FESTIVALS ARE STRUGGLING - BUT WE CAN TURN IT AROUND

As Vice-Chair of UK Events and Founder & CEO of We Group, home to event agencies The Fair and We Are OPS, I'm dedicated to shaping a brighter future for the festival industry. With 60 festivals recently cancelled or postponed, it's clear we need to find collaborative solutions.

The Importance of Festivals to the Creative Economy

Festival season '24 is entering its final month, and people all over the country will have enjoyed countless unforgettable moments this summer with more to come in September. It’s the personal connection that makes a festival a special occasion - sharing great music and great times with friends away from the stresses of everyday life. But they’re also of vital importance to the wider creative economy, contributing billions to the national purse and putting the UK on an?international stage.

Challenges Facing the Independent Festival Industry

All of which makes the struggles of the independent festival industry immensely worrying. The cost of living impacts both the income and expenditure of a festival. With less disposable income, people are having to be more selective about the events they attend, while almost every cost of producing? a festival has gone through the roof - many have reported that their costs have risen by over 30% in recent years. From the outside, it’s perhaps hard to see the outgoings involved in running an independent festival. Even a boutique 10,000 capacity weekend festival demands a daunting budget. No wonder, then, this year alone, the UK has lost over 60 festivals and counting -? including some big names.

Embracing Change: Opportunities in Adversity

But with adversity? comes opportunity, and I’m still just as? excited for the future of our industry. Why? Well, read on…

The Shift in Public Expectations

What the public wants from a festival is changing, and those events which follow the standard formula are most in danger of becoming part of the current shred. But there are plenty of opportunities for festivals which have a vision and entrepreneurial passion driving event organisers and those? who do something different from the pack. These are traits which the? independent sector has always thrived by.?

The Rise of Specialised Festivals

This is particularly true for more specialized festivals, whether they’re genre-specific like Eastern Electrics, highlight underground artists such as Maiden Voyage, or set the music in beautiful surroundings like Wasing, Houghton Hall, or Tufte Manor. If beyond these, you can also leverage an established brand, you really have the potential to create a festival that can run for years to come.

Case Study: The Jazz Cafe Festival

The Fair’s work on the upcoming Jazz Cafe Festival is a prime example. Blending the Jazz Cafe’s expertise in curation and brand loyalty with The Fair’s decades of experience and creative production expertise, it will really add something unique to the London festival calendar.

Cultivating such a reputation also gives you a festival brand that you can take to new markets.

Expanding Global Reach: The Boiler Room Example

Cultivating such a reputation also gives you a festival brand that you can take to new markets. Boiler Room is a prime example. The Fair and We Are OPS have enjoyed a strong client partnership with the globally renowned brand, producing the first-ever Boiler Room day festival in London in 2019 and then three spectacular events upon their return in 2023. When we were asked to take it to Miami for the first time this year, we tackled new challenges: sourcing untested suppliers, understanding local laws and legislation, safely introducing Boiler Room’s famous ‘in the round’ stage setup, and, of course, keeping everyone cool within the Miami heat. What we delivered was a seamless, successful show in front of a sold-out 5000 capacity audience. We've just delivered Eastern Electrics and Boiler Room day festivals over one weekend at Lee Valley Show Ground, both sell-outs.

Building Community Around Your Festival

It’s also vital to create a community spirit around your festival. Achieving this is a multifaceted challenge. Delivering a top tier experience is essential: the line-up needs to inspire people, but ensuring the infrastructure is on point is just as important. The margins can be ruthless: 2-3% certainly isn’t uncommon, so trimming a little from the budget for, say, fencing or stewarding or toilets would be an obvious temptation. But it’s an approach that’s rife with danger. At best, a weaker production makes attendees feel like they’re being short-changed. At worst, it can permanently ruin your festival’s reputation.

Fostering Loyalty and Engagement

Beyond the festival itself, we must make fans feel valued. It’s largely a matter of communication - listening to their feedback, explaining some of the harder decisions you have to make, and encouraging them to build a community via socials. It’s tough to achieve such loyalty, but if you do it’s invaluable. Your original, dedicated? fans effectively become word-of-mouth ambassadors, which create an organic buzz around your festival driving growth. It also results in more fans being willing to commit to being a ticket months in advance, which really helps to counteract cash flow issues

The Importance of Mentorship and Education

Festivals naturally attract entrepreneurs with vision and ambition, which is great. But it is a business full of pitfalls for those coming in without any prior experience. Probably the best tip I can give is to find a mentor when you’re starting out. They can help guide you through the process, offering invaluable advice as you learn about an industry which has a daunting variety of demands.

Preparing Future Festival Leaders

This is part of why I believe improving and making entrepreneurial education is crucial, especially within the festival world. The need for hard work, long unsociable hours, and to always stay ahead of the competition is obvious. You can always learn from your mistakes in any industry, but the more knowledge you have, the quicker you’ll adapt to the inevitable festival variables and unpredictable nature of the industry.? Setting up our future festival leaders for success should be one of our priorities.

I know that the industry can weather the storm with forward thinking strategy, creativity and expertise. Together, we can take the festival experience and lessons of 2024 -? and prepare the?new generation to keep things exciting.?

Conclusion: Weathering the Storm Together

With 60 shows already cancelled in 2024 and more likely to follow, is it time to call for an industry-wide discussion on finding solutions that help independent festivals remain financially feasible, without relying on government intervention?

Thanks for reading this article, and please feel free to leave a comment.

Find out more about We Group which contains our three integrated live event agencies: The Fair, We Are Placemaking, and We Are OPS. To join our 'Your Festival Needs You' campaign on socials which is supported by artists, promoters and event professionals, find out more via @wearethefair on Instagram.