When live music venues and music festivals were forced to close in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic many organisers shuttered their operations and ceased any activity to reduce expenditure. For venue owners and festival organisers with access to funds this downtime was seen as an opportunity to refresh and update their venues and festival operations.

The music festival sector has always relied on international performance artists as headliners which invariably means an element of travel. What are the obstacles that need to be overcome by music festival organisers when curating international talent and what needs consideration when booking artists that will have to travel.

As with many things in life it is often better to book early to avoid disappointment and the same principle can be applied to finding and booking performance artists for music festivals. What are the challenges in confirming acts and what benefits can festival organisers gain by getting their headliners and line-ups confirmed at an early date.

It is rare for any musician or performance artist to achieve success without the help of a professional management team who represent and provide essential advice to up and coming artists. The management team can help build an artist's career and get their music or material in front of key producers and negotiate contracts for live event appearances.

Running a successful music festival will depend to a large extent on the headline acts that can be secured. The selection of performance artists confirmed will help sell tickets and provides an excellent platform for the marketing and promotion of the music festival. What are the key steps organisers should take to negotiate with performance artists to secure them at the best rate. 

For regular annual music festivals and other live events changing a venue or festival site can present many logistical issues. What are the primary reasons for a venue or site change and what steps can organisers take to make a smooth transition to a new location without affecting the commercial success.

The subject of diversity within the live events industry has been discussed numerous times and we have previously published several articles on this topic. However, there is a new variation of this theme emerging which adds further clarification to what employers in the industry should be doing, referred to with the acronym DE&I, Diversity Equity and Inclusion. 

New music festivals constantly get launched every year but what are the critical steps involved in turning an idea into reality. There is undoubtedly a critical path of tasks that need to take place and managing these takes great organisational skills and a deep knowledge of how the music festival sector operates.

The person that manages every aspect of any type of festival is often referred to as the Festival Director and is usually appointed by a limited company or other responsible organisation. Most individuals that reach the pinnacle of this role are usually the most experienced with a proven record of running successful festivals.

It takes great people to organise and run a successful music festival or live event so having a reliable team in place is a crucial step in the logistics process. One element that can totally disrupt any event is a lack of staff whether it’s full-time employees or volunteers. What steps can organisers take to mitigate such an occurrence?

One of the most difficult tasks for any festival organiser is making financial forecasts for their future event. There are so many factors to consider and poor financial forecasting and lack of contingency planning has been the downfall of many festivals. What factors should festival organisers consider to build robust financial forecasting for their event.

Film Festivals are very popular around the world and vary in size from the large established film festivals like Cannes to small community film screenings. Most of the larger film festivals are organised by various arts institutes who receive public funding to promote the film industry as a whole.

The music festival industry is ever evolving and an important part of that evolution is bringing in new and up and coming talent to a line-up. The big-name stars will always be a draw for festival-goers but as a key part of the live music industry music festivals should be playing a key role in providing a platform for new talent. 

Party-goers in any city are a fickle bunch, what can venue owners of nightlife destinations do to obtain loyalty and keep people coming back. Trends change on a regular basis and venue owners of nightclubs and pubs need to reinvent themselves on a regular basis. Obtaining customer loyalty can be achieved in a variety of ways. 

There has been a steady growth in the number of professional DJs over the years helped by advances in technology and the rise of the dance rave culture in the late 80’s. With tens of thousands of DJs earning money to a greater or lesser extent from live performances what chance does a new budding DJ stand in this environment.

Corporate sponsors are the lifeblood of many festivals and although the majority are alcohol based companies' other popular sectors that sponsor festivals include telecoms and financial services. With large budgets and huge responsibilities, a career as a brand or sponsorship manager is attractive, what does it take to carve out a career with a corporate sponsor. 

With sustainability and climate change being a hot topic for 2021 it is now more important than ever for festival organisers to have a clear and deliverable sustainability policy. Any policies and statements are important for all potential audiences including festival-goers, sponsors, vendors and suppliers who are now more interested than ever about a festival's sustainability credentials. 

For festival organisations with sizeable teams there are the legal minimum benefits that employers must give to their staff. These relate to working hours, holiday allowances and salary for example. However, given the additional unsocial hours often worked organisers should get creative in how they reward their teams.

Any large-scale music festival can use up to 1,000 volunteers and many festivals would struggle to operate without them. The volunteer recruitment and management are a key aspect of managing any successful event. With so many volunteers to manage it is inevitable that the personality types will vary.

Aside from the traditional marketing channels and mix of activities a growing channel used by advertisers is the use of social media influencers. Whether it's for an upcoming music festival PR announcement or for an associated product or service from sponsors the use of social media influencers should form part of the entire marketing mix.