The Seasonality of Music Festival News Releases.

The timing of press releases made by music festival organisers is a critical part of their overall communications strategy. What are the key drivers behind press releases made at certain times of the year and what type of news is announced throughout the year in each season for the typical summer music festival.

Timing is everything when it comes to making critical music festival announcements which will usually relate to line-ups, dates and venue news. Festival entities want to reach and engage with their key target audiences and the seasonality factor is just one element of the communications mix. Audience behaviour can also dictate where a particular announcement is made and this works in tandem with seasonality considerations. 

Seasonality Drivers for Music Festival News. 
One of the most important factors in getting news released is the proposed date of a forthcoming music festival. The date of an event will probably be the greatest determining factor that potential ticket buyers will consider when making any purchase decision. Organisers will therefore want to announce dates as early as possible in advance. After the event dates the next most important news will be the artist line-up and ticket prices which will be triggers to buy. The Line-up announcements can be timing critical and require significant planning to ensure maximum exposure at exactly the right time. 

Autumn and Winter. 
For the months October to January most festival organisers are still in their planning phase which will include communication plans of intended press releases. This period is reasonably close to previous events and is an ideal time to engage with existing festival-goers and generate pre-registration for next summer's festival. As the dark cold winter months approach festival organisers start to make their initial line-up announcements, usually as a first wave release or as limited headliner news. December has traditionally been the busiest month for music festival line-up announcements which can make it challenging to stand out from the competition. 

Spring. 
Festival plans start to mature in the months February to April and many organisers will have finalised their line-up which they will usually announce in conjunction with their full ticketing prices and plans. This is the season that usually generates the highest volume of ticket sales and many organisers also prefer to announce VIP packages along with any accommodation or transportation deals to generate incremental income. This period will also see significant content posts online regarding artist profiles, festival themes and new on-site activities or attractions to drum up interest, engagement, buzz and tickers sales. 

Summer. 
As the festival dates approach organisers will announce any late additions to the line-up and encourage festival-goers to download their dedicated App and arrange top-up of cashless accounts. In some cases, organisers may also announce schedules and stage times so ticket buyers can plan their attendance. During the festival live dates organisers will often post live updates and video snippets on social media to increase engagement with those in attendance plus generate interest from potential future customers. 

Opportunities for Organisers. 
It is essential that festival organisers fully understand the impact of posting news at given times of the year. The key considerations for any press release is will the content generate buzz and ticket sales. This can be affected by timing because many music festivals use similar timing to make announcements so there is always a danger of news getting lost in a sea of competing festival news. Getting news out early in the cycle can generate ticket sales from customers considering a choice from multiple festivals on offer. Adding in early bird incentives can help drive sales and early revenue. Many festival-goers however, do hold off committing to buying festival tickets because they want to see the confirmed line-up before making a decision so organisers should get news about popular artists booked out in the public domain as early as possible. Organisers should have a well-planned and thought-out communication plan with scheduled dates for announcements throughout the year which helps to keep the event in the news. 

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