New music festivals constantly get launched every year but what are the critical steps involved in turning an idea into reality. There is undoubtedly a critical path of tasks that need to take place and managing these takes great organisational skills and a deep knowledge of how the music festival sector operates.

The person that manages every aspect of any type of festival is often referred to as the Festival Director and is usually appointed by a limited company or other responsible organisation. Most individuals that reach the pinnacle of this role are usually the most experienced with a proven record of running successful festivals.

It takes great people to organise and run a successful music festival or live event so having a reliable team in place is a crucial step in the logistics process. One element that can totally disrupt any event is a lack of staff whether it’s full-time employees or volunteers. What steps can organisers take to mitigate such an occurrence?

One of the most difficult tasks for any festival organiser is making financial forecasts for their future event. There are so many factors to consider and poor financial forecasting and lack of contingency planning has been the downfall of many festivals. What factors should festival organisers consider to build robust financial forecasting for their event.

Film Festivals are very popular around the world and vary in size from the large established film festivals like Cannes to small community film screenings. Most of the larger film festivals are organised by various arts institutes who receive public funding to promote the film industry as a whole.

The music festival industry is ever evolving and an important part of that evolution is bringing in new and up and coming talent to a line-up. The big-name stars will always be a draw for festival-goers but as a key part of the live music industry music festivals should be playing a key role in providing a platform for new talent. 

Party-goers in any city are a fickle bunch, what can venue owners of nightlife destinations do to obtain loyalty and keep people coming back. Trends change on a regular basis and venue owners of nightclubs and pubs need to reinvent themselves on a regular basis. Obtaining customer loyalty can be achieved in a variety of ways. 

There has been a steady growth in the number of professional DJs over the years helped by advances in technology and the rise of the dance rave culture in the late 80’s. With tens of thousands of DJs earning money to a greater or lesser extent from live performances what chance does a new budding DJ stand in this environment.

Corporate sponsors are the lifeblood of many festivals and although the majority are alcohol based companies' other popular sectors that sponsor festivals include telecoms and financial services. With large budgets and huge responsibilities, a career as a brand or sponsorship manager is attractive, what does it take to carve out a career with a corporate sponsor. 

With sustainability and climate change being a hot topic for 2021 it is now more important than ever for festival organisers to have a clear and deliverable sustainability policy. Any policies and statements are important for all potential audiences including festival-goers, sponsors, vendors and suppliers who are now more interested than ever about a festival's sustainability credentials. 

For festival organisations with sizeable teams there are the legal minimum benefits that employers must give to their staff. These relate to working hours, holiday allowances and salary for example. However, given the additional unsocial hours often worked organisers should get creative in how they reward their teams.

Any large-scale music festival can use up to 1,000 volunteers and many festivals would struggle to operate without them. The volunteer recruitment and management are a key aspect of managing any successful event. With so many volunteers to manage it is inevitable that the personality types will vary.

Aside from the traditional marketing channels and mix of activities a growing channel used by advertisers is the use of social media influencers. Whether it's for an upcoming music festival PR announcement or for an associated product or service from sponsors the use of social media influencers should form part of the entire marketing mix.

The most successful music festivals are those that manage to evolve over time. This success is measured in growing ticket sales along with an ever-improving number of headline performance artists. With good control and logistics this kind of growth should lead to commercial success too, what are the key elements to this evolution.

There are a large number of food and drink festivals that take place in the UK every year attracting thousands of visitors and they remain popular for all foodies. In addition to the more generic food and drink festivals there are a number of specialist festivals that focus on just one or two specific food or drink groups.

The UK is home to some of the world's most notable music and arts festivals but there is also a vibrant festival scene that celebrates the cultural diversity of Britain's population. These festivals offer an insight into the food, religion and cultural experience from faraway lands and appeals to those who perhaps never get the chance to travel to other countries. 

The pressure on performance artists to continue to produce new material and commit to live performances can have a detrimental effect on their mental health. How can artist’s management teams and others in responsible positions manage the mental health of performance artists to ensure a long and healthy career.

Before the advent of smart phones and relatively cheap desktop computing most festivals were run by organisers using a mixture of diaries, pen and paper or if they were lucky a Filofax. Armed with these and a landline phone festival organisers spent most of their time scribbling down dates, numbers and associated information. Times have changed and now festival organisers can get access to numerous time saving online tools. 

Music festivals have always been popular and interest in them has been on the rise over recent years. With the coronavirus pandemic causing the cancellation of just about all music festivals interest waned a bit but has certainly picked up in recent months. What does Google Trends indicate the current level of interest. 

For full time events team staff the festival season can be hectic and stressful. In the lead up to any large-scale music festival the work pressure of logistics deadlines combined with problem solving and long hours can impact on everyone's morale. What steps can festival organisers takes to ensure overall wellbeing of the events team.