The Experience Economy in Music Festivals - Essay Sample

Introduction

The experience economy is one of the recent trends in popular music festivals which is used to create a memorable experience to the participants. It is based on the revelations that the millennials invest in experiences compared to tangible commodities (Jain & Sharma 2018). An example of such music festivals is the Coachella valley music and arts festival held on the three-day weekends consecutively in April in California. Experience economy revolves around the creation of fantasies to the participating group of individuals as opposed to material possessions. With the presence of higher percentage millennials in the festival, the event organizers have embarked on increasing the experiences present to make the events exciting and fun to attend. This paper explores the aspects used in the experience economy in music festivals while referring to the Coachella festival and explains the future of event management.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Live performances of the most popular bands have been incorporated in the festival to introduce an aspect of fun which suits the young generation. Millennials are known to embark on events which have exciting experiences, to take a break from their busy work or school schedules. In the efforts of luring millennials in the festival, the event managers invite celebrities who perform during the opening ceremony and throughout the festivals. Unlike the ordinary video songs and audios, the crowd gets a chance to enjoy live music and capture photos and videos to post in their social sites such as Facebook and Instagram which act as memories. For example, famous musicians such as Beyonce and Eminem performed in the last Coachella festival (Nevins 2018). Since millennials term experiences as one of the ways to live a happy life, these live performances attract a large number of the younger generation who yearn to enjoy the live performance of their favorite artists.

The experience economy in the festival events is fueled by giving credit to the musicians and profiling their music or special occurrences such as reunions which attract a large number of fans. These major musicians are celebrities to the fans and attract them to witness their amazing singing skills. For example, the Coachella festival features artists who had fallen apart and are set to be reunited in the stage. Beyonce, Michele Williams, and Kelly Rowland were reunited on stage in 2018, an occurrence which drew a large crowd (Tracy 2018). With such news, their fans book attendance to witness such reunions, enjoy the resulting experience and secure chances of interacting with the favorite musicians. As such, the event organizers in the Coachella provide a sensational experience after the realization that musicians have a have a huge fan base, and their presence evokes unforgettable experiences on their followers.

Event managers in music festivals have mastered the art of experience economy by using technology to introduce live television recording for people who would like to follow the festivals at the comfort of their homes (Mylrea 2017). For better performances, the venues are furnished to ensure the fans can easily follow the proceedings easily without straining. For instance, cameras are used in the Coachella festival to project the performing artists in screens for a better view. The fitted cameras also capture the participants displaying their unique attires in live television sessions. The inclusion of technology in the Coachella festival through live televisions intensifies the experience in these performances as the fans catch the action with ease and rejoice when their cheers are captured in live television.

Experience has been introduced in the events during the music festivals through the use of memorabilia which includes merchandise such as shirts and backpacks (Ruvo 2018). These merchandises introduce a sense of belonging where the fans feel closely associated with their culture and their favorite musicians. In recent years, the management has intensified the production of clothing and backpacks bearing the names of their Coachella stickers which are availed to the people before the festival. For instance, most of the attendees wear t-shirts with the names of the performing artists printed on them to show their support to the musicians. Since the younger generation is more conscious when it comes to fashion, they attend in groups wearing similar shirts, scarfs and waving flags to support their favorite musicians. Wearing branded clothing makes the fans boast of their allegiance and increases their experience during the performances due to their ability to express their affiliation.

After the realization that most of the attendees are towards experience, the stands are refurbished to create an aesthetic experience. During a specific performance, the stadiums are made to exhibit a particular design and beauty which blends in with the spectators' taste. For example, the stands in Coachella festival are given different colors arising from the use of light emitting diodes to produce the desired colors (Martin 2018). Also, they are arranged in a manner which provides an easy way for individuals to move from the stadium to kiosks and restaurants. Besides, the stands and buildings have the theme colors and posters are hung around the stands leading to aesthetic beauty brought about by blending colors. It should be noted that individuals are attracted to cozy places with minimal disturbances and perfectly structured places. With such refurbishments, the spectators are convinced to pay visits during the festival and enjoy the serene environments which elevate their moods, leading to exciting experiences.

