Most platforms call something verified when a user clicked a magic link. We think that word deserves more weight than that — especially in a marketplace where strangers exchange money based on it.
ShareTheStage uses a green check next to performer and venue names. Before that check shows up, a human at our team has confirmed four specific things. Here they are, in order of stubbornness.
1. The email is real and they own it
Standard double opt-in. The applicant clicks a one-time token from their inbox. That step keeps casual spammers from registering hundreds of accounts off throwaway domains.
2. The business or stage identity exists
For venues, that means a public web presence we can cross-reference — Google Business listing, a working website, social presence with photos of the room. For performers, it means at least one of: a Spotify / Apple Music / Bandcamp / SoundCloud page; recent gig history; or social accounts with content older than the application.
We are not looking for fame. We are looking for evidence that a human did something publicly under this name before they applied here.
3. The applicant is the one running it
This is the step nobody else does. For venues we send a token to the business email and look for a reply that matches the email on file. For performers we use social-platform proofs: a temporary code added to the artist's Spotify bio, a Bandcamp public note, an Instagram bio update, or a Discord DM from the artist's own account. The proof has to come from inside the account they claim to be.
4. There is no current red flag
We run the email + name through our internal trust system. Past reports, past suspensions, signups from suspicious IPs, accounts already linked to the same person under a different name — all of it is visible to the reviewer. A clean record is required.
What we deliberately don't check
- Government ID. Asking for a passport scan is overreach for a booking platform and creates a data hazard. We don't collect it.
- Income or tax docs. Bookings are between you and the venue. We are not a 1099 issuer.
- Credit checks. Not relevant. Not collected.
- Anything you wouldn't tell another touring band over a beer.
What we mean by “trust as infrastructure”
We started with the safety primitives — verification, blocking, reporting, anti-spam — because if those don't exist, the rest of the product is just noise. A faster booking flow doesn't help when you can't tell whether the person on the other end is real.
Every product decision after this lives on top of these checks. The green check isn't a logo. It's the only reason we let you talk to strangers on this platform at all.
