The Beginners Pocket Guide to Becoming an Art Festival Artist
Music festivals take quickly become ane of the well-nigh popular ways to consume live music. The civilization, the cost, and the huge amount of quality live acts have all contributed to the success of festivals everywhere.
In my stance, the refuse in alive bands playing university frosh parties has also led to an increased demand for live festival experiences.
Every bit an artist, festivals are incredibly fun and useful career building experiences. Yous're often playing to a built-in crowd of people who may not know your music. It'south a perfect identify to build your fan base.
In fact, because less bands are building careers playing universities, bands are now edifice careers playing festivals. They'll have a killer "festival set" that makes an immediate impression on the crowd.
If you've been to a festival or played one, y'all'll know how special they are.
And maybe yous've thought to yourself: "I would honey to put i of these on".
Well, this is exactly what my band did last year. We put on our own music festival.
2017 was our second yr, and we're currently planning 2018'due south festival.
In truth, it was 1 fellow member of our band, Dylan MacDonald, who put on the festival (chosen Summer Lights Music Festival) but we all helped out and made information technology happen.
Information technology was a difficult but rewarding. It was besides some of the most fun I've ever had!
We learned a lot both times, and then today I'one thousand going to guide y'all through some of things that we've learned, and give yous a practical overview of starting a music festival.
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Begin With An Idea, A Goal & A Location
All great festivals are founded on an idea, accept a goal in heed, and take a location that works.
Our goal was to bring our hometown (where we no longer live) a live music experience that they wouldn't unremarkably be able to experience.
We held the festival in Brandon, Manitoba, and not many touring acts come up through there. In that location is only one other festival and it services folk music. And so, we wanted to bring cool, hip, various indie bands and local acts to the city.
We likewise wanted to get in a high-production event. That way, people who came would be and then diddled abroad by the live music experience that they would crave more than in the city.
Our secondary goal was to nurture the local music scene.
Along with the festival nosotros held three, gratuitous mid-upkeep concerts in a park. These were hugely successful and served to increase the amount of alive music in the city as well every bit promote the festival itself.
Along with these concerts, we had the artists host workshops for the immature artists in our urban center. This was hugely beneficial to them and fostered a sense of community in the scene.
Finally, we wanted to put on a festival that we every bit a band would have loved to play.
We fabricated sure the hospitality and backstage vibe was awesome. The sound and production were amazing and the communication with artists was impeccable.
Having goals like these really bring a festival together, and they tin can likewise encourage sponsors to participate.
What are your goals?
Some festivals try to exist small and exclusive, others large and commercial. Some are geared towards supporting a cause, others are pure entertainment.
Look advisedly at other festivals, and figure out where your idea fits in.
Finally, notice an appropriate site to host the festival. Ours was right in the middle of the city, which played direct into the idea of bringing music into the metropolis.
When planning your festival, consider the following:
- Space for the phase and audience.
- Space for washrooms, camping and a backstage surface area.
- Shade and vibe.
- Accessibility.
Find Funding & Volunteers
This is the hard part, just it'southward as well incredibly of import. Funding and volunteers are the 2 things that brand a festival happen. It's all merely hard work from in that location!
Nosotros were lucky to take municipal back up for the festival. We got a large sum of money to put on the festival and had a sizable budget to play with.
About of the fourth dimension this won't happen, and y'all'll have to secure your funding elsewhere. Hither are some mutual ways to secure funding:
Grants
Many cities, states, and countries have grants available for concerts. Concerts are great economic drivers and they eternalize the cultural value in a metropolis. For this reason, you tin can often secure some funding from a local source.
Many private companies (frequently alcohol companies) accept grants for entertainment events. This will ordinarily be money as well as a liquor sponsorship, where you are only allowed to sell their beer/liquor.
Private Sponsorship
If you can put together a solid marketing plan and can evidence that there will be people at your consequence, businesses will want to advertise with you lot.
Every business concern has an advert budget, and many would rather give their upkeep to a local result than to a giant advertising firm.
Put together a handsome sponsorship package and practice the legwork.
Private Financiers
If you retrieve your festival will be able to profit, you lot can arroyo private venture capitalists who may want to fund your festival.
Many festivals will be funded this way.
Y'all will take to provide a return on their investment, and sooner rather than later.
It's ofttimes a good thought to get assist with these things. Securing financing is not piece of cake, and you lot'll want somebody experienced on your side.
On that annotation, securing a dedicated core group of volunteers is primal.
On our festival committee we have half dozen people, which is a pretty skillful number.
1 of those people is in charge of finding nigh 25 more volunteers to help with everything else. Setup, tear down, entry, cleanup, artist services, hospitality, and more than.
Secure All The Necessary Permits & Insurance
Before you do anything else, you need to investigate what the rules are locally for putting on an event.
You'll need a Noise Variance Allow, probably a Health Permit, y'all'll need permission from the landowner, and you'll need insurance.
For the first two, y'all can go to urban center hall and figure them out.
Y'all will need to secure a large insurance policy. Ideally, you won't need it, but you'll desire information technology if anything goes wrong.
These are some of the dreary parts of setting up a festival, but without them, your festival will not happen.
Book Your Lineup
Once you've secured some money, a site, and all the necessary permits, your side by side priority is booking acts.
Many acts will be booked a long way out, especially in the summertime on weekends. You demand to outset mode ahead.
The reason I list this so early is considering it is the unmarried biggest affair that determines the vibe and potential for your festival. If yous manage to volume a adequately big name act, yous may want to invest more coin in marketing, and you lot'll probably accept more sponsorship opportunities.
I ever recommend spending most of your budget for artists on a headliner. Most local bands volition play for less, and the fact is, your headliner is the most important artist on the bill.