Event planners in music festivals have majored on the experience economy through the creation of escapist experiences. Before the day of the festivals, the event planners collaborate with companies which elevate the people moods and shifts their minds from their daily activities and struggles to a world of fantasies. For example, Coachella festival collaborates with famous companies where the advertisements capture the lively nature during performances and the excitement present when one attends. The escapist experience is also brought about by a theme song which sets a celebratory mood before the festival. The management of Coachella festival entered into an agreement in 2018 with singer Tetris who composed a song dubbed Indio which acted as a theme song in 2018 (ItsTetrisBish 2018). Such songs are then popularized by major brands, and spectators achieve a unique experience when they sing them before the festival.

With the millennials' preference of experiences rather than material possession, event management will be forced to introduce more aspect which creates long-lasting experiences to the individuals attending. Currently, most of the events such as conferences and festivals are centered around their relevance to the community and are projected to bear educative purposes to the target audience. These events must undergo a restructuring process to capture the experience portion which is desired by the millennials who make up the highest attendance. For example, the event management schemes should now ensure interaction between the participating individuals. It should be noted that the millennials spend most of their time interacting with online friends in social media but crave for physical interactions (Mitchell 2015). In this case, event managers should make events lively by introducing interaction forums such as lunch meetings capable of leaving memorable experiences among the attendees.

Due to the prioritization of the experience brought about by an event, future events geared towards promoting a certain product will require live streaming services (Van & White 2018). It should be noted that most of the millennials are most likely to attend live events whereby they can share them on social media (Arnold 2017). A live stream conveys the energy present in an event and evokes a feeling that one is in the event. They are also likely to watch a live stream instead of a recorded video. Millennials are known to maintain certain lifestyles in social media by posting their achievements for their counterparts to react to their progress. Attending live-streamed events gives them an upper hand in social media and displays them as sophisticated. Besides, sharing such events makes them fit in their generation where one feels important and is well informed after attending a popular event.

Event managers should consider personalization of experiences where the need for every attendee is catered (Aicher, Newland & Paule-Koba 2019). Currently, events are based on one-size fits all approach and are concerned with capturing the names the attendees followed by lengthy presentations. However, these events should strive to identify the experience anticipated by attendees and try to accommodate them instead of assuming all the participants are towards gaining similar achievements. For example, events should give the attendees an opportunity to rate the previous sessions or voice out their expectations before a session commences. Such considerations will create a win-win situation where participants do not feel they have invested their time and resources in an unproductive event. The provision of personalized experiences can be achieved in events through the use of conference apps which provide customized information such as the direction to the nearby attractions and dining locations. In this regard, the participants are likely to pair up according to their preferences and engage in activities which have memorable experiences.

Conclusion

In summary, music festivals have embraced the experience economy to create long-lasting experiences to the attendees as witnessed in the Coachella festival. One of the actions embraced is the use of live performances involving the popular artists which attracts a large number of their fans. Music festivals have also embarked on the use of live televisions to achieve live streaming which is broadcasted in their YouTube channels for people who cannot make it to the festivals. Esthetic experiences have been adopted in music industries and include the use of theme colors displayed by using light emitting diodes. The experience economy is also achieved by using memorabilia in the form of clothing and backpacks with Coachella's theme colors and slogans. Such actions determine the future of event management whereby event should be geared towards creating a long-lasting experience to the attendees. Besides, event managers will be coerced to factor in live streaming services as they are popular among the millennials. Customized experience should be considered where event managers will be required to accommodate the experience anticipated by the attendees instead of using a one-size fits all approach.

References

Aicher, T. J., Newland, B. L., and Paule-Koba, A. L. 2019. Sport Facility and Event Management. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Arnold, A. 2017. 3 Ways the Internet and Social Media Draw Millennials to Live Events. Online Available at:<https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/> [Accessed 26 Feb 2019].

ItsTetrisBish. 2018. Tetris- Indio (Coachella theme song). Video clip. [Online video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr4iJ16dqcM. [Accessed 26 Feb 2019].

Jain, D., and Sharma, A. 2018. Marketing Techniques for Financial Inclusion and Development. Hershey, PA: USA Business Science Reference.

Martin, J. 2018. To Experience the True Essence of Coachella, Go Weekend 2. Online Available at: <https://liveforlivemusic.com/https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/> [Accessed 26 Feb 2019].

Mitchell, E. 2015. Surprising Study: Millennials Prefer Human Interaction Over Digital. Online Av...