The Standard
What Verified means, in full.
Every agency says it curates. Almost none will tell you what their criteria are, who applies them, or whether anyone has ever been removed.
These are ours, published in full, including what they do not cover and how to appeal a decision.
Verified is not being issued yet.
The criteria below are final. Issuance begins in 2027, once enough observed placements exist to assess anyone against them honestly.
Every placement between now and then is the evidence it will be issued from. We would rather tell you that you are early than show you a badge invented last week.
The criteria
Six domains
Every criterion here is checkable by someone other than its author. That is the test for whether a criterion belongs in this document at all.
Contracting and administration
- Responds to a booking enquiry within one working day.
- Returns signed contracts without being chased.
- Holds current public liability insurance and provides it on request.
- Invoices correctly and on the agreed terms.
- Provides technical, space and timing requirements in advance, unprompted — the single strongest predictor of a difficult booking.
Reliability
- No unexplained non-appearances.
- Arrives at the agreed call time.
- Performs the agreed set, for the agreed duration.
- Manages their own travel and contingency.
Client and audience handling
- Adheres to the brief, including content restrictions.
- Brand-safe in rooms containing press, clients and senior leadership.
- Appropriate with VIP guests, venue staff and other suppliers.
- Handles poor conditions professionally — and conditions are usually poor.
Consistency
- A minimum of five evidence-eligible placements.
- Spanning at least six months.
- Across at least two distinct event types or venue tiers.
- Of which at least three are observed in person.
Incident record
- No unresolved incidents.
- No pattern of recurring incidents of the same type, resolved or not.
- Full disclosure when asked.
References
- Two verifiable buyer references from evidence-eligible placements.
- At least one of whom would rebook.
What Verified does not cover
Artistry. Verified does not certify that a performer is good. Talent is subjective and a standard built on taste can never win an argument, so we do not pretend to one. It certifies that the professional risk is handled.
It answers exactly one question: can I hire this performer without worrying? Whether the performance will be extraordinary is a separate question, and the performer answers it, not us.
Revocation
Verified is reviewed annually, and immediately after any recorded incident. It is withdrawn where an unresolved incident stands, where a pattern of recurring incidents emerges, or where the evidence threshold is no longer met.
A standard that cannot be withdrawn is a badge. Anything that can be revoked has value precisely because it can be.
Appeal
A performer may appeal any assessment or revocation. They have the right to see the evidence it was based on, to respond to it in writing, and to have the decision reviewed by someone who did not make it.
Publishing the appeal route is counter-intuitive, and it is precisely what makes the standard credible. A standard with no appeal is arbitrary, and an arbitrary standard is eventually ignored.
That is the standard. Here is what it is for.
Describe your event and we will recommend two or three performers assessed against it, with the reasoning written down. See how it works, or read what each term means.