MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY REDISTRIBUTION OR REPRODUCTION

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

STUDY

MUSIC

FESTIVAL

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

Top Findings & Insights ................................................................................03

Part 1: Music Festival Conversation Analysis ...........................................06

Part 2: Audience Demographics..........................................................................14

Methodology............................................................................................................17

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

Music festivals are becoming one of young Americans’ favorite pastimes. Music festival conversation saw a

34% increase this year as compared to last festival season, which equates to over 20 million conversations.

The high prevalence of Millennials driving this conversation signals that conversation will only continue to grow

in future years. All told, roughly 75% of music festival conversation was generated by individuals between the

ages of 17 to 34.

People discussing festivals are talking signiﬁcantly more about the experiential nature of these events

and less about the speciﬁc artists and performances. A full 17% of all positive conversation speciﬁcally

commented on the festival experience. When people do discuss the artists performing, they are four times

more likely to discuss the lineup holistically as compared to calling out a speciﬁc artist or performance. These

trends suggest that individuals consider festivals to be more about the overall experience and not just about

going to a concert.

8 out of the top 25 music festivals were exclusively electronic. Not only are electronic music festivals driving

high turnout, they are also generating massive amounts of social conversation. Even though multi-genre

events, such as Coachella and South by Southwest, topped out the list of the most discussed festivals in terms

of raw volume, no other single-genre category of events had as prominent a showing as electronic music. One

reason for this is the high prevalence of Millennials discussing music festivals (roughly 75% of people discussing

music festivals are between the ages of 17 and 34), and this age group has an established afﬁnity for events in

this genre.

Remote participation is driving conversation about music festivals. Roughly 1 out of every 4 posts about

music festivals came from people participating remotely via live streams or other forms of engagement. This

is important because live streaming increases interest in the events themselves, as 70% of people said they

are more likely to attend a future live event after participating in the experience online.**

Most event conversation happens before the event actually occurs. Nearly half of conversation about music

festivals happens before the event. Many of the positive drivers of music festival conversation are anticipatory

in nature, such as announcements of a ticket purchase (3%) or excitement about the lineup of an event (39%).

An illustrative example is Coachella, which drove two of the largest spikes in festival season conversation: the

ﬁrst from their lineup announcement and the second during the commencement of the event.

TOP FINDINGS & INSIGHTS

**Eventbrite Harris Interactive survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers. July 2014.

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

1. SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST (MUSIC) 2. IHEARTRADIO

3. TOMORROWWORLD 4. LOLLAPALOOZA 5. COACHELLA 6. SUN CITY

7. MYSTERYLAND 8. PITCHFORK 9. ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL

10. BONNAROO 11. ELECTRIC ZOO 12. WARPED TOUR

13. GATHERING OF THE JUGGALOS 14. BUKU MUSIC + ART PROJECT

15. HARD SUMMER 16. BURNING MAN 17. HANGOUT 18. FORECASTLE

19. GOVERNORS BALL 20. ULTRA 21. SPRING AWAKENING 22. SUNFEST

23. MOOGFEST 24. GULF COAST JAM 25. BROOKLYN HIP HOP

AMERICA’S MOST BUZZED ABOUT

MUSIC FESTIVALS

Below is a list of the most discussed music festivals of the 2013 – 2014 festival season.

Most discussed is determined by total event buzz relative to total attendance.

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

ELECTRIC ZOO

New York 7.58%

“I am in madly love with Intense! my

God #Ezoo is going to be AWESOME

#ArminVanBuuren”

–@x3Redd, Twitter

LOLLAPALOOZA

Illinois 5.28%

“ ‘OH I WANT TO GO TO LOLLA THIS

YEAR ITS GOING TO BE AWESOME!!’

“wait. for. the. lineup. shhhhhhhhh shhh”

–@jamesontwats, Twitter

ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL

Nevada 6.76%

“Life is complete...heaven for

me #deorro #edclv #kineticfield

#mainstage #melbournebounce…

http://instagram.com/p/pmAQCIhZYe/”

–@valerieblayze, Twitter

SXSW

Texas 4.84%

“Oh my @PSB_HQ is amazing! So

awesome :) #SXSW”

–@waaltmusic, Twitter

COACHELLA

California 6.73%

“Doin’ it #intentcity (at @Coachella

Valley Music and Arts Festival w/ 445

others) http://4sq.com/1kD8FW8”

–@TonyUtweets, Twitter

BONNAROO

Tennessee 4.04%

“Bonnaroo is awesome!!”

