The era of the “one-artist festival”: concert experiences level up after the pandemic
KEY INSIGHTS IN THIS PIECE
- Concert experiences upgrade to become entire touristic experiences with multiple entertainment options and business possibilities
- Sophisticated entertainment strategies require attention to Intellectual Property (IP) compliance, and may generate opportunities for creating new IP assets too
As the music and entertainment industry slowly goes back to live, in-person events, artists are going all-in for their concerts.
Not very long ago, an updated concert experience rarely meant more than purchasing a ticket for a meet & greet with the artist. Now, several entertainment mini-events are added in connection with the main show, offering entire touristic experiences for fans.
Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny, who starred in one of the most unique alternative concert cases during the pandemic, is offering his fans the chance to spend the night in his trailer during their stay in Miami, where he’ll be playing for the tour El Último Tour Del Mundo.
Fans can buy a VIP ticket while also booking a room in Bad Bunny’s truck, whose decoration is full of references to his music videos such as “Yo Perreo Sola”.
But live music can also fuel many other possibilities and business opportunities in tourism, marketing, and entertainment, to the point that a concert can become a “one-artist festival”.
For BTS, whose contribution to South Korea’s tourism is well acquainted, their 4-concerts stop in Las Vegas around April 8–16 2022 turned into a chance for full immersion in BTS & ARMY (their fanbase) culture — or “borafication”, as the city’s social media pointed out. The word refers to “보라해” (“borahae”), a neologism that meshes the color purple (“보라”) and the expression “I love you” (“사랑해”), and that became an affectionate jargon used between BTS and their fans.
The capital of entertainment became the capital of BTS during their stop in the Permission to Dance tour, with its main touristic points such as the Fountain Bellagio lighting up in purple and showcasing the word “Borahaegas” (“borahae” + Vegas). The whole event is being called “PTD in the City”.
Along with city lighting and decoration, the BTS-Vegas experience also encompasses specially-decorated hotels for BTS fans, BTS-themed meals in restaurants (the “Cafe in the City” experience), parties, merchandise booths, photography exhibitions, a concert broadcast at the MGM Garden Arena, and much more.
Las Vegas Weekly reported that BTS’s concerts, just like Cirque du Soleil’s, “illustrate Las Vegas’ entertainment evolution ”.
Las Vegas Weekly reported that BTS’s concerts, just like Cirque du Soleil’s, “illustrate Las Vegas’ entertainment evolution ”. But the titanic BTS concert project, and on a smaller scale, Bad Bunny’s trailer experience too, are also a statement of how festival culture is coming to single acts’ concerts.
While music festivals like Rock in Rio and Coachella offer far more leisure options than just attending shows (such as sports, camping, pool parties, and various musical spectacles), don’t be surprised if more artists will start doing similar things for their own tours.
Business opportunities in the live music industry require IP compliance
As concerts become more sophisticated experiences and generate multiple opportunities in marketing, tourism, and entertainment, there is a lot of Intellectual Property to be managed.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to seek Intellectual Property expertise when developing creative, business and communication strategies for these shows, which will involve licensing of existing trademarks and copyrights, and more, or even the creation and protection of new ones.
This blog post is published for informational purposes only, and is not intended to promote any of the artists or brands here mentioned. The information on this blog post is based on the laws in force at the time it was written, and its use does not create an attorney-client relationship, as this blog post does not consist of or replace legal advice neither business consultancy services.
3Três Consultoria e Criação (Consulting & Creative) specializes in the intersection of creative, Intellectual Property Law, and communication services.
Contact us at: contato@3trescc.com
