Music festivals have been held one after another, in small county towns and regions of the Yangtze River Delta | Brands | Music Festivals

This summer, the cities in the Yangtze River Delta are particularly lively, with music festivals held almost every weekend. From Shanghai and Hangzhou to Suzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Ningbo, and Shaoxing, music festivals can be said to be blooming everywhere. In addition to these first and second tier cities, music festivals have also begun to squeeze into the county towns of the Yangtze River Delta.

Why should the county town be handled?

From May 13th to 14th, the 2023 Moganshan Fantasy Music Festival was held in Moganshan, Deqing. The scene was booming, with nearly 4 million yuan sold in just a few minutes of invoicing, and the total box office in two days exceeded 10 million yuan. During those two days in Deqing County, there were fans from all over the country who came to watch the music festival. According to Hu Yin, the deputy general manager of Zhejiang Deyuan Culture and Technology Co., Ltd., even a hotel room was hard to find. This is the fifth year of the Moganshan Fantasy Music Festival and also the fifth year in which Hu Yin is in charge of the music festival. He still remembers that in 2018, the Moganshan Scenic Area in Deqing County held its first music festival. "We hired many artists and made a lot of preparations, but the results did not meet Hu Yin's expectations." There were fewer people, "he admitted. In the second year, the investment cost increased significantly, but the number of fans who came was still not enough. About 70% of the tickets were sold, and even with the investment promotion, the best balance was achieved. The hosting team is also under a lot of pressure, and during the review, I kept thinking: What exactly is the problem? Compared to first - and second tier cities, hosting music festivals in county towns has a natural disadvantage. Firstly, the population of the county is already limited, so relying solely on local music fans is not enough. To expand its appeal to surrounding cities, it is best to radiate around 100 kilometers. However, music fans from other regions who come to Deqing may have a certain unfamiliarity with the venue and transportation, so the surrounding facilities should be sufficiently complete, with a place to live and preferably a scenic spot. After watching the music festival, they can still play for one or two more days. Most out of town music fans are willing to come here for their favorite artists, so lineup arrangement is particularly important. "The preferences of the main audience of the music festival should be taken into consideration, and the artists invited should match the age group of the audience," said Hu Yin. Which artists can bring tickets and which artists guarantee quality can be analyzed based on previous data. And it is necessary to schedule the artist's schedule in advance, issue tickets early, and have a longer ticket selling time. After targeted adjustments, starting from the third year, the Moganshan Fantasy Music Festival is making positive profits and getting better. The music festival has expanded its fan base from the initial 5000 to 12000 this year, and in just two days, it has leveraged tens of millions of yuan in local consumption, accommodation, and catering in Deqing. "The county-level government's support for hosting music festivals is a big deal. On the one hand, they don't want to constantly introduce foreign music festival brands, but want to create their own local brands so that their income and expenses can be controlled. On the other hand, they can achieve the development of county-level tourism and economy through music festivals." Hu Yin said, "So when county-level music festivals are held, don't rush to succeed. You can focus on brand cultivation. For example, if we achieve the fifth year and music fans become familiar with this brand, they will have stickiness." Unlike the Moganshan Fantasy Music Festival in Deqing, the Juanhu Music Festival in Haining is held in the first year this year. ". For the organizer Haining Media Group, it exceeded expectations. Xu Xiaodong, Deputy General Manager of Haining Media Group, told reporters that the Juanhu Music Festival will be held from June 17th to 18th. The first day's tickets are sold out, and there are only a few remaining tickets on the second day. At the same time as the Hangzhou Strawberry Music Festival and major concerts, the performance of the Juanhu Music Festival is already impressive. "Haining itself does not have abundant tourism resources, so we hope to use the music festival to attract people to co

How to stand out?

For county towns, although hosting music festivals has many disadvantages compared to first - and second tier cities, it is not without advantages. The strong government support is the most significant point. The approval process is faster, the venue construction time is relatively ample, and the cooperation between relevant departments such as cultural tourism and public security is also high. Xu Xiaodong stated that this year's Haining Juanhu Music Festival is the first large-scale event in Haining where the number of approved personnel has exceeded 5000. In addition to police officers, traffic police, and special police, ordinary security personnel alone are equipped with more than 700 people, with two shifts to maintain order on site. Hu Yin also admitted, "In the first year, the public security in Deqing was also very tense because such a big event had never been held before. However, now they are familiar with the security of the music festival, and even other places have to come to them to 'learn from'." The Deqing County government has also provided a lot of support in improving transportation convenience, such as providing shuttle buses specifically to the music festival venue in the urban area and high-speed railway stations. Due to the hosting of some large-scale exhibitions, the carrying capacity of hotels and homestays in Deqing has been increasing year by year in recent years. At the same time, the Moganshan Scenic Area can allow music fans to experience more of the natural atmosphere of the original ecology, which is difficult to experience in big cities. After watching the music festival, visiting the scenic area has added a lot of tourism value. In addition, the organizers also attach great importance to online evaluation and feedback. "We have a dedicated public opinion team responsible for this, for example, if there are rumors that our raincoats are selling at a high price, we will promptly refute them." Xu Xiaodong said, "Word of mouth is very important to us, and music fans' favorability towards the festival has reached a passing level. I think it has laid a good foundation, and they will be willing to come back the next year." After the Moganshan Fantasy Music Festival became popular, other counties in Huzhou have also invited Hu Yin's team to share their experience and hope to build a local brand. "Anji, Wuxing District, and Changxing are all hosting music festivals this year. If you land and control them yourself, you can save a lot of costs," said Hu Yin. For the Fantasy Music Festival, he hopes to create differentiation and walk on different tracks in the future. "For example, collaborating with some band based variety shows, or inviting bands from Europe, America, and Thailand to perform, these plans are currently being promoted," he said. "The music festival itself is a very pure market-oriented project. This requires evaluating market acceptance and doing a good job in reputation." Xu Xiaodong predicts that the music festival will still show a booming state in the second half of this year, but there will be a significant decline in the coming years, entering a period of market calmness. Persisting in running it, not pursuing immediate profits, not being a flash in the pan, is the only way for county-level music festivals.