The Future of Automating Music Festival Operations.

Organising any large-scale music festival can be extremely complex and expensive. Can automation of operations and other aspects related to organising events make the planning and implementation more efficient and cost effective? What solutions are available now and in the near future that can assist music festival organisers.

The management and planning of music festival operations and logistics have evolved over time with most organising entities now using software to replace old manual processes. Smaller event organisers may still use processes using pen and paper, but the majority are using some form of event management software or as a minimum spreadsheets and shared online documentation. The one stop software solutions available currently are incredibly sophisticated with the built in ability to automate just about any related process. The next phase of automation may see more use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, and robotics to perform data-heavy, high risk or time critical tasks. This can be achieved without taking away the design and creativity of organisers that's a key element of any music festival. 

Logistics and Planning. 
Many organisers already analyse historical data to help predict future numbers for attendance and ticket sales and the increasing use of AI can assist in ROI tracking of marketing activity and social media engagement. This can be combined with predictive budgeting tools to forecast costs and revenues too. This analysis helps to more accurately forecast data driven decisions for staffing, security and food and beverage stock for example. The festival site safety can be further enhanced by the use of predictive crowd flow density monitoring software as part of the layout planning. This can be improved further with the use of real time AI driven CCTV or drone monitoring during the live event dates. Energy use is always a significant cost element of operating a festival and increased use of smart power management can reduce energy waste and contribute to sustainability objectives. 

Artist Scheduling. 
A large music festival where hundreds of artists will be curated can become an incredibly complex process to manage. Dynamic calendar and scheduling software is increasingly being used by organisers to optimise stage set times seamlessly linked to contracts, riders, tech specs, accreditation passes, travel and accommodation logistics. The future may see more use of AI powered scheduling, but this is still an ongoing development. 

Vendor and Contractor Scheduling. 
With hundreds of vendors and contractors to manage festival organisers are increasingly relying on software to manage their logistics and scheduling. Contractors responsible for the site construction and installation of security fencing, power generators and toilet facilities all need to be managed for cost control, delivery and pick up scheduling and accreditation pass allocation. Software that incorporates automated time critical analysis can help schedule contractors to be in the right place at the right time. All associated tasks can be automated along with related notifications to appropriate individuals. The same principle can be applied to vendors with pitch allocation being used to schedule arrival and departure times. 

Festival-Goer Experience. 
For anyone attending music festivals on a regular basis they will have already been exposed to RFID wristbands for access control and cashless payments for goods and services, the use of this technology is only going to increase in the future. Organisers and sponsors are increasingly looking into the use of AI linked to this technology to predict festival-goer behaviour and generate messages with personalised recommendations. AI uses insights on their movement around a site and analyses their purchase behaviour to enable customised recommendations for products and services on site. Most festival organisers now produce dedicated festival apps that festival-goers install on their mobile devices and these are increasingly being used to create virtual assistants and chatbots reducing the need for volunteer and staff management of information kiosks. The future may also see automated vendors which can provide pre-prepared meals heated and delivered on demand without the need for people to be involved in the ordering or serving process. 

The use of automation and AI is an evolving process that is currently under way and regular festival-goers are likely to see a gradual increase in automation. For organisers prepared to embrace the new AI driven technology they will see reduced costs and more efficient operational processes requiring less people. 

For festival organisers planning their next event 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, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by Alexander Nadrilyanski via Pexels

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