Music Festivals Rake in Millions for Hosting Cities

Don't believe us (but we think you do!)? Read below for the full story...

(October 2012)
By Jessica Sonabend

Trashed fields and cluttered arenas are the least of their worries as hotels, retail stores, and entertainment venues in Clark County, Las Vegas count the cash in their pocket after hosting the three-day Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In June 2012, EDC attracted over 320,000 fans, bringing in a total estimated impact of $34.4 million since its first hosted carnival event in Las Vegas according to the Insomniac News Report. This year, “$28.3 million [was] spent in accommodations, $19.8 million in transportation, $19.6 million in dining, $17.2 million in gaming, $10.5 million in entertainment and $7.9 million in retail.”
With a growing number of fans and anticipated comeback each year, many more cities seem as if they are preparing themselves to host America’s next music festival scene.

Las Vegas is not the only city benefiting from this influx of music shows, but Austin, TX has received a dramatic change in its economy as well.

In March 2012, Austin introduced its annual music industry conference, trade show, and festival known as the South by SouthWest Festival (SXSW). According to the Bizmology Report the 2011 festival to kick off the NCAA conference raked in “$167 million to the local economy during the two weeks of the music, film, and interactive festivals.”

Regardless of location, many of these music festivals seem to do tremendously well in urban areas like downtown Austin and desserts similar to that of Las Vegas. Being within proximity of a major city helps hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions increase their revenue.

Many individuals are discovering new ways to draw a crowd through the source of music festivals similar to SXSW. Students from the University of Texas conducted a study and did research to draw recommendations on how to successfully increase the attendance of large shows which included “a Battle of the Bands, school choir competitions and roving musicians in addition to the Fair’s full line-up of concerts.”

Although government officials make plans to eliminate future raves, cities are profiting and tremendously benefiting from much of the crowds’ spending activity. The economic impact creates new jobs and increased state and federal tax revenue in various locations. The continuous struggle to rescue the unemployed and pay off the nation’s debts could possibly lie in the success of a new music scene.

(http://festivalfuse.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/music-festivals-rakes-in-millions-for-hosting-cities/)

Behind the scenes of a first-time music festival, the rewards and perils

While I was not among those in attendance at What The Festival (see below) it did sound like it was going to be (and was) an amazing event for all those who participated. Below is an article where those who helped to put on this amazing festival (this was its first year!) give a little "behind the scenes" perspective of the whole deal. Note: This is a west-coast festival, for those who may be interested to look into WTF for 2013 and years to come. For the full story, read below...

(August 2012)
By Cody Delistraty

Driving along the same path that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark blazed two centuries ago, music festivalgoers headed into Oregon territory seldom explored since then. Upon entrance to the campsite of the What The Festival, a three-day electronic music event, the rural area’s perils became clear when security issued a single piece of advice: watch out for the rattlesnakes.

“It’s not just a walk in the park,” said Peter Clark, director and producer of WTF, as the festival is colloquially called. "It’s a site that’s never been used for a festival so therefore you have to educate people as to what they’re getting into. They’re not just going to (an urban) venue where they don’t have to worry about that.”

Daniel Zetterstrom photo / Fans at the WTF stage during Ghostland Observatory's performance.

Set on a spacious cattle ranch in Tygh Valley, Ore., the weekend of July 28, the What The Festival certainly had its natural dangers, but the allure of languid country days and starry evenings clearly outweighed them. The event ended up selling out. Setting all of that up, however, and for the first time no less, was a complicated affair. Relying on exactly 172 volunteers, the inaugural festival of 3,000 took a grassroots approach that both accommodated its moderate budget and stayed in line with its bohemian feel.

WTF! Is this the Millennial Generation's Woodstock?
Volunteers took photographs for the festival, dealt with public relations and marketing, and worked backstage. A huge team of helpers also distributed posters in a variety of cities, including nearby Portland and Seattle, to promote the first-time event, and they were excited to help out.

“Being on the street team was not only a great way to get the word out,” said 21-year-old WTF volunteer Emily Meltzer, who lives in Seattle. “But it also made me even more excited to be a part of this inaugural festival.”

Clark noted the necessity of volunteers and their unwavering dedication, saying, “They’re the ones that will come out there and do any job and really not give you that much attitude about it.”

