Music festivals can make for magnificent attractions. Music is a great uniter of people from all nations, backgrounds and walks of life. It can also be a lucrative avenue for any business in the entertainment sector. Unlike a circus, theatre production or other event, a music festival can draw tens of thousands with relatively simple attractions: a stage, a singer and standing room!
Of course, hosting a successful festival goes beyond this. And, as recent years have shown, the Caribbean is a wonderful destination to entice crowds to a festival, but there is unquestionably greater potential yet untapped. So can music festivals be the next big growth industry? And what does a Caribbean nation require to ensure that every festival hits the right notes? Let’s look now in-depth.
A New Tune in Tourism
The infamous failure of the 2017 Fyre festival in the Bahamas will forever be a sore spot in the story of local music. But the record US$ 114mn profit, in the same year, of the renowned Coachella music festival, following on from US$ 160mn made by the Desert Trip Festival in 2016, affirm that one festival cannot be cited as reflective of all when it comes to profitability and success. More music festivals locally must also acknowledge the future of tourism. Undoubtedly, many countries in the region — like Saint Lucia, that in recent years has achieved record tourism growth — have strengths that they can continue building on.
Yet, like anything with the passage of time, new vulnerabilities can arise as foundations are secured. For all the good work done in enhancing tourism around the Caribbean, emerging factors — like the impact of climate change on fishing and water tourism — are putting new hurdles in place for a business that seeks to be profitable from one year to the next.
Already many plans have been made by both small sole providers and big businesses to make a success of such transitions. But the expansion of the Caribbean tourism brand, as it aims to be recognised as the epicentre for new attractions in the region and around the world, will always represent good business — for new business and for existing ones that can benefit from the increase in tourists. This is especially so when the music festivals are targeted at younger crowds, specifically the 18-35 age demographic. To marketers, this is a key demographic, and commonly represents the age bracket with the greatest disposal income, and thus readiness to spend when enticed. So, beyond the lure of festivals alone, there is opportunity here for all local business to identify with.
Infrastructure and Equipment
Observers from afar can often overlook the importance of infrastructure to music festivals. While the main attraction may be simple — as aforementioned, at times being as simple as a singer, a stage and a place for the crowd to stand — for larger events, expensive and heavy equipment has to be transported. This is why a US tour can easily have in excess of 100 dates given the (relatively) close proximity of one major city to the next, as well as the ability to easily transport via road or even rail, alongside plane. For Caribbean nations, quality airport infrastructure is essential for this reason.
For Saint Lucia, with the upgrade of Hewanorra International Airport, there will soon be the opportunity for the nation to attract more tourists than ever before, and get them from airplane seat and out of the terminal efficiently and smoothly.
While some may hold the planned sporting upgrades as separate from music festivals, in reality most sports stadiums around the world will (at least occasionally) double as concert venues for major acts. Any ambition to host concerts in excess of a few hundred or thousand people will quickly turn towards a conversation surrounding what stadiums are available.
The Low Notes
While attracting hordes of visitors can be terrific news for tourism operators, there is also the need to consider the broader impact of such a rapid boost in tourism, especially when it comes to attractions like music festivals that can draw up to 100,000 people (and beyond) to one location. This is a challenge for all locales that host a major event, but can be an even greater challenge in a Caribbean nation that may have a relatively small geographical footprint.
Beyond this, it’s no secret that certain music festivals hold close (unofficial) links to the party drugs scene. This is not a unique consideration for Caribbean nations, but instead a challenge for event organisers and authorities around the world. In some respects this isn’t all that different from the problems that can arise with hosting any major event, but it is one that needs to be borne in mind.
While there’s rightfully much room for optimism and excitement about what growing the calendar of local music festivals could mean, it does need to be balanced by reality. The specific problems that arise can depend on what type of festival is being held, and its duration. Nonetheless, there are common factors that can be seen across all festivals, and addressed accordingly. For example, many festivals around the world now proactively support sustainability, with some events even adding a ‘green levy’ to the ticket price, which then goes towards green causes such as reforestation to offset the carbon produced due to the festival.
Playing in Harmony
Many of the globe’s greatest festivals have built up a reputation not in a single event, but over many years. For Caribbean nations seeking to grow their music offerings, such a calendar can be built gradually.
Given the plain and clear saturation of the music festivals market in giant population centres like the US, there is extensive opportunity to mix homegrown initiatives with the addition of local tour dates to existing major festivals abroad. Given the rich history that the Caribbean has in global music, a new era of music festivals would mean not only greater profits in tourism, but also help define a fresh identity for the region, and even help spur new artists to go along with contemporary Caribbean sensations like the Marley brothers, Wyclef Jean, Rihanna and so many others who’ve delivered local songs to the world.
