About
Made for the rooms you actually play.
Encore started at a bar in Austin. A solo acoustic player was shouting her Venmo from the mic between songs, hoping people would remember. Most of them didn't. The ones who did paid in cash that she had to carry home and deposit on Monday.
We wanted one printed square on her tip jar that quietly did the work: tips, paid requests, and a list of fans who'd come back.
Why we built it
Cash is fading
Fewer people carry bills, so a cash-only tip jar misses everyone who would happily tip by card or Apple Pay.
Apps are a tax
Fans don't want to download something for a $5 tip. We use the browser and Apple Pay — no install, no account.
Venmo isn't built for this
Venmo handles the transfer but can't queue a song, show your next gig, or build a mailing list of fans.
What we believe
The print belongs on the tip jar
Not a business card, not a bumper sticker. A poster-quality QR that looks like part of the venue.
Artists keep 90 to 95%
Platform fees are transparent and small. Pro drops it to 5%. We don't hide surcharges in the checkout.
Your list is yours
If you leave Encore, you take your fan list with you. We don't hold it hostage.
Low friction beats clever features
If a tip takes more than ten seconds, we've failed. We obsess over the scan-to-paid flow.
Who builds Encore
Ian MacCallum
Founder of Encore
Ian builds Encore at Parra, Inc., an independent software studio. He writes these guides from the questions working musicians send in and from public sources, which are linked in each post. Questions, corrections or a gig story to share? Write in through the contact page.
Print it. They scan it. You keep playing.
Five minutes to set up. Free while you're figuring it out.