How a Music Festival Curated Line-up Influences Ticket Sales  

The line-up presented by festival organisers for a forthcoming event can impact significantly on ticket sales. The line-up curation process is a vital element of music festival planning but what are the key factors that ultimately drive ticket sales. Balancing budgets with artist availability and festival-goer's expectations can be very challenging.

Artist curation is a specialist skill and requires individuals with extensive knowledge of music festival curation and an understanding of current and future trends. Whilst a large scale festival entity may have a team of in-house artistic curators most smaller events will appoint an experienced artistic director on a contract basis. 

Understanding Data. 
After any festival it is advisable to obtain feedback from festival-goers on every aspect of the event and this must include what they thought about the artist line-up presented. It may also be worth looking through comments on social media associated with line-up announcements, which may be useful but is purely anecdotal. Some organisers can also conduct more robust research with regular loyal festival-goers and ask them which artists and genres they would like to see at a future event. 

The Pulling Power of Headliners. 
Any well-known artist with a history of headline performances can be a draw for festival-goers and generate increased ticket sales because they will usually have a large fan base of followers. A balance between desirability, availability and budgets can dictate which headline artist the organisers can curate. There is generally a correlation between headliner announcements and tickets sales. 

Genre Selection. 
A mixed genre festival will have more choice when considering artists to book however an event with a reputation for a particular genre type should probably stick with established artists that fall into that category. If curators go off-genre this can have a negative impact on ticket sales, however, this may depend how they are presented. Introducing a new or sub-genre to a festival with an established genre is possible if they create a separate stage or zone. This could attract new festival-goers to the event increasing ticket sales. 

Diversity and Inclusion. 
Festival-goers are well aware of the current political drive for diversity and inclusion in everyday life. This should be extended to the music festival line-up curation process too where traditionally diversity and inclusion have been lacking. A better balance of male/female acts and artists from other social communities can bring a better balance to the line-up presented, potentially increasing ticket sales. 

Emerging Talent. 
Whilst well known headline artists can be a major draw to a festival and generate great ticket sales many festival-goers are also keen to experience new artists and material. Curating emerging talent should always be part of the process and is an essential part of building the overall talent pool. Some festival-goers like to be considered early adopters and experiencing new talent helps them feel part of that process. 

Timing. 
The timing of line-up announcements is critical, especially in a market where festival-goers can only afford a single event but are faced with multiple choices. Early bird ticket deals combined with headliner announcements 6 months before the event date can drive ticket sales from this group. Meanwhile other festival-goers prefer to wait until organisers announce a full line-up. Analysis of ticket sales patterns for previous events by date correlated with announcements will provide guidance for organisers about when to make crucial announcements. 

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 Lillyguster via Pixabay

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