Frequently Missed Opportunities Monetising a Music Festival.

All music festival organisers need to generate revenue to cover their costs and if possible, to make a return on investment. Profit margins can be very tight and low, and organisers try to use every tool they have to generate additional revenue but are they missing out on other incremental revenue generating opportunities?

Investing in a music festival is generally considered a high-risk venture but the rewards can be significant if executed well. Organisers that utilise experienced staff combined with lengthy planning phases and efficient financial and logistics management will always have more chance of success. What are the key revenue generating activities for the festival and what opportunities are they missing?

Finances and Budgeting. 
A key element of the planning phase is accurate financial planning and budgeting that includes costs to be incurred and when along with estimated revenue streams. This enables an accurate cash flow forecast to be produced and helps identify potential shortfalls. Financial plans will always include contingency plans for unexpected additional costs, and it is not unusual to have a number of different revenue forecast scenarios for sales revenue to be earned. 

Essential Monetisation. 
The financial planning will consider historical data to build an accurate picture of the revenue streams and the following are usually included in these calculations 

• Ticket sales, the primary source of revenue for music festivals, early bird discounts, and tiered pricing can incentivise early purchases improving cash flow.
• Sponsorship and Brand Partnerships.
• Merchandise Sales sold on-site.
• Food and Beverage Sales partnerships and revenue shares.
• VIP Experiences that may include VIP lounges, expedited entry, preferential viewing areas, and meet-and-greet opportunities with artists.
• Live Streaming and Content Licensing for those not attending but willing to pay for live streams 

Missed Opportunities.
In addition to the revenue streams above organisers often overlook other opportunities that generate good revenue and could include:

• Services on-site often provided by third party vendors, but organisers may choose to commission their own provision of phone charging stations, locker rentals, or VIP toilet access. Also consider charges for parking and shuttle services.
• Data collection can be very valuable for sponsors and advertisers wishing to target specific audiences that match the demographics of festival-goers. As long as there is GDPR compliance the data could be sold to interested third party advertisers.
• Advertising space both on-site and on the festival website and social media channels can be sold to interested brands. This can be part of sponsorship packages or sold separately.
• Extended sponsorship opportunities can include stages, playlists, artist interviews and backstage areas for example. This extra exposure can generate additional revenue from the sponsor.
• Creation of loyalty schemes for festival-goers which encourages return visits for future events and the data collected enables targeted advertising campaigns.
• Post-festival activities can generate incremental revenue from selling festival content and after movies. This can be combined with merchandise and memorabilia sales related to the event attended.  

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.

Image by DanikPrihodko via Pixabay

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