The current economic environment is causing numerous music festivals to cancel their events during the current festival season citing rising costs and poor ticket sales. What are the biggest costs of running a music festival and can any element realistically be eliminated or expenditure reduced.

The music festival sector is relying more and more on advances in technology to drive efficiency, reduce costs and provide a competitive edge. The increasing reliance on technology is increasing opportunities for a variety of IT focussed roles within the wider music festival industry.

As part of the advancing process for artist DJs booked to perform at a music festival the technical rider specifies the equipment required by each DJ. How can artist liaison staff manage rider requests from DJs and what implications can this have on a music festival’s equipment set-up.

Larger music festivals with hundreds of artists performing on multiple stages is probably the ultimate challenge for stage managers and technical crews tasked with managing artist changeovers. What factors are involved in getting fast and seamless artist changeovers performed to give a good experience for festival-goers.

Fans of musicians and artists are the lifeblood of any performing artist and most will make time to connect with their fanbase through organised meet and greet events. How can festival organisers plan and mange VIP meet and greets for their performing artists amid what is usually a very hectic environment.

With the hustle and bustle of stage management at a busy music festival communication between key staff is essential. Using walkie talkies are potentially risky and without electronic devices communication can be problematic. The preferred solution is to use an intercom system specifically designed for this purpose.

The sustainability policies of many festival organisations have a focus on waste management, reducing single use plastics and using alternative power sources. The use of audio and lighting equipment rarely gets a mention but there are various environmental impact factors to consider when festival organisers are selecting equipment for their event.

Any music festival organisation looking for something a bit different from the usual farmers field for their festival location could consider trying one of Britain's historic buildings. Using such a venue can add to the attraction and help the festival gain improved brand awareness with its association to the site.

Most music festivals have become ticketless in recent years requiring robust technology solutions to control event entrance. There are a wide variety of suppliers and options available for festival organisers, what are the key basics anyone new to managing this technology needs to know.

The 2-year shut down of the entire music festival sector has made it challenging for festival organisers to survive. As the pandemic came to an end and the festival season got going it's clear that numerous external factors are now influencing ticket sales and the potential profitability of music festival organisations.

A key element of any festival's sustainability policies is environmentally friendly recycling of waste generated on-site. There are numerous options available for festival organisers to reduce on-site waste and push festival-goers into a recycling mindset. What are the practical steps that organisers can take to implement on-site recycling of waste.

Policing use of cannabis at a music festival is increasingly becoming a challenge for organisers. Many countries are going through fundamental changes in their legal systems allowing cannabis use but the interpretation by authorities can be significantly different so how do festival organisers navigate this complex environment.

The price charged to attend music festivals will rise in coming years due to inflationary pressure on the costs of running these events. This makes it vital that festival organisers place more emphasis on providing great customer service to all festival-goers and ticket buyers to increases their satisfaction and loyalty.

Recruiting and training hundreds of volunteers for music festivals can be challenging in so many ways for festival organisers. In an increasingly competitive environment for experienced volunteers can organisers leverage their accommodation options to attract the best volunteers available.  

Every music festival organiser invests time and effort in meticulous planning of their event to ensure that everything happens when it should. Putting in place additional contingency plans to avoid any unpredictable occurrences is recommended but can this also be applied to potential supply chain disruptions.

Most music festivals in the UK have some provision for festival-goers wishing to bring their children for a family experience. There are a number of music festivals that are family focussed and promoted as family friendly but what about infant children under about 2 years of age, what are the challenges faced by organisers and choices available for festival-goers.

The music festival sector may be going through a state of transition and organising entities are going to have to evolve their events to prosper in the future. What is impacting on the success or failure of the current music festival scene and what can organisers do to manage their events in the future.

It was only recently that a large-scale music festival promoter had their licence application refused leading to cancellation of the event. The rules and regulations laid down by government and implement by local councils are complex and sometimes vague. What can organisers do to ensure a successful licence application.  

The emerging popularity of the esports sector has seen bigger and more elaborate in-person events for fans and players. With festival-goers being a captive audience of potential gamers expect to see an increased presence of esports on music festival sites in the coming years which will benefit festival organisers, visitors and esports promoters.

This year has been a huge challenge for the music festival sector with multiple factors impacting on organisers. Every week there seems to be news of yet another festival cancellation, can festival organisers outsource some services to help mitigate challenges and avoid future cancellations?