Key roles in a music festival team

Nowadays music festivals have evolved a lot. There are festivals from all types and colors, and new ones are constantly appearing, many of them thanks to the backup of large corporations that see in them a money-making machine, but it was not always like that. Most of the festivals whose names everyone knows today are nothing more than the consequence of a dream that some crazy people one day had, and that they simply had the audacity to carry them out. But organizing a festival is a very complex job carried out by a team that must be very well organized. If you have ever wondered how the team of a festival is structured, here is a simple guide with its key roles.

Festival Director. They are the piece that articulates everything, the conductors of the orchestra, the persons with a global perspective of the entire festival and its most visible face. They must supervise all areas, with special attention to the economic part (budget, purchases, sales, ticketing, hospitality, sponsorships and so on). On many occasions festival directors are partners of the festival itself.

Artistic Director. Another key piece of this mechanism that works hand in hand with the festival director. They are in charge of the identity of the festival, its content and musical and cultural direction. Highly creative, they have a lot to say in the design of the festival lineup.

Creative Director. Beyond the musical experience, many festivals include important artistic proposals. The Creative Director is therefore responsible for the overall artistic direction, personality and development of the festival, pro-actively developing partnerships with local, national and international arts organizations and artists developing fresh proposals for the festival.

Production Manager. They are the ones who put their feet on the ground and make dreams come true (if possible). They are in charge of managing the material and human resources of the festival. They oversee the venue and staffing, and coordinate the legal aspect for permitting and licensing issues.

Talent Booker. They are simply the ones in charge of hiring all the musicians filling the lineup of a festival. In addition to being up-to-date with music trends, they need a solid and large contact agenda (booking agencies, managers, etc ...) and outstanding negotiating skills.

Artist Liaison and Travel Coordinator. If the bookers are responsible for hiring the musicians, the liaison artists are in charge of everything else. Meaning that they are the people between the festival and the artists, coordinating everything that the artists may demand (accommodation, transportation or special requests).

Artist Logistics. They are responsible for designing and coordinating the artists' roadmap once they arrive at the airport. They also coordinate the runners.

Runner. They are basically the drivers of the entire fleet of cars and vans that a festival needs to transport the artists, press, special guests and festival team.

Marketing and Communications Manager. They are the people responsible for marketing the festival. From image, promotion, partnerships or advertising to ticket sales channels. In short, all about promoting the festival.

Social Media Manager. No need to say the role that social media plays today in any event. Therefore, they are the ones who create a strategy for the different social channels. They play a key role when headliners are announced, or during ticket sales.

Designer. Festivals need a strong visual, catchy and updated graphic content. So skilful designers are needed to be constantly delivering content going from posters, banners, wristbands, programs and a long etcetera. 

Press and Public Relations Manager. Another very important position for festivals since they are in charge of the relationship with all the media. They verbalize the festival proposal and make sure that the festival reaches the appropriate press in the form of articles, news, interviews or mentions. They have a close relationship with artistic directors and communication directors.

Sponsorship Manager. Sponsors make a festival come to life, and in many cases, sponsorship revenue is a huge component of a festival’s overall income. So some festivals have a role to convince like-minded brands and organizations that the festival is the opportunity to connect with potential customers and increase awareness and engagement.

Stage Manager. They are the people who control what happens on stage, people related. In music festivals they have a special relevance since there are many bands to coordinate and a strict schedule to adhere to, and simply everything must be perfectly coordinated.

Audio, Light and Visual Manager. If stage managers control what happens on stage in terms of people, these ones control everything from light design and visual to sound engineering. And there's a lot that goes on behind the scenes of your favorite musician's set. Festivals employ many technicians and designers to ensure each musical act is top quality and engaging for the audience.

Backliner. An important role operating in the shadows when the music starts. Backliners supervise and tune instruments before and during the shows.

Photographer and/or Videographer. Each festival has photographers who mix with the festival goers and the artists to shoot what goes on and capture the atmosphere of the festival. They are very important creating content to use during the festival, and during the months when the next edition is prepared.

Financial Manager. A position with not so much glamor but highly important for festivals because they direct the economic area ensuring that the festival, in addition to a success in terms of experience, it’s also profitable. They basically control everything related to money.

Legal Manager. Another unglamorous but highly relevant position. They are basically the lawyers of the festivals and those who are in charge of managing the always complicated contracts with artists, insurances and the many permits that are required.

Staff Manager. Festivals are massive events that only last a few days, which means that during the year the team that organizes the festival is quite small, but on the days of the festival, thousands of people have to be hired. Staff managers are a key figure in coordinating these hires.

Hospitality Manager. One of the most important sources of income for the festival are the drinks and food. So with vendors distributed throughout the festival, the hospitality managers are another key position in the festival's structure.

Volunteers. Sometimes for the sake of being part of a festival, sometimes in exchange for a ticket but hundreds of enthusiastic volunteers are always necessary to keep the festival rolling!

Operations Team. Festivals can't rely solely on volunteers to get the job in the field done, so a large team of anonymous faces is necessary to develop the functions of loading and unloading, assembly, cleaning and everything else that might be needed.

Cover photograph by Sziget press