Organizing a Music Festival: All You Need To Know

With all of the attention surrounding music festivals that have been epic failures, it is important to be well-informed when thinking about organizing a music festival. There are several variables that go into planning a music festival, but if it is planned correctly, the end results will be well worth it.

If you want to know all of what putting on a music festival entails, you have come to the right place. Keep reading to learn all you need to know about organizing a music festival. 

Music Festivals Take Time

Before you start planning for your music festival, you need to understand that it is a huge time commitment. From researching venues to finding the right bands, every little detail requires  significant research. Not to mention, you will want to research different prices of different things such as venues or foods and that will take  devoted time as well. You will want to be sure you have enough time on your hands before you commit to organizing the festival. 

Music Festivals Take Money…A LOT OF IT!

Aside from needing  much time, you will also need a great deal of money to organize and run a music festival successfully. Everything that you can think of will require you to spend money – venue, entertainment, equipment, refreshments, and restroom accommodations  – are just a few important things that should top your list. Not to mention, you will have to spend money on things that you won't even have at the festival, like permits! 

Music Festivals Take Up Space

Typically, music festivals have to accommodate huge crowds and for this reason, you will want to find a huge venue. You are not planning just another backyard party, you are planning a music festival where you can potentially have thousands of people there at once! Depending on the size of the event, you may even have to look at finding locations that are not considered venues and simply use outdoor space for the festival. 

Entertainment

The entertainment part of the music festival is the main focus, so you will spend  much of your time researching the type of music you will want at your festival. You will want to first get in touch with the entertainers’ agents, which you can attain through sites such as Booking Agent Info. This is a whole process and it can also take up a large portion of your time! When you do reach out though, you will need to have specific dates and locations available to provide to the booking agent so you will need to be as informed as possible before reaching out. 

Logistics

Planning a music festival requires numerous pieces of equipment, large and small. You will need to find a supplier that can provide you with staging and lighting that you can use during your music festival. Additionally, depending on your entertainers, you may need additional equipment or lighting on top of what would normally be used. Depending on the number of stages you will be having, you will need lighting to accommodate each stage. You also need to take into account the sound equipment that you will need for each stage and all of the electrical systems that will need to be set up for the entertainers. 

Aside from needing equipment, music festivals also require  an abundance of manpower for things like security and traffic control. These are all things that are required for your music festival to run smoothly and safely and should not be considered optional but rather a necessity. 

Rules and Regulations

Organizing a music festival is nothing like your usual party and you will need to make sure that you are meeting all of the rules and regulations in order to avoid being shut down on the day of the event. For example, you will need certain permits depending on your type of festival. On that note, certain locations have restrictions set in place that prevent loud noises or music after a certain time and there are also certain permits required if you plan to have liquor at your festival. 

Staff

While you may consider yourself a one-man show, running a music festival is hard work and requires that you have help. You can hire staff and assign them different responsibilities or you can ask for volunteers and offer certain perks to them such as backstage passes. Regardless of which way you decide to go, you will definitely want to determine what your staff will look like. 

Final Thoughts

Organizing a music festival is hard work that requires considerable time, planning, and energy. There are plenty of music festivals that have been around for years and are run efficiently. Informing yourself before you begin the process is key to success. Once you have all of your questions answered, you will feel better prepared than if you started planning without knowing what you were getting into, and you will be on your way to planning the next best music festival!