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Music festivals are becoming increasingly popular around the globe. They provide a unique opportunity for artists to connect directly with their fans. The event also provides a great way to promote new releases, build brand awareness, and generate buzz. The music festival business is one of the most exciting ways to make money. However, it can be not easy to get started if you don’t know where to begin.
LLCBuddy editors shared a detailed guide on starting a music festival business for aspiring entrepreneurs. On this page, all the important aspects of this type of business are shared. There are several ways to launch a successful music festival business. To run a profitable festival, you’ll need to consider each aspect carefully.
What is a Music Festival?
A music festival is a large gathering of musicians and fans who come together for a weekend of live performances. The first modern music festivals were held in England during the 1960s. Today, they’re popular worldwide. Some famous music festivals include Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo Music Festival, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Electric Zoo Festival, Tomorrowland, and SXSW.
Music Festivals are Popular Around the Globe
In 2017, more than a few million people attended over 100 music festivals in the United States alone. In addition, there were over 20 million attendees at events outside the U.S., including Australia, China, Brazil, Turkey, France, India, Venezuela, Switzerland, and many other countries.
In 2018, the number of people attending music festivals increased by 5% compared to 2017. According to Forbes Magazine, the top 10 music festivals generated $1 billion in revenue in 2016. These festivals included: Coachella (California), EDC Las Vegas (Nevada), Ultra Music Festival (Florida), Life Is Beautiful (Arizona), and so on.
How to Start a Music Festival Business
Music festivals are big business these days. They’re also a lot of fun! But starting a music festival business isn’t as simple as throwing a party. It takes a lot of money to start this business. However, you can cut down a chunk of the cost, which we have shared in this article. Before you start your music festival business, you have to make a plan for the structure of the business you are going to set up. If you plan to start an LLC, read our guide on how to start an LLC. For other business guides, visit LLCBuddy. Here are some of the steps to take if you want to start a music festival business.
Step 0: Get a Business Plan
A business plan is necessary when you wish to start any business globally. For a medium or large business like a music festival company, you certainly need a lot of homework. A detailed business plan should be drafted before you walk into the world of business. A neat business plan should include a few important points.
- Summary of operation, managers, employees, business type, and location of the business
- Services or products your company is going to offer/sell
- Market study on the industry in which your company is going to operate, competitors, and market performance in the same industry
- Business strategy for the future, like how your product/service will perform, potential customers, how to get more customers, and how to keep them staying with your company forever.
- Finally, the financial plan is required to be added. Financial strategies include initial capital, investments, projected cost, revenue of the first year, balance sheet, and funding requests.
These are generic points to be included in the business plan. You can customise it with the information related to the music industry.
Step 1: Decide the Kind of Music Festivals You Want to Host
Music festivals can be of many types, such as pop music, Jazz music, Classical music, etc. The first step to starting a music festival business is to decide what type of festival you are interested in. Depending on the type of festival, you will need to find your clients and market your business.
The music industry is large; you can pick up any genre and start your festival company. However, if you choose the popular one, it will be easier for you to find clients.
Step 2: Location of the Festival
This is one of the most crucial steps when you plan to start your business: the venue. In the case of the music festival business, you must either rent a place or buy it. In both cases, you have to incur a certain amount of cost. Initially, renting a place would be better as you will not have the ongoing cost of owning a place, even when there is no business or off-season.
Will you hold the event in your backyard, at a park, or elsewhere? Will you rent out a venue or build your own stage? How much money will you spend on equipment and supplies? These questions will help you decide where you’ll hold your event.
You must decide on the state in which you want to start your business. For example, if you have an LLC in Texas for your music festival business, it costs more than the Florida LLC or the Montana LLC. Of course, the amenities, business licenses, and regulations are different in different states.
Step 3: Determine Whether You Need Permits and Licenses
Depending on where you plan to hold your event, you may need permits and licenses. For instance, if you plan to hold your festival in a public space, you’ll likely need a city permit. And if you plan to hold the event in a private location, you’ll probably need a county permit. Check with local government officials to determine what permits and licenses you’ll need.
For example, if you are going to start and run an LLC for your business in states like Wyoming and California, then for a Wyoming LLC and a California LLC, you must obtain specific permits to conduct your business in the state.
Step 4: Consider Insurance Coverage
This is highly recommended. You’ll need insurance coverage for liability, property damage, and medical costs. Depending on the size of your event, you may also need workers’ compensation coverage. Talk to your insurance agent to learn more about what kinds of policies you need.
If you’re a musician and want to start your music festival company, you must get professional liability insurance. Depending on the type of business structure, you can opt for other professional and personal insurance.
