Preview: How Data Is Impacting the Rise of Music Festivals

Music festivals have become one of, if not the leading source of upward mobility for bands and musicians in the digital age.

It’s no surprise that data can impact business decisions at every level, and it follows that data is impacting the rise of music festivals. But how exactly? This panel will explain how the music festival industry is using data technology to find and retain attendees, improve customer experiences and select bands.

SpearmanThe ability to analyze data and act on it is becoming more important to businesses. Joah Spearman, co-founder and CEO of Localeur is one of four panelists who will be discussing data and the impact it has on music festivals. Spearman is an entrepreneur who is passionate about building communities, tapping into people’s passions and celebrating creativity. Fun fact: he also founded and lead Style X, a SXSW track focused on style.

“To understand how data can be utilized, I think it’s important to understand what data we’re talking about: data is information that can be gathered and leveraged to enhance products, services, and user experiences,” said Spearman. “There’s other types of data, but that’s the data I concern myself with as a tech founder.”

He explained certain types of data, such as:
Offline Behavioral Data – Consumer Preferences
Social Data – Example: People you follow on Instagram
Purchase Data – Example: The last city you bought a flight to
Personalized/Location Data – Example: Where you live or where your office is located

“For Localeur, we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of what to do with this data, but we know the reason we want to access this information is to make our product and service offering better for our users and to give them a better experience,” said Spearman. “I think the people behind music festivals are thinking the same thing, and that’s why I’m excited about this panel.”

Festival DataSpearman explained that this panel will discuss why music festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Austin City Limits have become so successful, what kind of data is helping the people who produce these festivals make better decisions, and what the future of festivals look like now that it’s no longer a question of when or if the music industry will change because of technology, but how musicians and the people who support them will continue to thrive in this new digital and tour-department environment.

“You may have a buzzy track on Spotify, Soundcloud, or Apple Music. But ultimately, the place where you’re going to generate income as an artist is on the road, doing shows to get you closer to your fans, build audiences and hopefully get to play some festival gigs which are tremendous opportunities for major artists to get enormous paychecks and great places for up-and-coming bands and musicians to build bigger followings,” said Spearman.

Umbel, an Austin based startup, is sponsoring this panel and understands how brands and companies can leverage data, especially in real time with things like festivals. Spearman has been involved with SXSW for years and is extremely interested in being a part of the experience and helping to shape it for the better.


When and Where:
Friday, March 11
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
ACL Live at the Moody Theater / 310 W 2nd Street

Find out more: How Data Is Impacting the Rise of Music Festivals

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