What is a Licensed Franchised Music Festival.

Growing a successful music festival brand by expanding into new markets can be a risky venture with failure not uncommon. One possible route to help reduce risk is to consider a licensed franchise arrangement with a third party who takes on the operational and logistics tasks but with the support of a known festival brand.

It is common practice to see media announcements about a well-known music festival brand opening a new event in a new territory. Whilst this may appear on the surface to be organised by the current festival operators it is more likely to be outsourced to an existing local operator under a licensed franchise arrangement. 

New Territories New Risks. 
A licensed franchise arrangement can make sense for all parties involved. The festival brand owner retains rights to the brand name without the headache of organising an event in an unknown new location. The franchisee gets access to a known and respected festival brand without heavy investment in marketing but gets the freedom to organise an event in the way that suits that environment. The financial arrangements can vary but typically the franchisee may pay up front fees plus a share of any profits made. The festival brand owner provides marketing support plus other assistance without the need to invest heavily in a new operation. 

Local Experience and Expertise. 
An experienced festival organiser in a target territory will already have knowledge of the local permit rules and regulations regarding the operation of a music festival. In addition, they will probably already have a network of contractors, sponsors, vendors, artists and support crew to make the planning and implementation a smooth process. 

Brand Support. 
Any licensed franchise agreements will likely specify the festival’s brand standards that will be required by the franchisee operator. This helps to maintain the brand presence and integrity in the public eye and helps with elements like line-up quality and festival-goer experience. The festival brand owner will usually provide plenty of support with marketing activities as it is in their interests that any new event is successful. This can include additional media coverage and press announcements along with advertising campaigns to generate ticket sales and activities to help attract sponsors. 

Opting for a licensed franchise arrangement as a way to enter a new territory or market can be a win win for both the festival brand owner and the franchisee organiser. Financial risks for the brand owner are minimised and specific arrangements can ensure that any franchisee organising entity will maintain the required brand standards. If the new event is not as profitable as expected the brand owner could exit from any arrangement without incurring a large financial investment loss. Such licensed franchise arrangements have been known to work well for many established music festival brands. 

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 candidsoul via Pixabay

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