How has technology helped disrupt + evolve the events industry?
Technology as a force for good
Working in events for nearly 20 years, I feel privileged to have been in the industry through its progressive times. There’ve been physical changes: festival speakers as big as tower blocks now reduced to tiny almost-floating cubes. Plus, there's also less visible but arguably more important changes: I’m grateful my first job advising NUS students’ union entertainment teams coincided with the early internet, a resource I can't imagine being without.
It might not always feel so rosy. In our Young Blood research, which explores the contemporary perspectives of young people, 81% of participants believe tech can be a force for good. But they have a deep distrust around developing AI and new technology (36% think AI will destroy us!). On the other hand, we're seeing more companies take responsibility, with Twitter investing in AI technology that can detect fake news in a drive to combat spam and abuse.
This suggests that audiences value building trust and showing transparency with how technology is being leveraged by companies. We’re going to see growing conversations around these era-changing moments of innovation. As the experiential space embraces innovation, we've got to keep in mind how we bring technology into experiences to empower our audiences. We're thinking about recent events like Skepta's Manchester International Festival gig that carved out a phone-free rave but embraced augmented reality or Olafur Eliasson's environmental installations that raises both awareness and Instagram follower counts.
'Technology' gets a lot of flack by a media that conveniently forgets it’s only as good the person using it. Without doubt, technology is a force for good: it has the ability to disrupt, democratise and connect, making things easier and fairer.
In terms of 'disruption', a great example is Dice. Former A&R, label manager and promoter, Phil Hutcheon, used his vision and digital background to give a much-needed overhaul of the event ticketing industry. Artists, promoters, venues and fans alike can circumvent the 'tout' issue, ensuring tickets go to those who deserve them most. In Dice’s words: “we're killing touting”. With Ticketmaster closing their secondary sites, it seems Dice is winning.
More importantly, they’re getting people going out. Rather than increasing revenues by increasing ticket prices, they’re asking ‘how about we get more people out’. Fusing editorial and technology, Dice have turned tickets from a commodity to a community where artists and fans can get acquainted and go out together, whether planning months ahead or on the spur of the moment. I’m all up for that…