Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts’ Post

How to be sustainable at music festivals - Hindustan Times How to be sustainable at music festivals  Hindustan Times

My Masters thesis was on music based tourism and destination venue placement. This touches on so many points from my paper.

WHY IT MATTERS:

🎵💛🙏🎵💛🙏🎵💛🙏🎵💛🙏🎵💛🙏 ⭐️⭐️⭐️… Happening now … ⭐️⭐️⭐️ “So far this year 45 UK music festivals have been postponed or cancelled. The Association of Independent Festivals are forecasting that that figure could DOUBLE before the year is out.” - Sky News For fantastic in-depth & clear analysis JUST RELEASED… ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e-peu7ch KT Tunstall makes an important point in Katie Spencer’s excellent report (below) about ‘headline’ acts ‘cutting their teeth’ at the smaller festivals long before they walk out & WOW huge crowds at Glastonbury or at the O2, for example.. The appetite for festivals continues to grow and has bounced back since the pandemic.. which is most certainly welcome news. Yet the organic nature & grass roots of the industry.. is under threat, ironically due to its success. WHY? Big international corporations are ‘buying out’ smaller festivals 🤔💭 John Rostron, Executive of The Association of Independent Festivals, wants a return to the initial post-pandemic 5% instead of 20% VAT charge associated with producing smaller festivals… to give the operators & supply chain a chance to fully recover & rebuild. Reading about & reflecting on the many varied benefits of small festivals.. not LEAST that they provide an initial platform for talent to emerge, ‘get their feet wet’ & blossom so that they can then headline the bigger events… small festivals seem to me to be worth supporting for so many reasons: ⭐️ They birth, grow, develop, foster, support & nurture: - New music 💖🎵 - New music fans 💖🎵 - Community spirit! 💖 - Joy & Unity! 💖 😀 - Sustainability 💖 - Diversity 💖 - Inclusivity 💖 - Cultural Growth 💖 - Celebration! 💖🎉 - Families & kids! 💖🏡 - New technologies 💖💫 - Local economies 💖💷 - Cultural Growth 💖 - New Artists… who become big show headliners 💖👏🎵 ⭐️ What do YOU think? ⭐️ - Are you an avid small festival goer? Or do you just enjoy one or two local festivals each year? - What’s your favourite thing about attending smaller festivals compared to the bigger ones? - Have you had your festival plans curtailed this year due to organisers having to cancel or postpone the event? - What do you think.. & how do you feel.. about the threat of the small music festival counter culture being ‘taken-over’ by big international corporations buying out smaller festivals? - And what about them having acts sign exclusivity contracts to prevent them performing at smaller events? Watch Katie Spencer’s brilliant report below… Look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments! 🎵💫😇 #musicfestivals #skynews #singersongwriters #localeconomies #newmusic #liveevents #sustainability #culture #newtechnology #community

We've got a question for music festival lovers. MigoTags has just developed a collectible for festivals. We've got 30 shapes and can stamp the festival logo, year and message. And we can even number every single tag so they can be used for giveaways at the event. Festivals could give away backstage passes to winning numbers. Would you start collecting Festival MigoTags at festivals? What would you pay for a numbered wearable like this?

Just coming off the back of our festival running for the first time since COVID-2020, this article captures the reality of what is actually happening out there. Navigating the post-COVID landscape, independent music festivals face challenges amid a saturation of events and well-funded international promoters. A concern is the demographic shift, particularly with a substantial drop in teenage attendance, possibly due to today’s teens struggling to socialize beyond screens after spending formative years in isolation. Adapting to these changes is crucial, but rising operational costs and real financial risks pose significant obstacles. Ticket prices rise to mitigate risks, and additional costs inside, especially food truck prices, strain attending families. Throw climate change into the mix, and you’re essentially gambling! Despite these challenges, independent music and arts festivals play a vital role in building connected communities. To thrive, a focus on collaborating with fellow festivals and implementing innovative online and offline audience engagement will be key strategies. Fostering community support, exploring creative marketing, and collaborating with local businesses become imperative. Emphasizing unique grassroots aspects, building a board of connected locals, and creating distinct identities are crucial for success. Building partnerships, diversifying revenue streams, and adapting to changing preferences are essential for sustainability in this challenging environment. Undoubtedly, innovative independent events serve as the glue that binds people together, providing a crucial platform for musicians and artists and a strong sense of connection to communities. The recent wave of festival cancellations is devastating. I extend my hopes and best wishes to everyone navigating this challenging time and look forward to us all coming together to create a stronger future. After all, where would we be without music, creativity, art, film, and connection?

Festivals are an important part of my life and career. I have had some seminal and transformative moments at music festivals… Like being snuck into GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL EVENTS LIMITED for the first time at age 5! I'll always see UK music festivals as purist non-commercial spaces, and so watching them evolve into huge businesses over the decades seemed counterintuitive. But I do think there is an important place for brand activations at these events in order to provide much-needed supporting revenue for one of the most culturally significant sectors in the UK. My advice for brands is to be cautious of how they sit themselves within these meccas of art and social liberation. We no longer want to see a brand activation slapping themselves onto a field, giving out plastic-wrapped samples. When it’s done right, the benefits are huge consumer loyalty and affinity: J. Wray & Nephew set up a barber shop at Notting Hill Carnival to encourage self-expression for their consumers. LUSH regularly sets up shower stations for festival-goers (Looove!) Give the audience something to enjoy, a service, a bar, entertainment; an additional offer. And that way, you can integrate with the fabric of what makes music festivals so special in the first place ✨

Enhance Your Festival Experience with Bell Tents and Geodesic Domes Festivals are all about creating memorable experiences, and the choice of accommodation and venue plays a crucial role in how attendees perceive and enjoy the event. Bell tents and geodesic domes are increasingly popular choices for festival settings, offering unique benefits that enhance both the aesthetic and practical aspects of festival-going. Whether you’re planning a cultural heritage event, a music festival, or an eco-friendly gathering, discover why bell tents and geodesic domes could be the perfect assets to elevate the attendee experience. https://lnkd.in/g2zJ5kzn

For Deeds Magazine, I wrote on how music festivals are helping with cultural exchange You can read my article here:

🎪 Music Festivals as an Economic Engine Music festivals are some of the biggest commercial events in the world. These events have transformed into economic powerhouses—influencing the music industry and the cities and regions fortunate enough to host them. Find out in this article how music festivals have become major cultural and economic drivers 👇 https://lnkd.in/ePSjEVJF