Gig Chat is BookLive’s built-in group messaging thread for each performance. It gives you a direct, real-time channel to every musician booked on a gig — no texting apps or group threads required. Messages appear instantly for all participants, and musicians receive email notifications so nothing slips through the cracks. You can also enable SMS text delivery for time-sensitive updates.
Before You Begin #
- You must be a group leader or admin to send Gig Chat messages.
- Musicians must be added as seats on the performance and must have a BookLive account to view and reply to the chat.
- For SMS text delivery, musicians need a phone number on file in their BookLive profile.
Step 1: Open the Performance #
- Log in at https://booklive.com/login.
- From the left sidebar, click Performances and select the performance you want to message about.
- In the performance’s left navigation panel, click Gig Chat (the chat bubble icon).
The Gig Chat page loads with a scrollable message thread and a text field at the bottom. If no messages have been sent yet, the thread is empty.
Step 2: Send a Message #
- Click the Write a message… field at the bottom of the chat.
- Type your message. You can write anything — a reminder about call time, a last-minute venue change, a heads-up about parking, or anything else the team needs to know.
- Press Enter or click Send.
Your message appears in the thread immediately. Every musician booked on the performance receives an email notification with your message and a link to view and reply.
Step 3: Enable SMS Text Delivery (Optional) #
For urgent updates, you can have Gig Chat messages delivered as text messages in addition to email.
- At the bottom of the Gig Chat panel, locate the Send Gig Chat Texts toggle.
- Click the toggle to turn it on. It will switch to the active (blue) state.
- Any message you send while the toggle is on will be delivered via SMS to musicians who have a phone number in their profile, in addition to the standard email notification.
- Toggle it back off at any time to return to email-only delivery.
Step 4: Check Who Will Be Notified #
Before sending, you can confirm exactly who will receive your message and by which channels.
- In the Gig Chat footer bar, click the N notified button (where N is the number of recipients).
- A recipient list expands below. Each row shows a musician’s name and one or more channel chips:
- Email chip — shows their email address. Click the chip to copy it.
- SMS chip — shows their phone number (only visible when Send Gig Chat Texts is enabled and the musician has a number on file). Click the chip to copy it.
If a musician appears in the list without an SMS chip, they don’t have a phone number on file and will only receive the email notification.
Step 5: Musicians Read and Reply #
Musicians booked on the performance can view the Gig Chat and reply by logging in to BookLive and opening the performance from their dashboard. Replies from musicians appear in the same thread, so the entire conversation stays in one place.
The chat updates in real time — you don’t need to refresh the page to see new replies.
Tips & Notes #
- Gig Chat is separate from the Client Chat (which is for client communication) and the Inbox (which handles email threads). Gig Chat is exclusively for your musicians.
- Only musicians with confirmed seats on the performance are included as recipients. Musicians who have not yet accepted or who have been removed are not notified.
- Message history is preserved for the lifetime of the performance record, so you can scroll back to review earlier conversations at any time.
- If the Send Gig Chat Texts toggle is off when you send a message, only email notifications go out — the toggle must be on at the moment you click Send.
