Viberate Report: Festival App Trends in 2021
We examined what festivalgoers and festival organizers currently value most in apps.
The year 2020 was all kinds of rough on the music industry. Live events were hit especially hard and festivals around the globe had to either quickly re-structure and come up with a new strategy on the spot, or close up shop forever.
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Digitalization has become more important than ever. The industry has leaned more into livestreaming, social media and other solutions that can (virtually) connect their communities and optimize costs.
Apps: A plus or a must?
Viberate detected this digitalization trend early on. We carried out a series of in-depth surveys and interviews among festivalgoers and festival organizers in 2019 (on-site) and in 2020 (online), asking about their festival expectations and the role of mobile apps in their festival experience.
It turns out apps are increasingly essential for both festivalgoers and festival organizers, and not just because they connect people to the music.
Almost every festival will have its own app by 2025
With the help of around 30,000 responders, our exclusive report determined that:
📈 mobile tech has helped drive the festival experience since 2007;
🎪 75% of the world’s top 50 festivals have their own app;
👯 festivalgoers use apps for everything, from planning to payments;
📲 around 70% of festivalgoers keep the app on their phones after the festival;
… and more.
Apps are a great resource for information, meeting people, and, at the end of the day, selling tickets. By cutting through the clutter of social media and directly connecting and engaging their communities, many organizers have found that apps are no longer a luxury, but an important communication channel.
Moving festivals forward
The pandemic threatens the entire live events sector, with at least 90% of the business at risk of never recovering. Governments and organizations around the world have therefore been trying to find support for everyone involved (just in the UK, the festival businesses support over 80,000 jobs and contribute around £1.75B to the economy), with over 100 relief funds and other lifelines put together.
Effective use of resources and data will be crucial to get festivals back on their old tracks, and Viberate is here to support them as well. If you’re a festival organizer or promotor, contact me with any questions or ideas, and let’s talk.
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