UK: Primary ticketing agency Skiddle won two Ticketing Technology Awards at the Ticketing Technology Forum on April 5, bagging the Moving On Up and Customer Service accolades. The former recognised how the Skiddle App, which has recently added ApplePay to its abundance of features, “re-energised and re-purposed app the user experience for the live music fan”. Meanwhile the Customer Service award was for the company’s two marquee initiatives Re:Sell and Cool:Off and recognised by a public vote; interpreted as further proof of the overwhelmingly positive customer reaction to the company’s rebrand process in 2016. Competition across the categories included a…
Author: Festival Insights
SPAIN: The 17th edition of Primavera Sound has increased the festival’s commitment to representing electronic music through its revamped space, Primavera Bits. During the 18 hours of uninterrupted daily programming, a total of 62 performances will take place in this expanded area of 12,000 m2 (5000 more than last year) that also doubles its capacity to 10,000 people. An important innovation this year is the incorporation of a second stage exclusively dedicated to live performances that will cohabit with the impressive number of DJ sessions programmed. The already extensive line-up is now complemented by the presence of Hot Chip’s Alexis…
UK: A Greener Festival has confirmed the dates for its 2017 training courses, entitled ‘An Introduction to Environmental Assessment of Festivals and Events’ and ‘A Greener Festival Assessors Training’, with just a few places left. Following the success of its training courses in 2016, AGF is once again delivering training for those who wish to become A Greener Festival assessors and carry out its audits of festivals and events. This year the organisation is also offering an Introductory Course for those who simply want to learn more about the environmental assessment of festivals and events. The content for both courses…
Over the course of the last decade, international PR firm Global Publicity has helped to craft and promote engaging narratives for some of the world’s most vital and illustrious festivals. With a client list that includes Amsterdam Dance Event, Sziget, and EXIT, and services that range from content production and consultancy to on-site support, Global’s founder Nikki McNeill has ensured that the company lives up to its all-encompassing namesake. This year will see Global turn 10, and so Insights spoke with McNeill about what good marketing content can do for a festival, what qualities to look for when deciding on…
Mary Shelley-Smith is the Global Operations Director of Eat to the Beat – an artist, production, and crew catering business specialising in backstage catering services for the music, entertainment, film, and TV industries. Part of the Chesham based Global Infusion Group, ETTB keeps artists and crew fuelled at major festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading, and recently received the Festival Supplier Award 2017 for Best Crew / Artist Catering for its role at last summer’s BBC Radio 2 Live from Hyde Park Festival. Last year was the 18th successive year that Eat to the Beat provided the backstage catering for…
Over a couple of consecutive weekends each September, Outlook & Dimensions repurpose a 19th century Croatian fort into a temple for all things danceable. Finishing off the festival season with a resounding one-two punch, the sister events differ slightly in their approaches but share much of the same DNA – offering diverse arrays of international acts, educational talks, and a dedication to emerging talent that has now extended into the extracurricular with the launch of its pioneering DJ Directory. Insights spoke with Andy Lemay, Dimensions & Outlook Festivals’ Head of Marketing, about the DJ Directory, the challenges inherent in its…
USA: The sold out 19th edition of Ultra occurred this past weekend at Bayfront Park in Downtown Miami. Future, Louis Tomlinson, Alessia Cara, Kygo, 2 Chainz and Lil Jon were just a few of the surprise performers that entertained 165,000 attendees from over 60 countries. Ultra Live’s record breaking 26-hour live stream, presented by UMFTV and produced by NOMOBO, attracted over 7.5 million viewers from around the world. In a bold move for live electronic music broadcasting, Hardwell’s set on Sunday afternoon was streamed in 360° for the first time ever at an Ultra event, giving the viewer a fully…
USA: Harm prevention service DanceSafe has restructured its leadership in order to take its work ‘to the next level’. After serving as Dancesafe’s National Outreach Director since 2014, the organisation has promoted Mitchell Gomez to the position of Executive Director following a vigorous interviewing process that spanned several months and involved dozens of highly qualified applicants. DanceSafe has also hired Madalyn McElwain to serve as Deputy Director of the organisation. McElwain received her juris doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and is currently licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado. McElwain’s involvement with harm…
UK: With just seven weeks until The Great Escape kicks off the festival season, another 150 artists have been added to the already massive line-up. In total, 450 artists will perform in 30+ venues across the city. The new additions are set to join the already confirmed list of acts that includes Rag’n’Bone Man, Slaves, The Magic Gang, Stefflon Don and Marika Hackman. Having already knocked Kanye West from the top of the iTunes hip-hop chart, Rejjie Snow – Irish wordsmith and rapper extraordinaire – will grace The Great Escape this year. Joining him are music collective The Fedz; rapper,…
UK: Celebrating its 20-year anniversary this July, the award-winning Truck Festival has sold out four months ahead of opening its gates to the public. This year’s event – which will welcome over 13,000 revellers – is set to host an eclectic mix of acts from across the musical spectrum including headliners The Libertines, The Vaccines and Franz Ferdinand. Truck Festival organiser Matt Harrap said: “Truck Festival has grown from strength to strength since 1998 and going into our 20th year we are delighted to have sold out so early. It’s testament to this truly fantastic festival and our loyal supporters…