Rage against the mainstream
So you want to run a festival?
WHY? • The first step in deciding to start your own fes5val or event is to ask the most basic of ques5ons,
• ‘Why am I doing this?’
“I think it’s really important to feel like you’re crea5ng the event for the right reasons because there’ll be 5mes when you ask yourself why you’re doing it.” -‐ Angus Cameron, Pyramid Rock
“The vision was to unite the alterna5ve scene by removing the musical boundaries. It didn’t hurt having Nirvana on your side. We were a small team, we worked our arses off.” – Ken West, Big Day Out
“We were celebra5ng the bar, St Jerome’s, having made it through to its first birthday and we just thought it would be amazing to throw a party in the laneway where the bar was hidden. You know, we just wanted to have bands that we really loved, bands that seemed to only ever have a shot at playing on Meredith or they would never get to Australia. There was no grand plan with Laneway, but we knew we loved a good party and it just seemed like a fun thing to do.” – Danny Rogers -‐ Laneway
It’s more than just having the right reason • So you’ve now got the right reason you need to run your own fes5val. • How do you go about making it a success? • What elements are necessary for a successful fes5val? • Is it just a maYer of having the right bands? • Is it just a maYer of having enough money? • Is online viral promo5on all I need?
“It’s important to get established in the right area with local support. Be prepared to do the hard yards with planning and make sure every aspect of the event has been covered before you take the plunge. Don’t consider it unless you have a really good team with years of experience in major events. Keep it real. You can’t please everyone but you can try.” – Angus Cameron, Pyramid Rock
“The first thing would be to not, really! I mean have a dream but don’t start off by thinking that it’s going to be the biggest thing around because guess what: there are so many people wan5ng to do fes5vals these days and you’re in a compe55ve space. You’ve goYa be selling 5ckets into audiences that are already on the verge of being saturated – so be careful.” Viv Lees, Big Day Out
But what if things go wrong? BAM!: A Blueprint for Disaster? An unintended Blueprint for a fes5val fiasco. Flooded fes5val market claims vic5m. Lost Weekend Cancelled at 11th Hour.
Even the Big Day Out?
Strategic planning • Opera5ons managers have to make or at least be involved in decisions at a strategic level as well as at the opera5onal level. • For the RATM event the strategic decisions will include: – – – – – – – –
Timing of the event Facility choice Name of the event Line-‐up Number of stages Other products services on the day Site layout How the quality of the event will be achieved and maintained within budget
OPERATIONAL PLANNING • Opera5onal planning for RATM will include: • Capacity of venue and how many 5ckets are available for sale. • How will the performances be scheduled on the day and on which stages. • How do we maintain safety and enjoyment for the audience, staff and performers • Rosters for staff • Scheduling of the du5es required prior, during and a`er the event.
What will we call this thing? • RAGE AGAINST THE MAINSTREAM? • Other sugges5ons?
BANDS & other stuff • • • • • • •
How do we split the budget? Who should play? What else should we include on the day? How many stages? Possible partners/sponsors? Grants? What roles do we need covered?
HR PLANNING • HR managers need to plan, aYract and maintain their workforce • Good HR managers will be able to efficiently implement change and manage the knowledge base of the organisa5on. • HR managers must conduct job analysis before the recruitment & selec5on process can take place.
Job analysis • Determining HR needs is an ongoing process for HR managers in large organisa5ons. Staff re5re, resign or are promoted, and new posi5ons are created as business needs change. • Job analysis results in the produc5on of job descrip5ons. The quali5es necessary for doing each job have to be iden5fied. • These make up the job specifica5ons.
Brainstorm/discuss • In pairs/threes brainstorm and list the jobs that need to be filled for the Valley Vibes event. • It may help to start with a list of departments/ areas of responsibility. • Once you have a list work through the list of jobs and iden5fy the skills, knowledge and experience needed to fulfill the role.
Task/homework • Now choose just one job and develop a job descrip5on for that par5cular job. The following details are usually included: – job 5tle – the working environment – tasks involved – Hours of work – skills required – work prac5ces – performance criteria
