In today’s musical economy, you’re lucky to be a band that’s invited to join a music festival lineup. Festivals are blowing up in terms of popularity, so much so that nearly every major music festival in 2011 saw record attendance. To be on one of those bills could do a lot for your career, but to create an entire festival? That’s just crazy talk. Or is it? One band has been doing just that for 12 years.
Horror Rap duo Insane Clown Posse has unarguably the largest cult following of any similar sounding act in the entire country. The reasons for that are many, but it’s safe to say the fact that they have their own annual festival where fans (Juggalos) can meet up every year goes a long way in solidifying those fans’ loyalty. Of course, I’m talking about the Gathering of the Juggalos!
Producing a Music Festival
There’s nothing easy about producing a music festival, especially one as involved as Gathering of the Juggalos. Location, artists, security, vendors, permits, scheduling, promotion, insurance, and stage setup are just some things that have to be taken into consideration by curators like Insane Clown Posse in planning. And if you don’t sell as many tickets as you need to in order to make a profit, it can be a very expensive loss.
Insane Clown Posse hosted their first Gathering of the Juggalos music festival in 2000 after several years of talk and planning surrounding the event. It’s hugely successful today, but even a band as large as Insane Clown Posse had to fight and endure trial and error over the years to bring Gathering of the Juggalos to its current level of success.
Music vs. Events
Of course, the artists playing the festival will be the most important selling point to potential festival-goers. This year’s Gathering of the Juggalos festival was loaded with talented horror rap acts, and enough Juggalos to satisfy your social desires until Insane Clown Posse’s next Gathering of the Juggalos festival rolls around. But what makes the Gathering more original than any other music festival around the country isn’t the music; it’s the on-site activities.
It’s essential that there are more activities on hand than those related to music. Insane Clown Posse knows their fans might get tired of non-stop music for four straight days, so they came up with the idea to provide them with fresh activities seen at no other music festival. While these events may only be attractive to the Insane Clown Posse fan demographic, they provide some great insight on the ingenuity needed to make fans happy at music festivals.
Helicopter Rides at Gathering of the Juggalos
To start, there are helicopter rides at the Gathering of the Juggalos. Why? Why not is a better question. For a little bit of money, customers already at Insane Clown Posse’s festival can take a ride in the helicopter and tour the festival grounds from bird’s eye view.
Artist Seminars
There are meet and greets or autograph signings at a lot of major music festivals, but very few offer attendees the opportunity to sit in on a seminar conducted by your favorite artists. The guys in Insane Clown Posse always make sure they release as much news about their careers as possible at their artist seminars.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling
Insane Clown Posse, their Juggalo followers, and everyone else somehow connected to the Psychopathic Records family have been immersed in the wrestling scene since it all began. Gathering of the Juggalos just wouldn’t be Gathering of the Juggalos without Juggalo Championship Wrestling on hand!
Those events are all given, but some others that take place at the yearly festival are mud / oil wrestling and the Ms. Juggalette contest! It might not be your typical beauty pageant, but some lucky lady will still be headed home with the title of Ms. Juggalette at the end of the weekend!
Over the years, Insane Clown Posse has mastered the art of creating a festival that’s pleasing to die hard music fans and the more casual customers who also enjoy alternate activities not related to music at all. This balance must be achieved if you ever wish to host your own music festival some day!
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Music festivals are cash cows for the music industry these days, and an essential source of revenue for some musicians. Aside from the music, Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos music festival consists of a number of alternative events for Juggalo attendants, such as helicopter rides, wrestling, artist seminars, wet tee shirt contests and more. To learn more the Gathering of the Juggalos music festival, visit the Insane Clown Posse website at http://insaneclownposse.com/
Horror Rap duo Insane Clown Posse has unarguably the largest cult following of any similar sounding act in the entire country. The reasons for that are many, but it’s safe to say the fact that they have their own annual festival where fans (Juggalos) can meet up every year goes a long way in solidifying those fans’ loyalty. Of course, I’m talking about the Gathering of the Juggalos!
Producing a Music Festival
There’s nothing easy about producing a music festival, especially one as involved as Gathering of the Juggalos. Location, artists, security, vendors, permits, scheduling, promotion, insurance, and stage setup are just some things that have to be taken into consideration by curators like Insane Clown Posse in planning. And if you don’t sell as many tickets as you need to in order to make a profit, it can be a very expensive loss.
Insane Clown Posse hosted their first Gathering of the Juggalos music festival in 2000 after several years of talk and planning surrounding the event. It’s hugely successful today, but even a band as large as Insane Clown Posse had to fight and endure trial and error over the years to bring Gathering of the Juggalos to its current level of success.
Music vs. Events
Of course, the artists playing the festival will be the most important selling point to potential festival-goers. This year’s Gathering of the Juggalos festival was loaded with talented horror rap acts, and enough Juggalos to satisfy your social desires until Insane Clown Posse’s next Gathering of the Juggalos festival rolls around. But what makes the Gathering more original than any other music festival around the country isn’t the music; it’s the on-site activities.
It’s essential that there are more activities on hand than those related to music. Insane Clown Posse knows their fans might get tired of non-stop music for four straight days, so they came up with the idea to provide them with fresh activities seen at no other music festival. While these events may only be attractive to the Insane Clown Posse fan demographic, they provide some great insight on the ingenuity needed to make fans happy at music festivals.
Helicopter Rides at Gathering of the Juggalos
To start, there are helicopter rides at the Gathering of the Juggalos. Why? Why not is a better question. For a little bit of money, customers already at Insane Clown Posse’s festival can take a ride in the helicopter and tour the festival grounds from bird’s eye view.
Artist Seminars
There are meet and greets or autograph signings at a lot of major music festivals, but very few offer attendees the opportunity to sit in on a seminar conducted by your favorite artists. The guys in Insane Clown Posse always make sure they release as much news about their careers as possible at their artist seminars.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling
Insane Clown Posse, their Juggalo followers, and everyone else somehow connected to the Psychopathic Records family have been immersed in the wrestling scene since it all began. Gathering of the Juggalos just wouldn’t be Gathering of the Juggalos without Juggalo Championship Wrestling on hand!
Those events are all given, but some others that take place at the yearly festival are mud / oil wrestling and the Ms. Juggalette contest! It might not be your typical beauty pageant, but some lucky lady will still be headed home with the title of Ms. Juggalette at the end of the weekend!
Over the years, Insane Clown Posse has mastered the art of creating a festival that’s pleasing to die hard music fans and the more casual customers who also enjoy alternate activities not related to music at all. This balance must be achieved if you ever wish to host your own music festival some day!
--
Music festivals are cash cows for the music industry these days, and an essential source of revenue for some musicians. Aside from the music, Insane Clown Posse’s Gathering of the Juggalos music festival consists of a number of alternative events for Juggalo attendants, such as helicopter rides, wrestling, artist seminars, wet tee shirt contests and more. To learn more the Gathering of the Juggalos music festival, visit the Insane Clown Posse website at http://insaneclownposse.com/
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