Music Festival Organisational Structures Explained.

For anyone unfamiliar with the music festival industry the organisational structure may seem complex and difficult to understand. Music festivals require some unique roles with individuals often performing multiple functions due to the dynamic and fluid environment. What are the key functions within a festival and how do they interact with each other to deliver great events.

The organisational structure of a music festival entity will depend on the size of the event and overall business ownership model. For specific events that fall under the umbrella ownership of a larger group the structure may be well defined in line with corporate guidelines. Smaller independent festival entities will rely more on external contract workers and role definitions are flexible and will depend on utilising skills to deliver objectives rather than a clearly defined job description. To help explain the organisational structure of a music festival entity it is more logical to examine functions rather than an individual's role.

Leadership.
A festival entity may be part of a larger corporate group or independently owned, and this can dictate the leadership functions for events. A corporate group will often impose strict branding and operational procedures whereas independently owned festivals owned and run by a small group of individuals or investors have more flexibility. Both entity types will be responsible for appointing responsible leadership roles often in the form of an operating board of directors who oversee legal compliance, budgets and overall strategic direction and vision. Most common structures will appoint a Festival Director who has a business focus with responsibility for the entire festival operation and for making all key decisions. Some events also appoint an Artistic Director who works closely with the Festival Director but who has a focus on talent acquisition and programming in line with the event’s creative identity.

Core Functions.
Festivals run as part of a corporate group will often have core functions with teams containing full-time staff. Smaller events still rely on the same core functions, but team members may be a mixture of full-time staff and contract workers with some roles crossing between functions.

• Operations. Responsible for the event logistics and infrastructure which can include every aspect of converting a greenfield site into a mini city that is secure and safe with comprehensive facilities.
• Production. The production team ensure that all artist performances run smoothly, and the team will manage schedules along with stages plus sound and lighting systems essentially implementing artist’s tech riders.
• Talent Acquisition. Managed closely by the Artistic Director this team are responsible for artist contracts, fees, performance schedules and fulfilment of the artist’s hospitality riders plus transport and accommodation.
• Marketing. Responsible for promoting the festival and generating ticket sales using a combination of direct marketing, PR, advertising and social media. In addition, this function can dictate ticketing and pricing strategy to maximise revenue.
• Finance and IT. Often combined due to their back-office nature the finance team mange revenue streams and monitor budgets and cash flow to ensure that incoming and outgoing invoices are paid. The IT team manage festival-goer data and will be responsible for running operational systems like event management software.
• HR and Volunteers. An HR function will manage staff recruitment for both permanent and contract staff and are frequently involved in the management of volunteer teams too.
• Vendors and Sponsorship. These are revenue generating teams who manage the sales of pitch spaces and sponsorship opportunities. They work to sales revenue targets and account manage vendors and sponsors throughout the entire event process.  

Function Interactions.
All functions must work together for successful festival implementation, and this requires function leaders to meet on a regular basis to ensure that every aspect of the event is running to a pre-defined schedule. The most efficient way to do this is with a secure event management software system (like Festival Pro) that links every detail of a festival to all staff, contractors and artists together in one place.

Changing Roles and New Perspectives.
In a constantly changing world the functional roles within a music festival organisation will need to change too. There is a greater need to have someone responsible for sustainability to ensure that events meet any objectives set through ongoing monitoring and reporting. All businesses are increasingly under scrutiny on their diversity and inclusion directives and for festivals this can cover staff, volunteers and the artists curated. An increased use of AI in marketing, ticketing and crowd management will require more tech savvy resources to utilise and implement the latest tech innovations. 

For festival organisers planning their next event 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, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by geralt via Pixabay

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