Step 5: Plan for Security
Planning for security is a must when you start a music festival company. When you host a large event, the security of the participants and guests/audiences must be considered. The very first thing to do is hire security guards. You can hire a company on a contractual basis if you are not hiring them full-time. You must also have emergency vehicles, a medical tent near the venue, and proper fencing (you can hire the fencing).
It is necessary to have medical support, at least for first aid. Commonly, one to two or sometimes more people get injured in such events and require medical support. It is good to be well-prepared beforehand so that treatment can be given to those who need it.
Step 6: Figure Out Who Will Run Things
The next big thing to work on is to decide who will run things for you. You can either hire employees, or you can get volunteers or contractual people to assist you in hosting the festival. One should know that businesses like music festival companies or event management companies require large manpower to host any event.
If you plan to hire employees, you must obtain an EIN from the IRS for tax purposes. For the contractual volunteers, you might not need to obtain an EIN. There might be a contract between the volunteers and your company. However, that’s not always mandatory.
Step 7: Create a Budget
Having a budget plan is one of the most important steps after you decide on the points mentioned above. Your budget plan should include the estimated cost of setting up your business. There will be variable costs (or ongoing costs) and fixed costs (or one-time costs).
The main costs include fees, taxes, salaries, rents, travel expenses, and others. Some of the costs, like the company registration fee, will be a one-time fee. On the other hand, company renewal fees or annual report filing fees are ongoing. The budget plan must include every single projected expense for your business.
Step 8: Make Sure Your Website Is Ready
The next step is to let people know that you’re in the business. Get your website done. Your website must look like it is about music. Try to use vibrant colours and themes. The website should be accessible by mobile, laptop, and tablet users. Your website should include information about your event, including dates, times, locations, and ticket prices. It should also include photos and videos of past events.
Step 9: Set up Social Media Accounts
Create social media accounts for your event. You can use these sites to post updates, share photos, and answer questions. Your social media presence is as important as your main event. Before you host your music festival, you must be connected with your potential audience.
Step 10: Promote Your Business Online & Get Clients
Once you have set up your website, use online marketing tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to promote your event. Post pictures and videos of previous events, and invite fans to join you at your next one. Also, you can post quizzes, invite fans to send their messages, share their ideas about events, and engage in other creative online activities to grab more attention.
What to do After You Set up a Music Festival Business
Once you set up your music festival business, you need to take care of a few things. Below are some points to note after your business is set up.
Get a Business License
You need to get a business license before you start any kind of business. If you don’t have one yet, you should apply for one online. Once you get your business license, make sure you keep track of where you applied for it and what date you got it. Make sure you file taxes if you’re doing business in New York City.
Find a Place
Once you’ve registered your company name, you’ll need to find a place to set up your festival. There are many different options for setting up a music festival business. Here are some ideas:
- Rent a warehouse
- Buy a building
- Rent office space
- Rent a storefront
- Rent a tent
- Rent a field
- Rent a parking lot
- Rent a hotel room
After you’ve found a suitable spot, you’ll need to decide which part of the venue you’d like to rent. Some venues allow you to pick and choose which areas you want to rent. Others may require you to rent all of their available spaces.
Hire Employees
If you plan on hiring employees, you’ll need to fill out paperwork and pay payroll taxes. The IRS requires employers to withhold income tax from employee wages. This means that you’ll owe money to the federal government each month.
Pay Taxes and File Annual Report
As mentioned above, you’ll need to pay payroll taxes to the IRS. These taxes are based on the amount of money you earn from your employees. They range between 7% and 15%. As soon as you finish paying your taxes, you’ll need to file an annual report with the IRS. You’ll need to complete this form every year.
Cost of Starting a Music Festival Business
A music festival business has many aspects, such as the size of the event, venue, performers, staging, utilities (optional), hiring equipment, marketing, and some other stuff. The cost to start a music fest depends on several factors such as location, number of bands, ticket prices, etc. A music festival typically costs between $100k-$300k per year, depending on the size of the event.
Some of the costs are optional. You cannot cut down the cost of performers or venue. These two take the heaviest chunk of your budget. On the other side, optional things like utilities, a part of staging, building remodeling, and such costs can be cut down. On the business front, if you are starting an LLC in any of the states, for example, an LLC in Texas, that will cost you less than having a corporation in Texas. The cost of setting up an LLC in Texas is more than forming a Montana LLC or a Florida LLC. You can decide depending on your budget.
Make Revenue From Your Music Festival Business
If you are wondering how to earn money from your music festival business, then here we are with some options that can add profits to your account.
