigTag page starts a conversation instead: there is a booking enquiry form, the person tells you what they have in mind, and it reaches you on the website or in the GigTag app. They are asking because they have just heard you, and you take it from there.
The same code, year after year
Your GigTag code is permanent. It is printed once on a tag in your own design and it never changes, so it works at every gig you take it to. If the act changes its name, old links still work. On Pro the same scan also lets people request songs, and you can send clients an invoice in your own design to pay online.
A night with GigTag
Sunday in the pub garden for an acoustic duo
It is a warm Sunday and the two of you are set up under a parasol at the end of a pub garden: two voices, a guitar and a cajon. The tag hangs from the front mic stand. Families are eating, and nobody wants to get up. A table near you scans the tag and your page opens in the browser. They can see you are back here every Sunday as a weekly residency, and one of them adds next week to a calendar.
On Pro, requests from your song list start to appear in the live queue, so the second set more or less writes itself. As the afternoon winds down, a man who has been singing along opens the booking enquiry form and asks whether you would play a fiftieth birthday in his garden. It is in the GigTag app when you check after packing the car. You reply that evening, agree the date between you, and send an invoice in your own design for him to pay online.
About Poptop
What is Poptop?
Poptop is a UK marketplace for party experiences and the suppliers behind them. Its site is aimed at people organising birthdays, small weddings, celebrations and corporate events, and it covers catering, bars, transport, photo booths and entertainment, with DJs and musicians among the entertainers. Its site describes its suppliers as vetted and says it shows verified customer reviews. For a musician it is a way into private party work.
Its site says a customer enters the details of their event and sees live prices and availability across the options that fit, without waiting for quotes, then books with their deposit protected. Suppliers sign up through a page on the site, which talks about tools to bring in bookings and cut down admin. See its site for prices and its terms for suppliers.
- Where
- United Kingdom
- Website
- poptop.uk.com
How Poptop works
- 1
Browse the experiences. A customer looks through the party experiences and services on Poptop's site, which range from caterers and mobile bars to DJs, musicians and photo booths.
- 2
Enter the event details. They put in the details of their event. Its site says they then see live pricing and availability for the options that fit, with no round of quote requests.
- 3
Book and pay a deposit. The customer books, and its site says the deposit is held securely, with a money-back promise and help finding a replacement should a supplier cancel.
- 4
The event happens. Supplier and customer are in contact through the booking, and the supplier turns up and delivers. Customers can leave reviews, which its site describes as verified.
Who Poptop is for
Birthday and garden parties. Hosts of adult birthdays, home and garden parties and family celebrations. Its site puts this kind of occasion up front and presents itself as a home for party experiences, with ideas as well as suppliers to book.
Small weddings. Couples planning a smaller wedding who want to pick the food, the bar and the entertainment in one place. Musicians and DJs sit among the entertainment options on its site, alongside magicians, dancers and comedians.
Corporate events. People organising a company party or team event who need several suppliers at once. Its site covers corporate events as well as private ones, with catering, transport, equipment and entertainment all bookable in the same place.
The verdict
GigTag or Poptop: which should you choose?
The bottom line
For an act that plays in public most weeks, GigTag is our recommendation. One scan lets a pub or restaurant audience save your next date, request songs on Pro and send a party enquiry straight to you, with no commission taken by GigTag, and the free plan is enough to begin. Poptop still suits anyone who wants private party bookings from people planning a whole event online, so there is a good case for keeping a listing there too.
Use Poptop for the private party market and GigTag for everything you play in public. The two do not overlap: one is a marketplace where party planners book suppliers, the other is a tag on your stand. A night at your residency can lead to a party enquiry through your own page, and GigTag takes no commission on it.
- Step 1
List for private parties
If parties are part of your work, keep or create your Poptop listing so that people planning an event online can find and book you there.
- Step 2
Put public gigs on GigTag
Add every pub, restaurant and bar date to your GigTag page, mark the weekly ones as residencies, and hang the tag where the tables can see it.
- Step 3
Let each feed the other
People who hear you in public can enquire about a party through your page. See Poptop's supplier terms for how to treat enquiries at events booked there.
Choose GigTag if
You play regular public gigs and want one code on the stand that shows your dates, takes booking enquiries and, on Pro, song requests.
Start freePoptop may still suit you if
You want private party and small event bookings in the UK from people who are planning the whole occasion online.
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.
Is GigTag better than Poptop for a pub and restaurant duo?
For the pub and restaurant gigs, yes: that is what GigTag is made for. The tag on your stand lets diners save your next date, follow you, request songs on Pro and send a booking enquiry, all without an app. Poptop is made for a different situation, a customer planning a party online, so it is worth keeping for that.
What does GigTag give a party band that Poptop is not built for?
A way to turn the audience at any gig into your next clients. GigTag puts a booking enquiry form, your gig dates, your links and, on Pro, song requests and invoices behind one permanent QR code. Enquiries come to you and GigTag takes no commission. Poptop is built around customers browsing and booking party suppliers.
What kind of site is Poptop?
Poptop is a UK marketplace for party experiences and event suppliers. People planning private and corporate events use it to find catering, bars, entertainment and other services, and live music is part of the entertainment on offer. Its site says customers see live pricing and availability for their event. See its site for prices.
Does GigTag list me for private parties the way Poptop does?
No. GigTag is not a marketplace and does not put you in front of people searching online. It works at your gigs: the audience scans the code on your mic stand and your page opens in their browser. From there they can send a booking enquiry, which may well be for a private party of their own.
Can a musician use Poptop and GigTag at the same time?
Yes. One brings private event bookings from a marketplace, the other turns your public gigs into enquiries and return visits. GigTag's free plan covers one act, with the tag design and print file, the page, your links, every gig and residency, and the booking enquiry form, so you can try it beside Poptop without paying.
Is GigTag only for pubs, or for the private parties Poptop covers too?
It works at any live set. Wherever the tag is on your stand, people can scan it with a phone camera and open your page without an app or an account. They can see your next gig, follow your socials and music links, and send an enquiry. On Pro they can also request songs from your list.
What does Poptop cover besides live music?
Quite a lot. Its site lists catering such as private chefs and street food, mobile bars and bartenders, transport, photo booths and other equipment, photography, and entertainment including DJs, musicians, comedians and magicians. GigTag is narrower by design: it is only for live acts and the people watching them play.
How do I get private party bookings from a pub gig?
Make it easy for the person who is enjoying the set to ask. With a GigTag on your mic stand, they scan it, your page opens in their browser and the booking enquiry form is there. You pick the enquiry up afterwards. That works alongside a Poptop listing, which reaches people planning from home.
Can I order a printed GigTag in the UK?
Yes. A printed tag is £24.99 in the UK with free UK delivery, in your own design. You can also print it yourself for free, since the free plan includes the print file. The code on it is permanent, so one tag covers every public gig you play alongside your Poptop work.
Can the audience choose songs from my set list?
On GigTag Pro they can. People scan the tag and request a song from your list, or anything if you open requests, and you see the requests in a live queue during the set. It suits the relaxed pub and garden gigs that fill the weeks between private parties booked through a marketplace like Poptop.
Looking for Poptop itself?
This page is GigTag's. Poptop's sign-in, prices, reviews and support are on its own site.
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Poptop is the name of its owner's product; GigTag is not connected with it. What is said about Poptop 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.