WORLDWIDE: The International Music Summit – a three-day educational platform focused on electronic music – celebrated its 10th anniversary this year and once again held discussions on some of the key issues facing the electronic music industry in 2017. Chief amongst these was the gender imbalance across studios and festival line-ups, and subsequently IMS and Smirnoff have joined forces to try and rectify the underrepresentation of female talent. Together with the organisation shesaid.so, Smirnoff Sound Collective hosted a Diversity Debate on May 25 entitled ‘Balancing the Ratio – How the Industry needs to address Gender Disparity in Electronic Music,’ with…
Author: Festival Insights
UK: Glastonbury contracted Serious Stages to design and manufacture a new version of the Other Stage for this year’s festival, which took place from June 21 – 26 at Worthy Farm in Somerset. Dedicated to improving the festival experience for artists and fans, the organisers’ long term relationship with Serious Stages made them the obvious choice of contractor to create a new look Other Stage to accommodate the large scale incoming band productions form the likes of Stormzy, Major Lazer and Boy Better Know. This four-tower, 25m TZ roof featured a sloped back to give extra on-stage storage for artists…
For the last seven years, the London-based affinity marketing agency Brandkiss has partnered tourist boards with renowned consumer brands for targeted, cross-promotional national campaigns. Having executed hundreds of campaigns for high-profile brands in various international destinations, the company now hopes to take a foray into the realm of festival partnerships. Insights spoke with Brandkiss’ Marketing Director, Stuart Gordon, about what the business can offer the festival industry, its past and present clients, what kinds of campaigns work best, and more. Festival Insights: Traditionally BrandKiss has worked predominantly with travel destinations and consumer brands. Why make the move into the festival…
UK: As Colombia progresses towards ending one of the world’s most protracted conflicts, a group of female Colombian migrants will open this year’s Women and War festival in London on July 4. ‘Colombia Day’ will be dedicated to female Colombian conflict survivors, migrants, community leaders and peace-builders, many of whom left the country during more than 50 years of war. The day is being organised by the Truth, Memory and Reconciliation Commission of Colombian Women in the Diaspora (TMRC) – an initiative that brings together Colombian women living in London to share their stories and memories of conflict and migration,…
UK: The self-service ticketing platform Bookitbee has announced that it will change its name to LIVE IT on June 14. The company’s CEO, Kenton Ward, explained that the new name would reflect the evolving focus and standards of the company, adding: “As well as the Bookitbee brand, we are now offering the option of ‘full-service’ ticketing – end to end support and consultancy alongside our industry leading ticketing platform. “Our experience with many thousands of event organisers who’ve used Bookitbee means that our platform has one of the richest feature sets on the market. The combination of the platform and…
Penny Mellor has worked in the events sector for over 45 years, mainly concerned with the wellbeing of attendees and others at outdoor music events. This includes advising on, organising and managing welfare services and developing good practice guidance. Here she provides some advice on running an effective lost property service at a festival. The idea of lost property may seem trivial and funny in an event context (or elsewhere), but if you have ever lost something crucial, you may think differently. It is sometimes a mystery how people lose things, but it is easy at outdoor events. Everything handed…
Sónar’s flagship edition returned to Barcelona from June 14 – 17, boasting over 140 musical performances across nine stages in two distinct and idiosyncratic venues. Furthermore, Sonar +D – the component of the festival that explores the intersection between art and technology – hosted 157 activities and projects with more than 400 speakers and exhibitors present. Whilst onsite, Insights spoke with Georgia Taglietti, Sónar’s Head of Communications, about the festival’s approaches to programming, its participation in the collaborative platform We Are Europe, the success of its international incarnations, and more. Festival Insights: Let’s start with the main event in Barcelona…
SINGAPORE / SOUTH KOREA: On the weekend of June 10 & 11 2017, Ultra successfully produced two multi-day festivals in two different countries in Asia – South Korea and Singapore – for the first time in its history. Headliners Dash Berlin, Dubfire, Hardwell, KSHMR, Martin Solveig, Nic Fanciulli, Nicky Romero, Pendulum, Sasha & John Digweed, Steve Angello, Tchami and Tiësto performed across both flagship events, crossing flight paths over the South China Sea on the morning of June 11 in order to do so. Alesso performed exclusively in Seoul, having already headlined Ultra events in Singapore in 2015 and 2016,…
UK: Arribar!, part of the Eventist Group, has won its ninth contract with Glastonbury Festival and will return to Worthy Farm with two themed bars: The Chameleon and Rock the Kasbah. The bars, located along the main road between major stages, will offer unique experiences to festival-goers throughout the five-day period. The Moroccan themed Rock the Kasbah will be decorated with rich colours and fabrics to give revellers a taste of Marrakech. Floor cushions, authentic music, large lowered tables, and a star-lit ceiling complement the area’s friendly and informal atmosphere. With its colourful interior and quirky furniture, The Chameleon will…
UK: Ticketing company Eventbrite has released the findings of research it recently conducted into the attitudes Millennials hold towards live events. The survey, conducted in partnership with research agency Crowd DNA, took a sample audience of 1,001 British adults aged 18 – 45 and gave them a 10 minute online survey in April 2017. Millennials believe that live events are essential for political change 84% feel that when thinking about the future of their country, it is essential for people to come together in person to promote positive change 80% of Millennials agree that attending live events makes them feel…