How social media set the music festival trend in the first place

The music industry is one of the niches that has achieved a perfect synergy with social media. All social network engagement has only enhanced the connection of the musicians with real Instagram likes, for e.g., with a real audience out there. Some critics of social media have suggested that the development of internet technologies will diminish the existing industry of outdoor festivals, but the statistic proves this to be wrong.

In the time of the main entertainment coming through the screens, people crave more real-life experience. Thus, social platforms become a perfect instrument for enhancing open-air concerts further. And for social media, the festivals are now a priceless source of original content. Concert outdoors is a big event, that attracts sponsors and marketers of many kinds. Influencers also want their share of success, which is why by now the music in such events is mixed with visual entertainment and promotion as well. In this article, we shall speak of how social media and music events have created a perfect symbiosis.

A Bit Of History

In 1969, the Woodstock festival has reached a mark of 10 million attendants. For that time, it was huge. That was the beginning of the open-air era. Since that time, the musical world is regularly shaken by a lot of popular events:

  • Coachella, USA
  • Sziget, Hungary
  • Tomorrowland, Belgium
  • Glastonbury, UK
  • Burning Man, USA
  • Lollapalooza, USA
  • Woodstock, USA

Of course, there are a lot of other festivals held around the world, but those are ones that people choose to travel for. Through the years of establishment, these events have become something bigger than just a place to listen to live music by famous bands and performers. They all have grown a unique cultural heritage. For example, Burning Man is now known as a festival of unusual outfits, inspired by franchises like Mad Max or steampunk aesthetics.

As time went by, the traditions and heritage of each festival are becoming content material for many bloggers, who wish to mix something new in their feed. Besides, visiting a famous festival turned into a good opportunity to bond with the audience not only online, but in real life too.

Creating A Fuzz

The purpose of social media for the music industry is to make information leaking to as many people as possible. Musical festivals are attracting a lot of people. And many of them like attending such events in groups. On popular social platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, it is possible to promote an event without much effort, as people will eagerly repost the festival information to their potential companions. These are the most common methods to promote the upcoming festival on popular platforms:

  • Revealing the main information about the concert program in frequent doses, to keep up the interest of the public.
  • Encouraging users to share posts about the event. Usually, it’s a kind of giveaway or lottery, where a random repost wins a ticket or exclusive merchandise.
  • Providing special offers for subscribers, e.g. cheaper ticket prices, gifts from sponsors, and so on.
  • Engaging with the audience through games and puzzles, based on the theme of the festival.
Luring The Sponsors

Nowadays the music festivals are a good investment in the marketing strategy. But how can the festival organizations negotiate the potential sponsors for participation? Easy – the level of interest in the event in social media is a good marker for the investors. Basically, this is a probability of success, displayed online. The more sponsors the festival gets, the better would be the result for the investors in the end, as they get not only profit but more positions for promotion as well.

In the latest years, popular festivals are having promotional platforms and creative photo zones as a rule. The best opportunity for revenue has the brands that provide drinks and food, for sure. They can provide special offers for festival attendants, and set contests, lotteries, or any other entertainment within the event. Creating a photo-zone, along with specific hashtags, is a great chance to promote a brand online.

For non-profits, attending a festival is also a method to gross some influence and find potential partnerships with different brands.

FOMO Provocation

FOMO is a term that stands for the fear of missing out – the phenomena that appeared and developed with the help of internet community. Basically, this is a mix of anxiety and envy, that triggers people into repeating the way of life that their friends and favorite influencers have. Social media in today’s lives of many people is one of the important news sources. The events that are widely highlighted on popular platforms, will provoke the itch of users to become a part of it. That is why musical festivals today have turned into something more than just a music stage.

Watching how other people spend a good time is a huge promotion for the event itself. That is why the organization of entertainment along with general improvement of quality is a must. The flow of money that comes to the organization, is what should be spent primarily on content enhancement.

This is also a needed action to attract the users who have visited the festival before. They don’t want to see the same things, but if they will be guaranteed to get new experience, they would more likely to embark on this trip once again. And at this point, social media come in help once again. By regular updates and hints on new content, the music festival can keep up the interest of the experienced users, as they will feel FOMO.

Possibilities For Young Performers

Musical events were always a chance for new talents to show what they do. But with the help of social media, the possibility to gain a larger audience is getting bigger. Also, by having a proper page on popular platforms, bands and performers can drive interest to their future gigs, and attract investors and music labels.

For fresh performers having a well-developed profile on socials is a must, if they want to maintain an image they created and make a good presentation for them. This is a useful instrument for bonding with the viewers and creating a buzz around the persona. As performing on the stage gives the understanding of your real singing skills and quality, the image on the internet community defines the audience who will appreciate you the most and will provide a visual representation of your art.

Festivals Unite

The great power of musical events is that they provide an interesting time-spending for many different people. Visiting a festival is a way to meet new people, exchange the experience and know something new, and have good memories afterward. Social media are helping to maintain the connections you managed to create. And that is good for humans’ mental health. Meeting people who prefer the same music as you do, is also a pleasant experience from the psychological point of view, as it is very important to feel oneself as a part of the group. Thanks to profiles on the social networks, we can maintain that feeling for a longer time.

Conclusion

As it is obvious from this text, musical festivals represent a huge power for social media to grow. More likes, comments, and reposting is what usually happens while the event is on. For influencers and brands, festivals are a possibility to drive the attention of the consumers to their content and products.

In a more global sense, social networks help not only popularize each particular festival, but it helps people to save wonderful memories, share experiences with new people, start long-lasting friendships. But the main bonus that social media provide is that as the information about the festivals spreads, more people discover a new traveling destination and leave their usual way of life to get a boost of positive emotions.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com