–@JoMiller87, Twitter

Least

MostSocial Media Conversation

A Look at Music Festival Social Media Chatter by State

America is Buzzing About Music Festivals

Summer Fest

Data: Eventbrite-Mashwork August 2014 Music Festival Social Media Volume by State Analysis.

Over 20 million public Facebook, Twitter and online forum conversations analyzed. August 6, 2013 - August 5, 2014.

Austin City Limits

South by Southwest

U.M.E

Hangout

Gulf Coast Jam

Essence Festival

BUKU Music + Art Project

New Orleans Jazz Fest

Sun City

Lollapalooza

Spring Awakening

Pitchfork

Chicago Blues Festival

Electric Forest

Electric Zoo

Governors Ball

CMJ Music Marathon

Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

Rock on the Range

Gathering of the Juggalos

Forecastle

Moogfest

Mysteryland

Bonnaroo

CMA Fest

TomorrowWorld

Ultra

Sunfest

Tortuga

Coachella

Stagecoach

HARD Summer

Outside Lands

iHeartRadio

Electric Daisy Carnival

Burning Man

Bumbershoot

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

MUSIC FESTIVAL

CONVERSATION analysis

PART I

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

Pre-Event discussion represents the most scalable pool of conversation for marketers to target.

Pre-Event conversation dominated discussion, accounting for over half of overall posts. People announced

ticket purchases, shared commentary about lineups, and expressed that they wished they could attend a

particular event. These statistics are important because they can help to inform social media marketing

strategy. Knowing that social media is primarily used to discuss pre-event buzz, event promoters can spend

resources on pre-event-speciﬁc hashtags to ensure that everyone that is talking about an event is having the

same conversation in the same place. Branded hashtags are also helpful from an analytics perspective, as

promoters can easily see which performers drive excitement or concern.

Though many people engage with festivals outside of the event, a signiﬁcant portion of the positive buzz

comes while it is happening. 17% of discussion occurred during festivals, even though mid-festival conversation

can obviously happen on far fewer days than pre and post-event conversation can. For event promoters, this

high percentage of During Event conversation emphasizes the importance of organizing this conversation

to create buzz. 38% of posts within the During Event category used a hashtag. This was not only the highest

percentage of any of the three phases, but it was also 16% higher than the overall Twitter average of hashtag

usage. Since more people are using hashtags during events than they are at other times, they will be more

willing to use an event’s branded hashtag. Informing both attendees and those participating remotely of the

event’s branded hashtag(s) can have a huge upside in terms of both building positive buzz and assessing which

elements of a festival are popular and unpopular.

INSIGHTS: PRE/DURING/POST EVENT

CONVERSATION BREAKDOWN

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

A music festival’s brand and reputation are the primary drivers of positive social media conversation.

The majority of posts fell into categories that emphasized the festival experience as opposed to speciﬁc

performances that were taking place. 39% of posts mentioned the lineup without mentioning an artist and 17%

of conversation expressed excitement about the event without mentioning a performer or lineup. However,

only 8% of positive posts speciﬁcally mentioned an artist or performance. The takeaway is that talent plays an

important role in building a festival’s brand, but a festival is far more than the sum of its lineup. What matters

most to attendees is the overall festival experience itself. In building their brand, promoters should know what

truly differentiates their festival and sets their brand apart - like yoga at Wanderlust or the beautiful beach

setting of Hangout Music Festival.

Festivals have the potential to garner huge engagement outside of the festival itself. 23% of conversation

(approximately 5 million posts) came from people who were participating in the festival remotely. These posts

included live streams as well as music videos and videos from concerts or festivals. 21% of posts expressed fear

of missing out (FOMO) or came from fans that wished they could have attended a particular festival. As a result,

the “remote” audience included both non-attendees and attendees after they left the event. It is advantageous

for promoters to incorporate the “remote” audience into their social media and overall marketing strategy.

Knowing that live streams and videos of performances after an event are so popular, promoters can look to

provide new types of content, such as exclusive interviews or behind the scenes videos.

INSIGHTS: CONTINUED

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

PRE/DURING/POST EVENT

CONVERSATION BREAKDOWN

PRE-EVENT

DURING EVENT

POST-EVENT

The following graphic is a visual representation of the conversation breakdown relative to when a music festival takes place.