Effort to book a diverse lineup. Y'all can stick forth the lines of a genre (if you want to), simply try to make it ethnically diverse, and have a off-white bit of gender diversity likewise.
This is not just a wise move – information technology makes your festival more attractive to sponsors and grant givers.
Volume Technical Support & Production Support
Adjacent, volume the best sound/production company that you can afford.
If the sound sucks onstage, your artists volition have a bad time. If the sound sucks out front, your audience will have a bad time. Avoid bad times. Spend the coin on a proficient production company. Get lights. Get fog. It's worth it.
E'er remember that you tin negotiate and you should absolutely get quotes from multiple companies. But also know that cheaper is not always better.
Along with a product company, yous should be thinking about hiring a designated, experienced stage manager. They could be a volunteer, simply it'southward non a bad idea to pay someone to be on deck all day.
At this time, you'll also want to book a fencing company, reserve a bunch of portable toilets, and reserve anything else that will cost you lot money. There's no betoken in waiting. Do it now.
Make A List Of Everything That Needs To Go Done & Consul
Here'due south where your volunteers come up in.
Yous need to brand a big list of everything that needs to get washed. Here'south how to practise that.
Draw a big map of the festival site. Plan out where everything is going to be. This will allow you lot to figure out what all you demand to achieve.
Consider:
- Tents and facilities for festival entry.
- A tent for the backstage area. Anything you require for serving food to artists.
- Power and an expanse for vendors.
- The phase. Where is information technology, where did you lot get it from, etc.
- Decorations. For the site and for the stage.
There will be more to consider when yous make the map. Information technology's a very helpful tool.
Then, there are other things.
- A website and social media accounts.
- Branding and festival art.
- Marketing and promotion.
- Pre-festival organization (sending directions to artists and volunteers).
…. And more.
It turns into a ton of overwhelming work. That'south why it's your task to interruption it down into smaller pieces and delegate it to your volunteers.
Programme Your Not-Musical Experiences
The "experiences" your festival provides are nearly equally of import as the music. Dissimilar festivals do things differently.
If the festival is very music-focused, you may desire to accept non-musical activities similar life-size board games that people tin play while listening to the music.
Other festivals don't have much music during the day, and then they have volleyball tournaments, drinking games, workshops and more.
If your site is big plenty, you lot may want to have different areas of the festival grounds that people can go to become away from it all.
A huge function of the "experience" are the decorations and vibe yous give the festival. Making the camping surface area interesting is important. Having visual fine art is of import. Keeping people engaged is important.
Accomplish out to your local fine art community and see if you tin can pulsate upward ideas and support!
Plan Your Marketing & Gear up Up Ticketing Partners
It's hugely important to get out a sizable budget for advert. Half of the upkeep for bands at to the lowest degree.
We were fortunate enough to accept enough coin to rent billboards and do some radio advertising. This is awesome, and you should totally practise it.
That said, non every festival has plenty cash.
Even so, your posters should be everywhere. You should partner with some local magazines and radio to get free advertising in commutation for a sponsorship.
So, save a considerable amount of coin for your social media advertizing.
Facebook and Instagram ads are hugely important and will drive people directly to your ticket buying platform.
Consider making teaser videos, shooting live artist spotlights, and use other out-of-the box marketing ideas. Pulsate up some fizz!
There are a ton of great ticketing partners that will sell tickets for small events. I've been using Dark-brown Paper Tickets, an American visitor out of Washington. They're killer and allow you to easily sell tickets online.
You should also set up upwards some physical partners in the area. Record stores, coffee shops, and music stores are all adept options for physical retailers.
Start Site Set Well In Advance
We kickoff site ready up a week in accelerate, and it's awesome. A week gives you plenty time to figure out if you've missed something (and you have, trust me). You can go and buy whatever you lot need and have it there on time.
It gives you enough time to really recall nigh the decoration and layout.
Yous only demand around four to half dozen people for site set up. Having a small coiffure ensures that anybody is on task and it keeps your food costs down.
Set upwardly is extremely fun and busy. You lot'll love it.
Festival Day & Wrap-Upwards
Festival mean solar day is nuts. Fun, but totally nuts. It's basically indescribable how decorated it is.
You'll have to put out a dozen small fires with artists and unruly guests. You'll probably have a few ticketing bug, and the food volition be belatedly.
You may run out of water. You might not have bought enough portable toilets.
It'south okay. It happens. If you've hired a professional phase managing director and have a keen production team, so all of the really important bits volition be taken care of.
Everything else is pretty much out of your control. It sucks if the weather condition isn't good, but there's zero you can exercise. If an artist is late, improvise. In that location's nothing else to exercise.
Then, when it'southward all over, keep a few volunteers around for tear down, and meticulously organize all of your stuff equally you're packing it up. You'll need information technology for next year.
So, wait a few weeks, and go all of your volunteers back in one room. Throw a bit of a "Volunteer Appreciation Party". This increases morale and will be guaranteed fun.
Before the party starts though, go anybody's thoughts on the festival. What went well, what needed improvement? Write it all downwards, and file for next year.
So, virtually two months after that, get your cadre committee dorsum together, and do it all over once more.
Conclusion
That's about all the communication I can requite you! It would exist easy to write a total guide on whatsoever one of these specific things, simply I'm hoping that you learned some valuable lessons from these points. Best of luck with your festival. Have fun!
P.S. Remember though, none of what you've learned volition matter if you lot don't know how to get your music out there and earn from it. Want to learn how to do that? And so become our gratuitous '5 Steps To Profitable Youtube Music Career' ebook emailed directly to you!
Source: https://www.musicindustryhowto.com/how-to-start-and-organize-a-music-festival-and-overview-for-beginners/
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