Moving From a Multi-day Music Festival to a Single Day Event.

In the current economic climate does it make sense to move a multi-day music festival to a single day event? The occurrence of this happening may increase in the near future because there are numerous business reasons why this is advantageous to music festival organisers and owners.

The costs of putting on a music festival have been rising at the same time that more new events are appearing combined with greater audience selectivity. The multi-day festival is certainly becoming more challenging to make profitable with many organisers calling it quits in 2024. Moving to a single day event may be the way to secure a festival's survival into the future but what factors are involved in this decision? 

External Economics. 
The benefits of organising a single day event over a multi-day one will be a reduction in overall costs because of reduced infrastructure requirements and fewer staff resources. A single day evert is potentially easier to organise with added flexibility on location and dates. Single day events tend to have a more focused genre line up and although overall audience numbers may be lower there is a higher possibility that the festival will sell out as ticket prices will be considerably less than those charged for multi-day events. 

Operations and Logistics. 
The logistics for a single day event will be simplified with external contractors only required for shorter periods increasing the choice for organisers. The planning period can be condensed and faster because there are fewer things to organise. The number of artists booked is reduced and curators can focus on genres that are likely to generate more ticket sales. There will be little need to consider a provision for accommodation as festival-goers do not need to stay overnight. The requirement for vendors is reduced as festival-goers may only want limited quantities of food and beverages. 

Financial Factors. 
Bigger savings can be achieved with a single day event as external contractors and suppliers of temporary structures and backline equipment are only required for no more than two or three days compared to a week or more for multi-day events. The organising team will be smaller because there are fewer things to consider, and this will save on staff payments. The performance artist’s fees will be lower overall simply because there will be limits on how many can be booked for a single day. The marketing support campaigns to drive ticket sales can be more focused for a single day event which will increase efficiency and reduce advertising spend. 

Other Factors. 
Whilst it makes financial sense to switch to a single day event, if there is inclement weather on the selected day it can have a significant impact as opposed to multi-day events which can spread the weather risk over 3 or 4 days. Single day festivals are more suited to fixed venue locations with built in facilities making it easier for organisers to implement. City venues are popular for single day events because festival-goers can get to and from the event with limited planning and organisers can potentially have a smoother ticket sales process. 

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 StockSnap via Pixabay

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