SOURCES: Twitter, Public Facebook, Blogs, Forums VOLUME: 21,429,538 posts DATES: 8/6/2013 – 8/5/2014

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

PRE-EVENT: 54%

This category consisted of any post that spoke about festivals before they happened.

Conversation ranged from commentary about a particular festival’s lineup, to statements

about intending to go to an event, to media posts about an event. A large percentage of

posts expressed excitement about attending an event of choice.

VERBATIMS

“The lineup for the Firefly Music Festival has been released - I was going to buy tickets and now I

definitely will http://bit.ly/1d4aC3v”

–@VictoriaWolk, Twitter

“Can’t wait to see what Vanessa Hudgens and Austin Butler are going to wear next for Coachella

2014 (and other celebs)”

–@mariaxfrancesca, Twitter

“I think I will go to burning man next year. How much are the tix?”

–@NitrogenComplex, Twitter

“Tonight will be fun, I’m going to the Rush City music festival for karaoke and a band. Come on

out admission is... http://fb.me/2OaKFt5eZ”

–@PaulGammel, Twitter

“So, turns out I’m going to Bonnaroo next week. Any other nerds gonna be there? Ready for

camping, dancing and good music.”

–@TimeLord_mk, Twitter

PRE-EVENT

DURING EVENT

POST-EVENT

SOURCES: Twitter, Public Facebook, Blogs, Forums VOLUME: 21,429,538 posts DATES: 8/6/2013 – 8/5/2014

PRE/DURING/POST EVENT

CONVERSATION BREAKDOWN

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

DURING EVENT: 17%

This category consisted of posts from people while at a music event or while watching

it on TV. Many posts in this category shared quotes, videos, and photos from the event,

while others simply stated that they were watching the event or that they were enjoying

a performance. A few posts described funny stories that had just happened while they

were at an event.

VERBATIMS

“Watching CMA Music Festival :))))”

–@ClausenCourtney, Twitter

“Im diggin’ ultra music fest right now”

–@_carmeloo, Twitter

“J cole right now on iheart radio music festival, killing it”

–@Stamey18, Twitter

“#Greenlight music festival now happening!”

–@stealth_hiroshi, Twitter

“I could not be any happier right now, seriously. #HangoutFest”

–@rhpmiller, Twitter

PRE-EVENT

DURING EVENT

POST-EVENT

SOURCES: Twitter, Public Facebook, Blogs, Forums VOLUME: 21,429,538 posts DATES: 8/6/2013 – 8/5/2014

PRE/DURING/POST EVENT

CONVERSATION BREAKDOWN

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

POST-EVENT: 29%

Posts in this category generally reflected on experiences that people had during an event in

the past. Media coverage, photos that were posted after an event, and fond memories of a

past event all fell into this category. Some posts were also critical of a live performance they

had seen.

VERBATIMS

“The 17 Best Things we saw at @Lollapalooza http://win.gs/1stwCRa”

–@redbull, Twitter

“@jenalive11 @TonightAlive had a crazy time in the mosh pit at @VansWarpedTour #tonightalive

#adelaide #warpedtour”

–@NicoleTohl, Twitter

“Hey remember that time we saw @3eb at sxsw? #tbt #sxsw2013 #relivingthe90s #classic

#shutdown4thst? http://instagram.com/p/kpLJhdK7OS/”

–@ktb182, Twitter

“Had a great time with @letsbefriendsUK at @Mysteryland_USA #mysteryland #LetsBeFriends

#edm #festival #edmvibes …”

–@Tony_Colasurdo, Twitter

PRE-EVENT

DURING EVENT

POST-EVENT

SOURCES: Twitter, Public Facebook, Blogs, Forums VOLUME: 21,429,538 posts DATES: 8/6/2013 – 8/5/2014

PRE/DURING/POST EVENT

CONVERSATION BREAKDOWN

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

56%

14%

56%

15%

14%

Hangout

40%

18%

29%

Governors Ball

26%

18%

29%

18%

19%

SXSW

Bonnaroo

Data: Eventbrite-Mashwork August 2014 Music Festival Fan Conversation Analysis. Over 20 million public Facebook,

Twitter and online forum conversations analyzed. August 6, 2013 - August 5, 2014.