Music Festival Business Model
A music festival business model is based on the idea of bringing people together to enjoy live entertainment. These events are often held at venues where they provide food and drink, accommodation, transport, and access to the event. In return for these services, attendees pay a fee to attend the event.
Ticket Sales
The first step to generating income from a music festival is to sell tickets. There are many ways to do this, including online ticketing websites, physical box offices, and even mobile apps. You may choose to offer different levels of entry depending on how much money you want to make. If you have a good relationship with local promoters, you could also ask them if they would promote your event and help sell tickets.
Merchandise
Another way to generate income from a music festival business is to sell merchandise. This includes t-shirts, hats, mugs, posters, bags, and other items. You should consider what types of products will appeal to your target audience and whether you need to hire staff to handle sales.
Sponsorships
Sponsorship deals are similar to merchandising, except sponsors get their name and logo displayed prominently at the event. Many festivals now use sponsorship deals as a primary means of funding their events.
VIP Tickets
VIP (or premium) tickets give fans exclusive access to certain parts of the event. They might allow you to enter before the general public, or they could let you skip queues. VIP tickets are great for those who want to party hard and socialize with others attending the same event.
Advertising
Advertising is a popular method of generating income from a music event. You can advertise on billboards, bus shelters, and any other places where people tend to congregate. You can also sponsor artists to perform at your event.
Corporate Events
Corporate events are a type of music festival where companies bring employees together to celebrate a special occasion. Companies often hold corporate events to reward employees for their achievements.
Why Should You Start a Music Festival Business
There can be several reasons why one should start a music festival business. Some of the reasons are shared below.
You Have a Passion for Music
Music festivals are not just about having fun; they’re about connecting people together, celebrating their love of music, and bringing them closer to each other. Music festivals are where artists, fans, and promoters meet and share experiences. If you enjoy music, then starting a music festival business could be perfect for you!
You Want to Make Money Doing What You Love
If you love music, then starting a business around music festivals might be right for you. There are many ways to earn money while running a music festival business. You can charge admission fees, sell merchandise, promote events, run food trucks, rent out venues, and even create a mobile app.
You Want to Build a Brand
Starting a music festival business gives you the opportunity to build a brand. A brand is a unique identity that represents something special. When someone thinks of your company, they think of you. Your brand can help you stand out among competitors.
You Want to Work With Others Who Share Your Vision
Working with others who share your passion for music and helping them achieve their goals is rewarding. Working with others who share your values and vision is how you can truly succeed at anything you do. Starting a music festival business is a great way to connect with others who share your passions.
You Want to Learn New Skills
Starting a music festival is a great way to gain experience in different aspects of the industry. From marketing to event planning to venue management, there are plenty of opportunities to learn new things.
You Want to Travel the World
There are lots of places to visit if you decide to start a music festival business. Whether you choose to go abroad or stay close to home, traveling the world is possible once you get started.
FAQ
The first step to starting a music festival business is to determine what kind of event you want to host. There are three types of festivals: 1) A music festival where bands perform live, 2) An arts festival where artists exhibit their work, and 3) A food festival where chefs demonstrate their culinary skills. Each type of festival has different requirements for planning and execution. If you decide to start a music festival, then you need to find a suitable location, secure permits, hire security personnel, and plan logistics.
Music festivals are great sources of revenue generation because they attract large crowds of people who want to party all night long. The key to making money at a music festival is to find a way to monetize the event. There are three ways to monetize a music festival: selling tickets, selling merchandise, and charging admission fees.
A music festival requires a lot of gear, such as sound systems, PA systems, lighting rigs, stage monitors, etc. If you want to start a music festival business, then you should invest in a quality sound system, which costs about $20,000. The next thing to consider is how much money you have to spend on other equipment. If you don’t have any money to invest, then you can always hire someone who has experience in running a music festival.
The average budget for a music festival ranges from $1 million to $10 million dollars. However, some festivals require budgets of up to $100 million. To run a successful music festival requires a lot of planning and preparation. If you want to create a successful music festival, you should consider these factors: how big the event is, what kind of venue is needed, what kind of food and drinks are necessary, and who will be attending.
In Conclusion
This is all about starting a music festival business. You must know that you won’t be able to make money overnight with your music festival business. It takes some time, at least a couple of years, to reach the break-even point. Hence, be prepared for at least 2 years before you start making money from it.
Overall, the importance of starting a music festival business cannot be understated. These events play a vital role in fostering artistic expression, community engagement, and economic growth, making them essential components of a vibrant and thriving society. By creating platforms for artists to showcase their talent, for fans to come together in celebration, and for businesses to prosper, music festivals enrich our cultural landscape and contribute to the well-being of individuals and communities alike. If you have any more information to share, please feel free to comment below.