The majority of music festivals in the UK are for the over 18s because of the wide availability of alcohol and the additional requirements needed for providing safety for children. Many organisers operate the Challenge 25 scheme to prevent underage festival-goers entering the site but how can this policy be implemented. 

Despite the non-stop flow of news about a gloomy economic outlook for the UK demand to attend a music festival in 2023 seems as buoyant as ever. It’s still a competitive landscape and festival organisers should be maximising their publicity by collaborating with relevant parties to increase their chances of achieving planned ticket sales volumes.

Music festival organisers are putting great emphasis on their sustainability polices and reduction of an event’s carbon footprint. Encouraging festival-goers to use transport with a low carbon footprint has been popular and some organisers offer free parking for visitors using EVs and PHEVs but why might his increase the event’s overall carbon footprint?

In most countries the economic pressure on inflation and rising prices has been brutal over the last 12 months. Prices for just about everything have risen and especially transport costs which is a concern for festival-goers who are already facing more expensive festival ticket prices. What is the easiest and cheapest way to get a festival this year.

For any music festival organisation that locates an event in an area that has a cultural centre or is has popular tourist attractions there are opportunities to partner with government funded entities. Both parties will gain benefits from the relationship and will have a synergistic impact on the potential success of any proposed festival.

Many multiple day music festivals now have dedicated chill-out zones which are increasingly popular with festival-goers. A chill-out zone gives visitors a chance to take a break from the music performances that can sometimes go on for up to 12 hours a day. What should organisers consider when planning a chill-out zone for their music festival.

Every country operates different rules and regulations for managing noise levels from music festivals. Any event licensing permission granted by local authorities will usually include provisions for noise levels and hours of operation. If any of these are breached it will likely lead to difficulties in obtaining the necessary event licence the following year.

Many music festivals made a return in 2022 after a 3-year break enforced on them by the coronavirus restrictions. In 2023 there are even more events returning after the forced closure but what steps can festival organisers take to get their events successfully up and running again this year after almost 4 years. 

Every music festival whether they are big or small needs to book a relevant line-up of artists. The organisers will have a budget for artist’s fees but they want to minimise that spend whilst artists want to maximise their revenue. This can lead to an impasse in negotiations but these can be overcome by considering other aspects related to the artist’s attendance at the event.

Music can transcend any language barriers as understanding the language used in lyrics is not essential to enjoying songs. This makes it possible to book artists from around the world to performs in their chosen language. What steps can festival organisers take to ensure that language barriers are not an issue when scheduling and booking artists form overseas. 

Any music festival can be incredibly complex to organise and schedule every production element. Although some organisers still do these tasks manually this can take too much time and is prone to errors. Using a computerised system to schedule festival production is now standard but dedicated event management software tools are also becoming popular.

It can take a considerable amount of time to plan a music festival but this can vary depending on the size and complexity of the event. There is no set standard about how long a festival takes to plan but anyone contemplating organising a festival in 2023 is probably already well into their planning phase.  

A testimonial is an endorsement statement from a satisfied customer and is a great tool that can be used by music festival organisations to boost the reputation of a particular event. How can organisers obtain customer testimonials and how can they be managed to the benefit of a music festival.

What staff managing a music festival wear during the live dates of an event is an extension of the event’s brand and its perception to all on-site visitors. Whether it’s full-time permanent staff or volunteers organisers should produce guidelines and dress codes for everyone working on site.

Every music festival incorporates an element of design in the branding presentation and is a key element of the organisation's public persona. Who are the people behind some of the most dazzling and creative images often associated with music festivals and how can organisers harness these creative individuals to build their own distinctive brand.  

Anyone attending a music festival is expecting to be entertained from the moment they arrive until they leave the site. With many festivals taking place over 3 or 4 days it can be challenging to provide non-stop activities for festival-goers. How can organisers ensure their event is scheduled to ensure a continuous flow of activities.

After any music festival it is essential to conduct a review of the event particularly the operational and logistical aspects. A comprehensive review of event’s operations will help in understanding what went well and what can be improved for future festivals. What are the key aspects to consider when conducting the post event review.

Event marketing has evolved over the years and this is set to continue into 2023 and festival organisers should embrace changes and developments that increase their marketing spend effectiveness. What aspects of the marketing mix are shifting and what should organisers focus on over the coming years.

Everyone is currently experiencing rising costs and this applies to performance artist and musicians as well as music festival organisers. What are the implications for organisers looking to book their artist line-up for events taking place in 2023 and what are the primary considerations.

Sometimes called member get member these schemes are marketing programmes that leverage existing customers to recruit new customers. Music festival organisations can utilise these schemes to generate new sales at a vastly reduced cost whilst strengthening brand loyalty at the same time.

Advances in technology have enabled organisations to reach wider audiences with their offerings. The online presence of websites and social media have facilitated the creation of new sales channels where ecommerce technology helps generate instant sales and revenue. How can organisers harness all available sales channels to maximise revenue.

Newsletters in any industry are a great way to engage and communicate with customers and prospects. The old paper newsletter has largely disappeared and been replaced with an electronic variant. How can music festival organisers maximise marketing and sales opportunities with their own newsletter. 

Almost every music festival organisation now offers a pre-registration scheme for festival-goers interested in future ticket purchases. What are the benefits to festival-goers registering and to organisers operating these schemes and how can be they be managed to improve both efficiency and sales revenue.

For most people the autumn and winter months mean the end of festival season and a return to normality. This is also a time to recover and look forward to next year’s events but what are the typical symptoms and how can individuals prepare themselves and fully recover in the 12 months between their favourite festival.

Every music festival will list items that can and cannot be brought onto a festival site and these are usually listed on the event’s website. The reasons for prohibiting items can vary between being outright illegal or to maintaining the safety and integrity of the event and prevention of harm to festival-goers.

Any sizeable music festival will always focus on the artist line-up and promoting confirmed bookings as this is what drives ticket sales. In addition to artists booked organisers also strive to offer different content and services for festival-goers. What are the key offerings organisers can consider to diversify experiences for festival-goers.

During the planning phase for any music festival the curation of performance artists involves fee negotiation along with advancing and riders. Artists may make claims for additional expenses incurred during the event and the management of these is critical to budgetary control for festival organisers.

Any gathering of large numbers of people is always a concern to local police whose primary concerns are potential safety, criminal activity and local disruption. Most police forces have someone responsible for co-ordinating events with festival organisers along with processes and procedures for notification and approval to proceed.

Festival-goers always eagerly await the announcements of headliners and line-ups for music festivals. For events taking place in the summer months the most popular time for announcements is autumn and winter but how do organisers decide which artists are headliners and in which order to present them.

Artist curation for music festivals is a challenging occupation and the current economic climate is making this more difficult. In addition music tastes are changing faster than ever before and predicting popularity a year in advance remains one of the biggest challenges for artist curators.