Christopher BarrettMusic festival operators are being called on to complete a survey with the aim of creating more accurate data that fully represents the sector.
Steve Heap, the retiring general secretary of the Association of Festival Organisers and music industry data analytics consultancy FastForward have launched Making Festivals Count; a research project involving festivals in England, Wales and Scotland.
Funded by the Events Industry Forum and The Purple Guide, the research is expected to include data from “hard-to-reach festivals” and enable the availability of fully representative data when lobbying government.
Heap said the results of the initiative will enable better understanding of the festival landscape by including the smaller and niche festivals along with the majors: “We are excited to get this important research live and reach as many festivals as possible. It is very important to us that we understand and represent all of the UK festival scene with links to music if we possibly can.
“We appreciate there are festivals that are not members of trade bodies, and so would ask you to spread the word and copy this survey across to as many festivals as you can. To forward this on would help us reach them and encourage them to engage with the research because it will benefit the whole sector. The value of this data will be evident in our lobbying going forward, and future conversations with government at all levels.”
FastForward founder Chris Carey said, “Festivals provide an incredible escape for the British public as well as guests from overseas and we are excited to demonstrate the depth and breadth of the impact which they have for fans and the local communities.”