WHAT FANS ARE

SAYING About

Music Festivals

Eventbrite research shows

how fan conversation differs

by music festival

39%

23%

10%

17%

Conversation

Breakdown

Excited about the lineup

Participating remotely/

watching a live stream

Excited for the experience

Fashion

Excited to see a speciﬁc artist

Got my ticket

EDC

37%

15%

35%

Coachella

40%

11%16%

27%

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

PART II

AUDIENCE

DEMOGRAPHICS

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

Social media marketing is the best way to reach music festival audiences and understand their preferences.

Within our sample, people who tweeted about music festivals over-indexed in the “>5 tweets/day” category

by 34% and “>1,000 followers” by 16% relative to the average Twitter user. In fact, the age breakdown of people

tweeting about music festivals was almost identical to the overall Twitter demographic breakdown, with only two

age groups deviating from the Twitter average by more than 1% (Age group 20-24 by 2.1% and Age group 30-34

by 1.7%). Regardless of festival type or even age, music festival audiences align closely with heavy Twitter users.

From the event promoter’s perspective, this information is useful because it underscores the importance of

social media strategy in overall marketing effectiveness. Since the average festival attendee and fan is so

apt to post on social media, the data and insights gleaned from social media listening are even more robust

and actionable.

DEMOGRAPHIC INSIGHTS

SOURCE: 9,329 Twitter Accounts

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

DEMOGRAPHICS

FAVORITE BRANDS

Starbucks, McDonalds, and Walmart were music festival fans’ favorite brands.

AGE BREAKDOWN

The age breakdown of music festival fans closely echoed that

of the average Twitter user.

GENDER

Below is a breakdown of the basic demographics of those discussing music festivals.

The majority of music festival discussion

came from women.

KEY

MUSIC FESTIVALS

TWITTER AVERAGE

SOURCE: 9,329 Twitter Accounts

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

METHODOLOGY

For this analysis, our goal was to holistically understand music festivals through the lens of social media. We

approached this analysis with a multifaceted approach, one that relied on social listening, inﬂuencer analysis,

and an in-depth demographic and psychographic analysis of the people discussing music festivals.

PART 1: MUSIC FESTIVAL CONVERSATION ANALYSIS; PRE/DURING/POST EVENT CONVERSATION ANALYSIS

We started by analyzing the total social media conversation surrounding music festival season at large. We

accomplished this by constructing a complex Boolean framework that captured 181 major music festivals,

their branded and popular unbranded hashtags, as well as their Twitter handles when applicable. In addition

to this, we developed a complex Boolean framework designed to capture the entirety of unbranded music

festival conversation. We combined these two frameworks into a comprehensive Boolean aggregate, designed

to holistically capture all conversation surrounding music festivals at large. We used this aggregate framework

to study conversation from 8/6/13 through 8/5/14, capturing a full year’s worth of social media conversation

surrounding music festivals across Twitter, public Facebook, blogs, and forums.

Once the conversational results were returned from our aggregate Boolean framework, we analyzed the spikes

in conversation over time, identiﬁed the largest ones, and called out the festivals that drove these swells in

conversation. We then performed this same process again, to study where the conversation was geographically

coming from.

We took these results and sorted conversation that occurred before, during, and after a festival into three

separate thematic “buckets.” Our goal was to understand where in time conversation took place (at scale) in

relation to the events. Once we had organized a sample of conversation, we used our technology to replicate

our organizational judgement across the entirety of music festival conversation. We then analyzed the returned

results for accuracy, as well as actionable trends and insights.

We then replicated the process previously mentioned to discover what makes a music festival "loveworthy."

Again, we organized conversation into different thematic “buckets,” only this time we grouped them by different

drivers of positive sentiment. Our technology replicated our organization across music festival conversation at

large, and returned to us the breakdown of the most scalable drivers of music festival conversation.

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

PART 2: AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHICS

To determine the demographics of the individuals discussing music festivals, we gathered a sample of over

9,000 Twitter users who had discussed at least one music festival within our aggregate Boolean framework.

We then analyzed their proﬁles’ social signals, inclusive of all their recent posts, their engagement with brands,

as well as their proﬁle metadata. We leveraged this information to derive their demographic information, such

as location, age and gender. Lastly, we analyzed their Twitter behaviors, gathering information about the number

of followers they had, the number of times they tweeted each day, as well as the accounts they followed the

most collectively.

MUSIC FESTIVAL STUDY

THANK

YOU