A Career For The Masses: What To Remember About Running A Festival

It might be something that everybody has considered at least for a fleeting second. When it comes to running a successful business, that encompasses the big, showbiz type touches, a music festival is the pinnacle. It’s a combination of the arts, culture that binds people together, but it’s very exciting! When you are starting on a career towards entrepreneurialism running a festival, whether it’s music or anything in a niche subject, can result in so many unseen problems that people can easily lose their passion for why they started it in the first place. For all those people that want to be Emily Eavis and run their own Glastonbury, there are people like Billy McFarland who, with the much-lambasted Fyre festival, highlighted the dark side of an event of such magnitude. What do you need to consider if you want to start on the road to running your own festival?

Health And Safety Is Paramount

These days, there is so much in the way of red tape that you had better cover every eventuality, and this doesn’t just mean buying a handful of industrial anti-slip mats, it’s about having regulations in place, backup plans, and having the right team on board that can problem-solve every eventuality. Health and safety is such a difficult thing to get right, because when a problem arises that’s beyond your control, it can throw the festival into disrepute, as well as your own professional reputation.

Get Money Through The Right Resources

Getting financial backing is crucial. And there are so many great festivals in the world that still struggle to acquire appropriate funding. Sponsorship development is one way to keep your festival afloat, but this is very difficult at the very outset. You may very well want to try an alternative funding approach like crowdfunding, but with any business, it’s important to have a substantial amount of capital behind you to offset any excessive spending. And, there will be a lot of over spending! So you had better be prepared.

It Isn’t Just About The Art

With something like a music festival, while it is the main draw, you have to remember that there are so many other components that need to be in place. Large scale music festivals can be family friendly affairs, but also need to provide variety in terms of food and entertainment, not just the main attraction. As well as this, you have to think about your ethical aspects. It’s not just about recycling or public transportation, but what you need to convince vendors to embrace a carbon-neutral ethic. In this green minded modern world, if we’re not seen to be aligning for the cause of the planet, we could very well lose potential customers.

It’s certainly a job where you find you’re flying by the seat of your pants, even after the event is finished. Running a large-scale festival, or even a small-scale public event requires a lot of red tape, planning and preparation, financial security, and this is only scratching the surface. It’s important not to exercise complete control over the event, by getting the right people you will ensure a more solid team, but you have to remember that despite this being your vision, you have to give it over to the masses in the end.