The Benefits to Music Festival Entities of Sponsoring Students and Educational Institutions.

There are numerous recognised institutions that offer a variety of music festival related formal courses that include live event production and technical topics. Courses available range from short part-time informal training at local colleges to 4-year bachelor's and master's degrees available at recognised universities.

There are a range of benefits to music festival organisations in creating close connections to the institutions and students involved in live music and events related courses. Students attending these courses are using formal training environments to help them break into an industry that is notoriously difficult to get into. Partnering with relevant institutions and their students provides benefits for all parties involved and may include the following:

Local Community. 
Music festivals can cause numerous issues with local residents and partnering with a local educational institution and sponsoring students can be a good way of demonstrating that the festival is giving something back to the community. A close relationship with an educational institution can help to build engagement and relationships with key stakeholders in the local area. This can result in a positive impact in increased support and attitudes from local residents and businesses who will be more willing to support and participate in future events. 

Brand Awareness.
Sponsoring students and educational institutions can help music festivals to increase their brand recognition and awareness among key target audiences. Both the festival and educational institution can generate great engagement and publicity through effective joint press releases and other promotional activities. This brand association can enhance the image of the festival and educational institution and encourage more people in target audiences to apply for courses and attend the festival.

Recruitment and Talent Sourcing.
Partnering with a local education institution provides access to students who can be given preferential treatment for internship roles available in the festival organisation. By providing work experience students can get exposure to aspects of the festival that are relevant to their studies and may include logistics management, event marketing, production, artist management and numerous hospitality functions. This can benefit the students once they qualify because they can add valuable experience to their resume. In addition, sponsoring work experience and providing intern opportunities makes talent acquisition easier for the festival organisation. 

Social Responsibility.
Corporate social responsibility is a trending topic for businesses and when a music festival sponsors educational institutions and students, they are fulfilling some of their obligations to being a responsible organisation. Their actions demonstrate a commitment to social responsibility and community development providing a positive image of the festival. 

In some instances, educational institutions have been known to invite key festival staff to participate in course content and provide speakers to address students about specific aspects of running a music festival. These subject matter experts can provide an invaluable insight into live event businesses that students cannot get from simply reading material.

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 Yan Krukau via Pexels

<< Back to articles