In the midst of a cost of living crisis, one man shows people WILL still pay for music!
It’s been a big week in the Australian music event scene. First, we had the news about another iconic festival (Splendour in the Grass) being cancelled.

And as everyone was speculating about the main reason being Australia’s cost of living crisis and inability to secure big acts… we had Fred Again taking over the headlines with his last minute Perth show selling out in a matter of minutes after the tickets went live. With many people purchasing them, already having tickets to another Perth dnb festival happening at the same time. Proving that people will pay for the music they like.

This was after already running sell out last minute shows in cities all across Australia. Unlike other major events which give you plenty of notice and time to plan for, Fred Again has caused quite the fuss with his unique and risky way of selling shows. And the risk seems to be paying off. He leverages his social media, creates mystery through his stories, lets the rumours circulate amongst fans, the word spreads. By the time he announces the tickets, everyone is already so hyped up and ready to buy.

So, what can we learn from this as online business owners?

I think there’s a valuable message about keeping up with the times. Splendour in the Grass has been an institution for 2 decades. They’ve had a run of bad luck in recent years, and instead of adapting to the current times, it seems they’re still trying to force something that no longer works.

5 Lessons We Can Learn

Don’t Sell in Every Post: A quick scroll through the SITG feed shows they aren’t utilising their social media at all. They barely posted in recent months, shared a few core memories in recent weeks, then announced the next event dates and all they’ve posted daily since then is how and where to buy tickets. There’s nothing to create connection with the audience, nothing to inspire conversation, nothing to connect them to the artists who they’ll be going to watch. Then you go to Fred Again’s profile and it’s a completely different experience. You can feel he genuinely cares for his audience and connects with them.

Storytelling Matters: Fred Again obviously masters this, especially with the added layer of mystery he adds as he shares his whereabouts and drops hints along the way. But, if you’re not a personal brand, there’s still ways to make the content personable and create a sense of audience connection. I’m using other music events to stick with the theme. These are ones I’ve attended or will be attending, but you can see from the feeds, it’s not just sales posts. They share content from the artists, past attendees etc. It’s all STORYTELLING! Painting a picture of the experience people will have when they come.

Less Is More: Just looking at this lineup gives me whiplash. It’s hard for SITG to speak to their audience because their audience is so varied. You’ve got Kylie Minogue (pop) headlining with Future (rap) and Arcade Fire (rock)… that’s three extremely different genres. They’re trying to cater to too many different people and in doing so, they’re losing interest from everybody. Just like if you have too many offers, or your systems are a mess and the messaging is inconsistent… people will lose interest and go somewhere else. It’s not that people aren’t spending money, it’s that they’re being more discerning about how they spend it. You have to make it a no brainer, by making it easy for them.

Audiences Want Safety & Community: Whether it’s online, or in person events. People want to feel that sense of community and connection. This only happens when you know your audience and speak directly to them. SITG didn’t fail to sell tickets because people aren’t supporting music and the arts anymore. People have just had enough bad experiences at those kinds of events, that they’d prefer to go to the places where they know they’re going to feel that true connection. There’s a reason I feel so safe going to DnB events on my own, and it’s the level of community and care. The same goes for online spaces. I can feel the difference when someone has put in the effort to nurture and foster community.

People Are Last Minute Buyers: After the uncertainty of the last few years, people are still adjusting. They don’t want to pay for things months in advance when there’s a risk it might not go ahead. Instead, they prefer to buy things a few days before. I experienced this when I was doing social media marketing for some East Coast events for a while.. and it seems it’s still the case. So Fred Again’s last-minute tactic is genius… Of course, people will buy a ticket two days before an event because it’s going to happen. The same goes online… if you offer something and aren’t going to deliver for months people will hesitate, but if you have something they can access right away they’re more likely to buy. This is why systems and hybrid/evergreen programs are so important to have in your offer suite. 

In a world where we’re spoilt for choice, people are going to choose what feels best for them. So it’s more important than ever to share value, build depth of connection, and focus on that all important know like trust factor to ensure you stand out. There might be plenty of people selling what you’re selling, but there’s only one YOU. So share your story and show people why they should choose you.

I’d love to know your thoughts… is there anything you would add?