Organising VIP Meet and Greets with Music Festival Artists.

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.

At a large music festival with hundreds of bands scheduled organising a meet and greet with artists for VIP customers can be challenging. The back stage environment is a busy place with technicians, artists, support crews and festival staff all trying to do their jobs in often confined spaces. How can festival organisers manage meet and greets that satisfy VIP customers and artists at the same time. 

Planning. 
It is essential to establish at an early stage in the planning process which artists want, or are willing, to do meet and greets. Some artists are happy to do these and others may do them reluctantly. Having established which artists will do meet and greets the details need to specified in any agreements and included in the advancing document. This ensures that all those concerned are aware of the obligation including the artists themselves plus the artist's managers and festival organising staff responsible for artist liaison and backstage hospitality. Early confirmation also allows organisers to include details on VIP packages to encourage ticket sales from fans keen to meet specific artists. 

Location. 
Most back stage areas are tightly packed and if artists are lucky, they may get use of a dressing room and green room. If the festival is hosting a number of meet and greet events it would be wise to create a separate dedicated space that is protected from the elements and where access is easily manged. The dedicated space should allow for seats and tables with plenty of refreshments for artists and VIP customers. A designated area should be available for photographs and merchandise too. 

Timing and Behaviour. 
Most meet and greets are held after the artist has completed their performance so it is sensible that they have an opportunity to wind down and refresh themselves prior to proceeding to the meet and greet area. Some artists may only need 5 minutes others could take an hour so organisers should have a flexible schedule of estimated timing and make allowances for late arrivals. Whilst the majority of artists are keen to meet their fans some that are more reluctant can be difficult to manage. They may be a no show or insist on an appearance only or even be rude to guests. It is prudent that VIP customers are fully briefed on what is and is not permissible and may relate to photography, physical touching or topics of conversation for example. 

Managing any meet and greet event can be demanding and stressful with many unpredictable moving parts, however, most are successful for the artists and fans alike.

For festival organisers planning their events 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.

Photo by Martin Lopez via Pexels

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