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How to Plan a Concert or Festival | Begginers Guide
You don’t need to be an event planner to build a concert or festival.
You need three things instead:
- A clear brand spine
- A real operating model (the math)
- A disciplined execution system (the run)
Most first-time organizers do the opposite. They start with “which artist can we get?” and “which venue looks cool?”
That’s how you end up with a beautiful poster, a chaotic show day, and a budget that quietly bleeds out backstage.
This guide is a founder-grade blueprint. It’s designed to help you think like an operator, not a dreamer.
The One-Sentence Rule (Branding Before Booking)
Before you book an artist, you must be able to describe the event in one sentence.
If you can’t, you will struggle with:
- pricing
- marketing conversion
- sponsor value
- production decisions
- content that travels after the event
Brand strategy isn’t a “design task.” It’s an efficiency system.
This is consistent with how top business frameworks treat positioning: clarity reduces friction and makes every downstream decision cheaper to execute. For examples of how strategy and differentiation are framed in business writing, see Harvard Business Review’s strategy and branding collection: https://hbr.org
The Brand Spine (Use This Template)
Write one line for each:
Purpose: Why does this event exist now?
Audience: Who is it for, specifically?
Promise: What do they get that they can’t get elsewhere?
Proof: What makes the promise believable?
Personality: What vibe does it carry, consistently?
A Stanford-style test: if the spine doesn’t change decisions, it’s not a spine, it’s a slogan.
(Useful starting point for operator-friendly thinking: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights)
The Lineup Architecture (Stop Chasing “Big Names” Blindly)
The goal isn’t “get the biggest artist.”
The goal is to build a lineup that creates demand at your price point.
The Lineup Ladder (Practical Structure)
Anchor: the main draw (headliner or two strong co-headliners)
Driver: high-fit acts that bring their own audience
Discovery: fresh acts that match the theme and create buzz
Local Heroes: local credibility, community pull, and cost control
This ladder helps you answer the real question:
Will the lineup drive enough paid attendance to cover the fixed costs?
If your answer is “we hope,” you’re not planning. You’re gambling.
Venue Strategy (Capacity Is Not Attendance)
Capacity is what the venue can hold.
Attendance is what your brand and distribution can earn.
Your venue choice must be driven by:
- audience size forecast
- crowd flow and safety
- access and parking
- sound constraints
- sponsor visibility and experience zones
- filming angles and lighting control
To design the experience, use a simple memory rule: people remember peaks and the ending more than the full timeline.
Reference: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/peak-end-rule/
The Experience Map (5 Moments)
Arrival: entry, ticket scanning, first impression
Build: warm-up, early activities, food and beverage flow
Peak: the moment people film and share
Release: emotional drop after peak, keep energy stable
Exit: safe, smooth, and fast (or you lose trust)
Your Festival Is Not One Event. It’s a System of Zones.
Even a “simple concert” becomes multiple experiences running in parallel.
Most public events benefit from a basic zone model:
- Main stage zone
- Secondary or activation zone
- Food and beverage zone
- VIP or sponsor zone (if applicable)
- Medical, security, and operations lanes
- Content capture lanes (so your crew isn’t fighting the crowd)
If you want a sustainability framework for large public events, ISO 20121 is the global standard reference: https://www.iso.org/standard/86389.html
Marketing That Works (Without Burning Money)
Marketing is a system, not posting.
At minimum, your funnel needs to answer: attention → interest → decision → action.
If you want the simplest baseline framework, AIDA is a useful starting point: https://www.smartinsights.com/traffic-building-strategy/offer-and-message-development/aida-model/
Build Your Distribution Engine
Use a mix of:
- community partners
- creators/influencers aligned with the theme
- PR
- paid media (only after your messaging converts)
- on-ground presence (street teams, posters, strategic placements)
PR isn’t “send one email.” It’s angle + timing + credibility.
A practical press release checklist: https://pr.co/pr-resources/press-release-checklist
Earned media definition (and why it matters): https://www.cision.com/resources/articles/what-is-earned-media-definitions-examples-benefits/
McKinsey’s writing on growth and customer decision behavior is useful when you’re building momentum and trust signals: https://www.mckinsey.com
Forecasting and Projections (The Part That Saves You)
The reason many events fail isn’t creativity.
