Adopting Technology for Live Events.

In any industry the introduction of new technology can revolutionise how business is done and the live events sector is no exception to this. Whether it’s music festivals, live concerts or tours the industry has seen the introduction of technology in just about every aspect of planning, managing and implementing live events. 

When new technology gets launched there will always be early adopters and laggards, those who embrace technology want to make their operations more efficient whist reducing costs. Meanwhile there are those who may be reluctant to embrace new technology for fear of the unknown or change. What have been the key technology developments that have revolutionised the live events industry in recent years? 

Ticketing.
Tickets for events were traditionally always paper and distributed though ticket agents but this changed around 2002 when the introduction of Bar Codes at the football world cup revolutionised the event entrance process and issuing of electronic tickets via email. The industry has evolved to the extent that physical paper tickets have almost been eliminated and are now issued electronically to ticket buyers. Event entrances now use scanners to validate Bar Codes and QR Codes and mobile technology and payment gateways have enabled the adoption of this. This evolving technology has made the ticketing element of all events more efficient by reducing costs and limiting fraud and ticket touts to a degree. Ticket buyers get more convenience too but sometimes complain about excessive charges. Event organisers have a wide choice of ticketing companies to choose from with the deciding factors coming down to commission charges, service and their online distribution network.

Production. 
The processing power available for AV production equipment continues to increase and this does have an impact on the equipment used by AV engineers. Equipment manufactures release new improved products continuously for ever easier operation and increases in amplification quality. Engineers need to keep up to date with changes to stay at the cutting edge of developments. More recently the introduction of live streaming for events has been enabled by technology advances in streaming bandwidth along with improved production equipment capable of delivering buffer free quality content to paying audiences. 

On-site Technology. 
For venues and music festivals the advancement of technology has impacted the operational efficiency of events. Even remote festival sites now have high bandwidth Wi-Fi services enabling all of the on-site technology to work. Festival-goers and vendors now benefit from cashless payments either with wristbands or mobile wallets and the latest trends have seen technology enabling contactless ordering from vendors too. Even the electricity power generation for remote festival sites has benefited from technology with more use of biofuels or hydrogen and to a lesser extent solar and wind.

Event Management. 
Whilst many event organisers have adopted technology to help them plan and manage their events many still rely on a manual process. The use of spreadsheets and online document storage is still prevalent but there is technology available now to organise and managed every element of live event operations and logistics. Festival Pro is at the forefront of the technology that enables organisers to automate almost every aspect of their event management making them more efficient saving them time and money.

For live event organisers 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, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

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