Daniel Zetterstrom photo /

There was certainly much to be excited about as volunteers got in to the festival for free, where there was not only music but also yoga, a hookah lounge, interactive art installations, even a mobile spa offering massages and spa treatments. Although the spa seemed slightly gauche, going against the air of beatnik calm that permeated the festival, the rest of the festival’s offerings were right on point.

“We wanted a mature audience. We wanted it to be tasteful, classy, a little bit more upscale,” Clark said. “We didn’t get the kids. We didn’t get the Kandy Ravers and all that sort of thing,” referring to the groups of tweens and teens who attend raves dressed in bright colors, exchanging small trinkets to gesture friendship.

Putting on this outdoor festival takes a far different approach than more urban events, such as Chicago’s Lollapalooza and Pitchfork, Seattle’s Bumbershoot, Miami’s Ultra, or Paris’ Rock en Seine to name a few. One of the most difficult parts is finding a suitable location, but when Peter Clark and his team were approached by the cattle ranch landowners they knew almost immediately this would be the festival’s home. The spaciousness, the relative proximity to Portland, the atmosphere created by the wide sky and surrounding, acoustically complementary cliffs -- WTF had a home.

“I think this feeling really brings something out of people and creates a really amazing flow of energy throughout the event,” noted Matt Dressman, the festival’s marketing director.

Festivalgoers were quick to concur. “There’s just so much natural wonder up here,” said Andrew Oberland, 24, who works at a software company in Portland. “It’s a little hot -- maybe could use a little more shade -- but it’s amazing!”

Neither the heat nor the possible rattlesnakes put a damper on the festival that was, by all accounts, a
success.

“For a first year festival, I think we knocked it out of the park,” said Clark. “Coming away from an event and already looking towards next year -- considering I just got off site yesterday -- is pretty amazing.”

(http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/behind-scenes-first-time-music-festival-rewards-perils-928297?franchiseSlug=entertainmentmain)

How Congress is Interfering with the Music Scene

For the full scoop...Read on...

(October 2012)
By Jessica Sonabend

Remember when Congress decided that raves were harmful to society and were thought to  condone the use of drugs instead of discourage it?

It is fall and legislation concerning this controversial issue is surfacing. Putting aside statistics, let us consider how difficult it has been to control the use of drug paraphernalia in sports stadiums, concert halls, college campuses, and the back-alleys of urban concrete locations. So why has Congress recently decided to push the ban on raves when drug use has been a prevalent issue within the past 50 years? Why now?

Back when the raves were locked underground, it was difficult for society to understand the effects of the music scene. Glow sticks, pacifiers, chilled air-conditioning rooms, and items as crucial as water bottles were suddenly used as a means of promoting the “drug scene”. Ironically, Congress enacted the Crack House Statute as apart of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which in turn created the RAVE Act (Reducing Americans’ Vulnerability to Ecstasy) as a way to control the public’s opportunity to host or promote parties in buildings where they believe foster drug havens.

According to Drug Abuse Warning Network, “Ecstasy mentions in emergency visits grew 1,040 percent between 1994 and 1999″ in this abcnews report. Congress has used the RAVE Act to pinpoint the music scene as a result for the spikes in drug-related emergency visits. While drug-use occurs everyday, many of their efforts are spent in denial of this very idea. 

Historically, the rave culture has been a haven to promote a fun and respectful atmosphere for all its attendees. To say that its promoters encourage the use of drug paraphernalia by overcharging for bottled water is stating that hot-dog vendors at Safeco Field are doing the same. Why has this idea succumb to outrageous claims against this necessity? Water is an essential item in survival and as much as Congress believes otherwise, it has led society to believe their efforts are more focused on blaming this music culture for drug promotion as an easy way out.

Electronic Dance Music(EDM) has worked its way through the mainstream culture and is making it more difficult for legislation to pass due to its increasing popularity. Hip-hop artists like Nicki Minaj and Pitbull have teamed up with some of the most famous EDM djs to collaborate in their efforts to produce good music. So when a culture that has faced so much controversy and hatred weasels its way into the hands of bank-breaking producers, what will Congress have to say about that?

(http://festivalfuse.wordpress.com/2012/10/11/how-congress-is-interfering-with-the-music-scene/)