The world of tech has changed everything over the last twenty years, and one of the biggest areas is the music industry. From iPods and smartphones to the insides from the likes of RS Components to MP3s, downloading and streaming, everything has changed.
But what about live music? Yes, as more artists look to live music for revenue, this is a world that’s changing too. Therefore, those with venues should really look to see how technology could soon change their industry.
Selling
Getting people to your venue is the first port of call. But as the box office decreased with the rise of the web, the same is happening now with the rise of the app. Therefore, it’s essential that venues ensure they have an app, or a mobile-friendly website, as well as a desktop version. However, you can also capitalize on the likes of Spotify, SongKick and Facebook for sales too, helping to expand awareness and potentially sell more tickets.
Payments
This is a trend that’s been noticed across many sectors, with man warning that cash will soon become an outdated method of payment. But as the likes of ApplePay and GooglePay continue to rise, there’ll also be further advancements in the form of wristband and smartphone apps backed by credit cards. This means, if you run a live music venue, you’ll need to get your tech up to date to ensure these payments can be made, to improve box office and drink sales (where a lot of money is made at these events).
RFID
An improvement on the regular wrist bands used to access festivals and concerts, RFID stands for short radio frequency identification. This works by enabling a chip that’s embedded in the wristband to be read by a scanner. It works similar to hotel key cards, which will make entering live gigs much quicker, as you can reportedly scan up to 20 people per minute. You’ll also be able to get smarter at venues too, as the chips can track what fans do, so you’ll be able to see where there’s more need for staff.
Data
The reason you’ll be able to track what people do is through the access to data from the chips. But data will help you out in other ways too. When it comes to purchasing tickets, this is mostly done online now, which will provide access to audience demographics, allowing you to manage better to spend on things such as advertising. The access to more data will, in the long run, allow you to better target people and see where and who you should be directing your spend. This, in turn, can help to increase ticket sales and increase the number of people at live venues.
