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.

Music festivals rely on the help of volunteers to make their events happen and managing them can be challenging. From recruitment and training to the allocation of shifts a volunteer manager is often a full-time role. Issuing a conduct policy for volunteers can save time on training and supervision management time.

Accurate accreditation for back stage and hospitability zones of music festivals is vital for security and safety reasons. Historically the accreditation process has often been subject to abuse but technology is helping to rectify this. What can festival organisers do to ensure that their on-site accreditation processes operate smoothly with no errors.

Large music festivals can have hundreds of vendors and the money earned from pitch spaces is a crucial revenue stream for organisers. Popular festival vendor pitches are often oversubscribed and meticulous selection criteria are used to choose vendors that fit with the event’s ethos and can provide goods and services wanted by festival-goers.

Despite the best efforts of festival organisers there are still cases of discrimination taking place at music festivals, both reported and unreported. Western countries do have strict laws regarding every type of discrimination giving anyone on the receiving end some legal redress, however, what practical steps can organisers take to prevent discrimination on festival sites. 

Over the years some iconic music festivals have disappeared for a variety of reasons never to return. Is there any value in these defunct festival brands and is it worth reviving an old festival brand under new ownership. What are the pitfalls and potential benefits of reviving an old festival band.

The business environment is in a very different place now compared to 2019 and understanding trends for the coming year is vital. The live events sector was especially hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic but new challenges are coming from rising inflation and wavering economies.

With an emphasis on sustainability and waste reduction single use plastics are now banned from most music festival sites. Alternative containers are encouraged and include recyclable plastic or paper cups and those made from metal. Glass is an ideal container as it is easily recycled and can be reused so why is glass banned from most festival sites? 

Music festival branding is playing an increasingly important role in an organisation's success. Festival branding encompasses numerous aspects from committed loyal staff, great line-ups, exceptional customer service and festival-goer experience. Once these building blocks are in place the festival brand can be enhanced with merchandise.

The majority of music festivals embrace good causes and support for social and environmental issues but there are occasions when protesters operate outside of the festival organisation. How can organisers manage protesters who refuse to cooperate and are intent on disrupting an event.

Revenue from sponsorship is an essential lifeblood of every music festival. Alcohol brands have traditionally been amongst the biggest financial sponsors of music festivals but there are moves from pressure groups and government bodies to restrict or ban alcohol and other ‘undesirable’ sponsorship from some live events.

Music festival organisers need to reach their target audiences to sell tickets for their event and a key element of this is the regular media splash of news regarding line-ups and ticket availability. To get relevant news published in an accurate and timely manner many festival organisers enter into media partnerships.

Funding is crucial to the development and growth of any event especially in the arts and music sectors. There are financial grants available for those qualified in most counties with numerous government funded schemes running. What is currently available for organisers of arts and music events.

With the prices of music festival tickets getting ever more expensive the use of payment plans to purchase tickets is becoming common practice. The ability to offer some form of credit can be a complex process for festival organisers in the UK where offering such plans is usually regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Music festivals taking place in remote locations will need to generate their own electricity to make it possible for the event to operate. The traditional route for providing power has always been the diesel generator but what other options are available for festival organisers keen to make their events more sustainable with a reduction in carbon footprint.  

Every music festival offers some form of VIP package to festival-goers as part of their ticketing options. VIP packages have been increasing in popularity as festival-goers have more disposable income and seek to escape from wet muddy fields. How can organisers mange this important aspect of the modern-day music festival.

Any sizable music festival generates huge amounts of data every year as part of their operational processes. Whilst it’s tempting to delete historical data from previous events and start the new festival season with a clean slate there are key important reasons why previous event data should be archived for future reference. 

The number of artists, crew, contractors, staff and volunteers working on a music festival site can stretch to the thousands and all these individuals need feeding over the course of the live dates. How can festival organisers manage the on-site catering and issuing of meal tickets to ensure that everyone is sufficiently fed in a timely manner. 

Managing ticket and pass accreditation for music festivals is a trending topic in 2022. How can festival organisers get to grips with the management of their accreditation processes to ensure that the right people have the correct access to appropriate zones and areas of a music festival site.