Cost Reduction Tips for Music Festival Organisers.

In the current economic climate of rising prices and high interest rates operating a music festival profitably will likely be a challenge in 2023. What measures can organisers look at with a view to reducing their operating costs without impacting on the quality of the event delivery and experience.

The costs of running a music festival in most countries has risen this year and organisers have had to make some difficult decisions particularly in relation to staffing resources and ticket prices. Increasing tickets prices can be a precarious measure, increase the prices too much and demand will fade away and cutting staff can impact on the quality of event delivery. There are alternative cost reduction measures that may be preferable in the current climate.

Suppliers. 
A music festival can use hundreds of different suppliers and contractors from stage installation to backline equipment, security fencing and power generators for example. Suppliers have also experienced rising costs and they will try to pass these increases onto the festival organisation. It’s worth negotiating with suppliers to gain favourable terms that may help spread the costs with a promise in principle to use a particular supplier for the next five years for example.

Staffing and Contractors.
Many festival organisations have ditched their bricks and mortar office spaces in favour of remote working, and this is set to continue. Huge savings can be made by getting all staff to work remotely from home without impacting on salaries paid. Only operational staff should be on-site during the event live dates with any administrative and support teams continuing to work from home saving on travel and accommodation expenses. Consider moving some non-essential on-site tasks to volunteers rather than employed positions.

Energy Efficiency. 
Investigate the latest technological innovations to ensure that the backline and other equipment is configured to be energy efficient with a significant reduction in electricity consumption. If the festival is using diesel generators, consider moving to cheaper fuels like hydrogen or other biofuels and supplementing electricity supplies with solar and wind power generation.

Marketing.
Changing how marketing budgets are spent can maintain exposure at reduced costs so moving advertising spend into digital marketing campaigns can increase effectiveness at a reduced cost. Using more social media platforms to promote the festival with targeted advertising can help increase target audience engagement and generate ticket sales too.

Operations and Infrastructure.
Explore and use the latest technology for cashless payments for both ticket sales and on-site transactions. Cashless payment processes are faster with the benefits of reduced errors and increased efficiency. Waste management can incur large fees from suppliers so consider actions that reduce the volume of waste like getting festival-goers to take their rubbish home. Look at all internal operational processes and procedures and consider technology that can increase efficiency and eliminate costly errors. Good event logistics management software can help reduce costs by optimising transportation routes, minimising waste, and improving communication. 

For festival organisers planning their events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk via pexels

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