The Rise of the Festival Economy

[FWN Adm]

music festivals have evolved from countercultural gatherings to a booming industry. This week, we take a Deep Dive into the economics behind the beats.

 - Did you know: the first-ever music festival took place in Ancient Greece during the 582 BC Pythian Games, featuring hymns and performances in honour of Apollo, God of the arts?

 - Rooted in a love for music and celebration, these events have evolved to become highly commercialised experiences due to hefty production costs and people's expectations for something new and better every year.

 - With the rise of the experience economy, festivals are incorporating immersive experiences catering to the younger generation's desire for shareable moments.

 - Music festivals are notoriously bad at reporting attendance data, so most published figures are rough estimates.

Organizers are coming up with new ideas to attract visitors. For example festival-goers seeking an experience on a different scale, Florida's Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival is held completely underwater. The event blends entertainment with environmental awareness to champion eco-conscious diving and coral reef protection. In Asia there are also more and festivals starting so music enthusiasts don't have to travel far to experience the upbeat atmosphere of a music festival.

The top five highest grossing festivals in the world in 2023 (in USD):

1) Outside lands Music and Art Festival (USA): $40.1 million
2) Hard Summer Music Festival (USA): $29.9 million
3) Tecate Pa'l Norte (Mexico): $20.7 million
4) Lollapalooza Brazil (Brazil): $19.7 million
5) CMA Music Festival (USA): $19.3 million

One of the biggest music festival scandal in history: The Fyre Festival, which cost millions of dollars that visitors paid and got nothing for it, and also sent main organizer Billy McFarland to prison for four years for fraud.