It's our anniversary month, and around here that means two things: anniversary treats in the office and a healthy dose of nostalgia. Since 2001, Mertzcrew has been helping live event companies contract, insure, schedule, and pay AV freelancers, and along the way, we've written a lot about what we've learned.

So we dug into the archives. What we found was a collection of posts that readers keep coming back to, year after year. Some are practical how-tos. Some are snapshots of where the industry was at a particular moment. All of them tell a piece of the Mertzcrew story.

But a blog is only half the story. The other half is the people who actually use what we build — the technicians, operators, and engineers who trust Mertzcrew to handle the details so they can focus on the work. So this year, alongside our favorite posts, we're sharing some of our favorite words from them too: what Mertzcrew has meant to the people who use our software to support their freelancing careers.

Here are five reader favorites, revisited, and a few reasons our clients keep coming back.

1. 3 AV Contractor Insurance Guidelines You Can't Ignore

Originally published: March 2016, updated July 2026. Read our AV contractor insurance guidelines

This one goes way back, and it's easy to see why readers still find their way to it. Insurance has always been one of the biggest risk concerns for business owners when contracting AV freelancer. This post tackled it head-on with three plain-English guidelines: verify experience, confirm workers' compensation coverage, and make sure equipment liability coverage meets venue requirements (most venues want at least $5MM).

Why it resonated: It demystified something intimidating. Instead of legal jargon, readers got a practical checklist: ask for the COI, confirm the policy is actually active, and keep proof on file. Simple advice that has saved more than a few companies from very expensive headaches.

Why it still holds up: Venues still require proof of coverage. Freelancers still occasionally show up with expired policies or no policies at all. And "verify, don't assume" is advice that will never go out of style. The fundamentals of protecting your company on a job site haven't changed, and neither has our belief that they shouldn't be complicated.

What it says about Mertzcrew: Insurance was at the heart of what we did in 2016, and it's still what clients tell us gives them the most peace of mind today. That trust is something we also hear about directly from the freelancers our clients book through us:

A decade of trust doesn't happen by accident. It happens because the fundamentals, coverage, compliance, and follow-throughs are handled right, every time.

2. 5 AV Freelancer Trends For 2018

Originally published: January 2018. Read our freelancer trend report for 2018.

A time capsule, and a surprisingly accurate one. This post predicted that contractor classification debates would intensify, more states would pass freelancer-specific laws, rates would climb, training would become a bigger priority, and freelance marketplaces would start gaining real traction in the live event world.

Why it resonated: Everyone loves a trends post, but this one earned its keep by being right. Readers came back to it because it gave them a heads-up on the forces- compliance, labor shortages, rising rates- that would shape their crewing decisions for years.

Why it still holds up: Honestly? Reread it and check the scorecard. Classification and compliance are still hot-button topics. The fight for skilled, trusted freelancers is still fierce. And freelance management platforms went from "gaining traction" to essential infrastructure for live event companies.

What it says about Mertzcrew: We've always kept one eye on the horizon. Helping our clients see what's coming, not just react to what's already here, is part of the job. As one longtime touring freelancer put it, that kind of behind-the-scenes vigilance is the whole point:

3. What is an AV Freelance Management System? & 9 Benefits of Using One

Originally published: March 2023. Read about what an AV freelancer system is.

The post we send people when they ask, "So... what exactly does Mertzcrew do?" It breaks down what a freelance management system is, who needs one, and nine concrete benefits, from saving hours on every event to easier

onboarding, simpler compliance, faster and on-time payments, and building a talent network you can tap again and again.

Why it resonated: Plenty of event companies were (and are) running their freelance operations on a tangle of spreadsheets, email threads, and crossed fingers. This post named that pain and showed there was a better way: everything in one place, from contracts and W-9s to invoices and insurance.

Why it still holds up: The freelance workforce has only grown since this was written, and the administrative risk of managing it hasn't gotten lighter. The case for centralizing contracting, compliance, scheduling, and payments is stronger today than ever.

What it says about Mertzcrew: This is our worldview in one post: that managing great freelance talent shouldn't be the hardest part of producing a great event. It's a belief echoed by the freelance professionals who rely on better tools to do their best work:

That's the partnership in a nutshell: we handle the system, so our users can handle the show.

4. How to Assign Event Roles with Crew Management Software

Originally published: March 2023. Read about how to assign event roles.

A favorite among the people actually building crews. This post walks through structuring an event team from the ground up: defining goals, analyzing tasks, contracting the right freelancers, building an event roster, mapping out roles by time and location, and keeping communication flowing from load-in to load-out.

Why it resonated: It's genuinely useful. Whether you're crewing a corporate general session or a multi-day festival, the framework applies, and the post showed how the right software turns a chaotic juggling act into a repeatable process.

Why it still holds up: Events have only gotten more complex, with more roles, tighter timelines, and higher client expectations. The discipline of clarifying responsibilities, delegating clearly, and tracking who's doing what (and when) is timeless. The tools just keep making it easier.

What it says about Mertzcrew: We've never been interested in software for software's sake. The point has always been freeing producers and the freelancers on their crews from time-consuming admin so everyone can focus on the work itself. That ease of use is something our techs notice every day:

Five hundred projects is a career, not just a stat, and it's the kind of trust that tells us we're building the right thing.

5. 3 Ways Crew Management Software Simplifies Production Insurance

Originally published: April 2023. Read more about simplifying production insurance.

A modern companion to that 2016 insurance post, proof that this topic never stops mattering. It covers what production insurance actually includes (general liability, equipment coverage, professional liability, and workers' comp), what drives the cost, and three ways crew management software takes the stress out of it: obtaining and managing workers' comp, tracking COIs, and staying compliant with ever-shifting state and federal regulations.

Why it resonated: Insurance questions don't just come up once; they come up for every single event. Readers bookmark this one because it answers the questions that resurface every time a venue asks for a certificate or a new freelancer joins the roster.

Why it still holds up: Regulations keep changing, venues keep raising requirements, and the consequences of getting it wrong keep getting more expensive. Having a system that handles coverage and compliance, rather than a spreadsheet and a prayer, is more valuable now than ever.

What it says about Mertzcrew: From 2016 to today, our promise has stayed the same: when you book a crew through Mertzcrew, every freelancer is properly insured, and your company is protected. That's the through-line of our whole story, and it's the part of the job our clients say they appreciate most, even when they never have to think about it.

What This Milestone Year Means to Our Clients and Partners

Reading these posts side by side, a pattern emerges. Whether the topic was insurance guidelines in 2016, industry trends in 2018, or the rise of freelance management systems, the message has always been the same: producing incredible live events is hard enough, and managing AV freelancers and crew scheduling shouldn't make it harder.

But the real measure of that mission isn't in the blog archive; it's in comments like the ones above, from people who've built careers alongside Mertzcrew. That idea is what got us started in 2001; it's what fueled every one of these posts, and it's what drives where we're going next. The industry keeps evolving: new regulations, new technology, new generations of AV talent, and we plan to keep evolving right alongside it, writing about what we learn and showing up for the people who make live events happen.

Thanks for reading along all these years, and thank you to every tech, operator, and engineer who's trusted us along the way. Here's to the next chapter and the next round of greatest hits.

Want to see what all these posts (and all these people) are talking about? Schedule a free 15-minute assessment call and find out if Mertzcrew is right for your team.