In these troubling coronavirus times, the financial pressures on the independent music festivals have never been greater. There is likely to be some movement in the industry with acquisitions and bankruptcy entirely possible but with a successful festival season in 2021 this may be avoided.  

The logistics behind organising stage backlines for a music festival with multiple stages can be a huge challenge for festival organisers. What are the key considerations in organising stage backlines to ensure perfect live performances that stick to scheduled timetables without any technical issues?

All music festival fans are hopeful that a good number of festivals will return in the latter part of 2021 so now is a good time to start planning which festivals to go for. For those new to the festival scene there is an unwritten etiquette to follow that has been documented by regular festival goers over the years for festival newbies.

Whether it’s an artist on tour or music festival the many suppliers including lighting and sound technicians, equipment suppliers and providers of safety and site management for example have been faced with a dire 2020. What will be the impact of this on the live events sector if and when events and music festivals return in 2021. 

As so many events and music festivals were cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic most organisers opted for postponing to 2021. The majority of event organisers gave ticket buyers the option to request a refund or carry over their ticket to a postponed date with most ticket holders opting for the latter.

Every event goer has their preference for live events and music festivals they would like to attend based on either previous experience or recommendations. How can event goers plan for their attendance at live events and music festivals this year when there is so much turmoil in the industry? 

With the cancellation of events in 2020 many organisers decided to reduce budgets and staff with the easiest areas to cut being the marketing spend and staff. This does have an immediate financial benefit of reduced operational costs but in some ways is short-sighted as event organisers should be overhauling their marketing activity not stopping it.

Almost all music festivals were postponed to 2021 and whilst the pandemic continues to cause disruption there is still hope that festivals can return in the second half of the year. There has been much progress made in recent years to make festivals more sustainable but can they maintain this progress and improve further once festivals return later this year.  

Something that has affected many over the last year are mental health issues whether it be as a result of lockdowns or other issues like being unable to work. It is those working in the events industry that have been particularly badly hit by this. With the prospects of strict lockdowns at the start of 2021 it doesn't look like this situation is going to improve. 

As event organisers grapple with getting their events up and running at some point in 2021 there is of course a knock-on effect on booking performance artists. Organisers are running multiple scenarios and looking at all their contingency plans in light of the coronavirus pandemic that persists in disrupting normal life around the world. 

Many event organisers are deep into their planning for events in 2021, most opting for dates in the latter part of the year. Such is the uncertainty over the future effect of the coronavirus pandemic that event organisers are taking on the role of risk manager, what are the typical steps required for this change in focus? 

Over the last decade the interest and popularity of music festival that focus on music from previous generations has flourished. There is now a wide choice of retro music festivals for those interested in older music genres. Catering for those wishing to relive their youth because the current crop of popular festivals only offers the latest musical artists.    

2020 has been a catastrophic year for anyone working on the live events industry throughout the world. For those in Europe the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has been further compounded by the BREXIT negotiations and the potential fallout from any agreement on freedom of travel throughout Europe in the future.  

In a year of chaos for the live events industry many music festival organising teams have been laid off or at best furloughed there are many organisers desperate to put on their festival in 2021. Due to cost reductions and squeezed schedules music festival organisers are currently working flat out on their planning. 

When live events resume in the UK sometime in 2021 event organisers are going to be faced with a whole host of new restrictions and measures that will most likely be mandatory. Estimates suggest these new measures could account for up to 20% of event running costs, what are the likely measures that have a cost, hidden or otherwise.     

The development and progress of technology that can be used in the music festival industry has not stopped with the coronavirus pandemic. Conversely numerous software companies have been busy developing technology and software that will improve event goer experience and make festival organisers life's easier.  

With new surges in coronavirus infections throughout Europe and the rest of the world it appears that almost all festive and New Year events are facing cancellation. Although incredibly frustrating for the live events industry it is time to grin and bear it for the next few months to improve the prospects of live vents returning later in 2021.     

In these difficult times it's hard to believe that anyone would consider creating a brand-new UK music festival for the summer of 2021. Using the old Latin proverb ‘Fortune favours the bold’ is perhaps a relevant statement here, creating a new music festival is no mean task and in the current climate certainly risky. 

Whether it’s a large music festival or other smaller event all have some kind of online presence. The events sector is not renowned for their sophisticated websites and have a tendency to be scarcely populated with content, poor usability and navigation perhaps relying on an online reproduction of their event poster. 

The traditional source of revenue for music festivals are ticket sales, vendor pitch fees and sponsorship revenue. It's time that festival organisers got more creative and start looking at additional revenue streams. Creating alternative sources of revenue may help organisers with cash flow and assist in securing their financial survival.