It’s cashflow.
Fixed costs lock early. Revenue arrives later. If the timeline slips, the budget punishes you.
Use a structure like Smartsheet’s event budget templates to avoid missing categories: https://www.smartsheet.com/free-event-budget-templates-simple-complex
Core Forecast Inputs
- Capacity: venue maximum
- Sell-through: realistic % attendance (not your optimism)
- Ticket price: by tier
- Avg revenue per attendee: F&B, merch, upgrades
- Sponsorship: cash + in-kind (don’t count promises)
- Fixed costs: stage, sound, lighting, permits, security
- Variable costs: wristbands, staffing, sanitation per attendee
- Risk buffer: 10–20% depending on complexity
Break-Even Snapshot (Simple Formula)
Break-even tickets = (Fixed costs – confirmed sponsorship) / gross profit per ticket
Gross profit per ticket is not the ticket price.
It’s ticket price minus ticket platform fees, taxes, and per-attendee variable costs.
If you can’t compute break-even, you don’t have a plan. You have a moodboard.
Production Planning (Where Most Founders Lose Control)
Great events feel effortless because the operations are aggressive.
You need:
- a run of show
- a cue sheet
- technical rehearsals
- backup plans for weather, power, and crowd flow
A run of show template reference: https://asana.com/templates/run-of-show
Safety and Crowd Management (Non-Negotiable)
Crowd planning is a responsibility, not a checkbox.
Start here:
- Crowd management guidance: https://www.hse.gov.uk/event-safety/crowd-management.htm
- Managing crowds guide (PDF): https://ndma.gov.in/sites/default/files/PDF/Reports/managingcrowdsguide.pdf
Content Capture (Turn One Night Into 30 Days)
If you don’t plan capture, you get random clips.
If you plan deliverables, you get assets that market the next event.
Define deliverables:
- 1 hero film (60–90s)
- 3 short teasers (10–15s)
- 10–20 vertical clips (artists, crowd, moments)
- 30–60 photos (stage, crowd, details, sponsors)
Then design your peaks and camera paths around them.
Related reading (production planning): https://maranasi.com/services/event-production/
Sponsorship Without Cheapening the Brand
Sponsors don’t pay for logos.
They pay for outcomes and association.
Define sponsor outcomes like:
- reach and impressions
- content assets they can reuse
- experiential moments tied to their brand
- lead capture mechanics (when appropriate)
Sponsorship ROI measurement reference: https://swoogo.events/blog/measuring-evaluating-event-sponsorship-roi/
Related reading (brand activations): https://maranasi.com/services/brand-activations/
Timeline That Prevents Chaos (T-16 to Post)
Adjust weeks based on scale, but keep the sequence.
T-16 to T-12: Strategy Lock
- brand spine and one-sentence definition
- venue shortlist and feasibility
- first financial model and break-even
- initial lineup ladder
T-12 to T-8: Build the Engine
- confirm anchor + drivers
- lock production direction and stage concept
- build distribution plan and PR angles
- launch early-bird structure
T-8 to T-4: Execution System
- run of show draft
- staffing plan
- safety planning
- content capture plan and deliverables
T-4 to Event Week: Rehearse and Harden
- cue checks and rehearsals
- ticketing stress test
- final PR push
- partner amplification
Post (T+1 to T+30): Extend Value
- publish recap within 72 hours
- sponsor deliverables delivery
- content drops over 30 days
- survey and learning loop
Related reading (PR planning): https://maranasi.com/services/public-relations-campaigns-management/
A Quick Readiness Scorecard
If you can’t answer these clearly, pause.
- One-sentence event definition
- Defined target audience and price tolerance
- Break-even calculation completed
- Lineup ladder mapped (anchor/driver/discovery/local)
- Venue feasibility validated (flow, sound, safety)
- Distribution plan with weekly milestones
- PR angles ready and targeted list built
- Run of show drafted
- Safety plan and roles mapped
- Capture deliverables locked before event week
- Sponsor outcomes defined, not logo lists
- Post-event publishing calendar ready
Related reading (guest flow): https://maranasi.com/services/guest-management/