It was only recently that a large-scale music festival promoter had their licence application refused leading to cancellation of the event. The rules and regulations laid down by government and implement by local councils are complex and sometimes vague. What can organisers do to ensure a successful licence application.  

The emerging popularity of the esports sector has seen bigger and more elaborate in-person events for fans and players. With festival-goers being a captive audience of potential gamers expect to see an increased presence of esports on music festival sites in the coming years which will benefit festival organisers, visitors and esports promoters.

This year has been a huge challenge for the music festival sector with multiple factors impacting on organisers. Every week there seems to be news of yet another festival cancellation, can festival organisers outsource some services to help mitigate challenges and avoid future cancellations?

An essential part of any music festival organisation is obtaining sponsorship and there are increasingly different ways to capture part of this revenue. The stage is usually the centrepiece of any music festival and so provides the best opportunity for potential sponsors to get their brand in front of the festival audience.

The last 7 decades have seen some significant protest songs and music that defined eras and made statements about issues relevant at the time. They were particularly common in the 60s, 70s and 80s but seem to have dwindled over the last thirty years. Is this decline due to improvements in the world or is something else going on?

The majority of music festival organisers are striving to embrace technology and provide reliable connectivity and ever sophisticated online experiences to attract more visitors and ticket buyers. Conversely the multi-day music festival can be an opportunity to unplug form all technology and get immersed in an experience far removed from the day-to-day humdrum. 

Almost all festival-goers like to take pictures and video to capture their experience of the music festival they attend. There are numerous considerations when deciding how to do this and often involves a compromise due to various factors. What do festival-goers need to consider in deciding how to take to capture their experiences.

All performance artists and musicians relish the opportunity to play live and the music festival has long been a lucrative source of revenue. For well-known popular artists there are increasingly more opportunities to earn substantial sums by performing at private events. How is this little-known sector developing and what are the implications for artists getting involved.

Music festival organisers invest considerable time and money in promoting their events before and during the live dates. The public relations work should not just finish once the event is over but must continue post-event too. What are the key PR considerations that organisers need to be aware of post-event. 

Organisers of music festivals have been active in recent years pledging their commitment to creating events that embrace the principles or DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). However, the reality may be very different from published policies so what should organisers be doing to tackle this gap between statements and reality?

Irrespective of the size of a music festival and the number of visitors in attendance medical emergencies do happen and organisers should have the ability to respond appropriately. What preparations can festival organisers put in place to handle medical emergencies that may occur on a festival site during the event.

All music festivals experience a host of organisational challenges on the dates the event takes place. Efficient communication and collaboration between festival staff, volunteers, artists and support services is vital on these days. What can organisers do to ensure that communication and collaboration efficiency is maximised during event dates.

Although external sponsors are a vital part of music festival revenue streams there are times when a strategic partnership may be a more attractive option. Sponsors pay to access the festival audience through marketing and on-site presence but a strategic partner can offer something to the festival organisation that adds value and potentially save them money.

When a music festival has multiple stages and hundreds of artists with performances spread over 3 days how can organisers manage the event scheduling to ensure everything happens when it should. The implications of poor scheduling can lead to adverse customer satisfaction and bad publicity so it’s vital that organisers master scheduling.

There are numerous smaller niche music festivals that take place in Europe and the United State every year that have been organised by record labels. Why are record labels running their own festivals and how can they turn this into a good revenue stream for their business for future survival.

The annual staff corporate event has been around a long time but in recent years organisations have been making these events more and more like a festival experience. Companies see these events as key to motivating staff as well as strengthening their brand internally but how can they make them enjoyable for staff attending too.

It can sometimes be difficult to understand why some music festivals are a commercial success while others fail with a mountain of debt. The reasons for success or failure are not usually down to a single factor but often the combination of numerous elements that can impact on a festival’s very survival.

Every year a handful of musicians trying to enter the UK to perform at a music festival can get their visa application refused or face issues on entry. The rules can be complex and are modified on a regular basis so what can festival organisers do to limit any potential issues when booking overseas artists to appear at their scheduled event.

Many festivals in the UK are set up as charities with a focus on raising money for social good rather than as a commercial concern. A number of smaller festival organisations are now moving their set up to the CIC format. This has numerous potential benefits but what are the requirements for festival organisers considering pursuing this route.

It can be difficult to compare the VIP packages available at different music festivals because organisers have different ideas about what constitutes a VIP offering. In an effort to differentiate the VIP packages on offer some festival organisers are ramping up what is available for festival-goers in order to attract more sales.