Is AI a Friend or Foe for Music Festival Entities.

The development and utilisation of AI technology is currently dominating global media channels where the benefits and risks are constantly being discussed. Should AI be considered a threat to the music festival industry or are their significant benefits to be derived from its adoption?

AI presents opportunities for festival organisers, promoters, ticketing platforms, artists, sponsors and suppliers with the possibility of reducing operating costs and improving audience experiences. At the same time an increase in cybersecurity threats, creative ownership issues and the impact on employment need to be balanced with potential benefits. Can AI be adopted in the music festival industry to harness the benefits without undermining creativity, security and trust.

The AI Hype and Reality.
A key consideration for the festival industry is to pitch AI as a tool rather than a strategy; it will not cure every operational problem or magically create a music event. Like any software tool AI still needs expressly defined parameters in which to solve problems, it cannot blindly take control of critical processes to improve efficiency. Music festival entities will need to balance the adoption of AI technology where appropriate to ensure it is not completely rejected but also not given unrestricted control. Careful and well considered integration of AI can improve already established process and procedures to add value. If AI adoption creates unacceptable security risks or impacts on human creativity and judgement it would be unacceptable for any festival entity.

Benefits of Using AI For Music Festival Operations.
One of the biggest potential benefits of AI would be integration in the planning and forecasting systems where historical data can be rapidly processed to produce accurate forecasts. When combined with human insights it may be possible to forecast tickets sales, staffing requirements, queues and potential bottlenecks for example. This could save significant time in manual processing and using legacy software tools. Many ticketing platforms already utilise AI to improve the ticketing management processes with predictive analytics and fraud detection. Customer support is also being enhanced with out-of-hours AI chatbots which can answer routine questions about tickets, travel, accessibility, and schedules, for example. Many event production companies and technical engineers now use equipment that operates AI enhanced software, typically to support sound mixing, equipment monitoring, power demand forecasting and lighting optimisation. The marketing function of many festival entities have been early adopters of AI technology because it was integrated with online advertising and SEO marketing platforms some time ago. Evidence suggests that this has helped to segment audiences, test messaging, analyse campaign performance and identify purchasing patterns making the marketing budget more efficient usually using fewer resources to operate. Even event sustainability management has benefited from AI enhanced tools where waste is tracked, water consumption monitored and power generators optimised to reduce emissions.

When AI can be a Risk to the Festival Entity.
The biggest risk from AI is probably the use of the technology to help hackers and criminal networks more easily deploy cybersecurity attacks. These usually target festival-goer data with the objective of identity theft. Attacks can come from automated AI bots which create convincing phishing messages that impersonate staff, for example. An overreliance on AI tools within a festival's operations where many process and procedures are automated can weaken the judgement of operational staff who have the insight and experience to creatively solve problems faster than any AI tool can. The more a festival adopts AI the more festival-goers may become sceptical, especially where public announces and marketing messages feel generic and automated. This can make the event feel less authentic because the festival feels impersonal rather than the traditional community feel festival-goers are used to. AI is increasingly being used to generate artist likenesses, voices or music and if this content becomes part of a festival, it could create legal disputes damaging commercial relationships and festival-goer trust.

Common Sense AI Adoption.
If the adoption of AI can demonstrate that it improves operational decision making, reduces repetitive work and adds value then it's probably worth considering. From a festival-goer perspective AI use can help to provide more personalised and relevant information which should improve accessibility and customer support helping to enhance the overall festival interaction experience. Whatever approach a festival entity takes to adopting AI technology a key priority is to ensure that there is always security and data governance especially when it relates to ticketing, marketing, finance and festival-goer's personal data. Currently the most useful application of AI tools is in the planning and forecasting of key metrics for events plus the analytics it can provide during live dates and post event. Festival entities should always consult with their staff when considering AI adoption as it may impact on working practices requiring modified process and procedures. As AI is still relatively new in the music festival sector any adoption should include operational resilience so that manual fallbacks exist should there be any technical issues, particularly where AI is being used for ticket validations, power management and connectivity, for example.

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 Sanket Mishra via Pexels

<< Back to articles