Albin Meyers said that Sunburn was, by far, the best musical experience that he has ever had as a DJ. Axwell said that the Sunburn fans were the most engaging and appreciative crowd that he has experienced.
So what is the Sunburn experience?
Shailendra Singh, Joint Managing Director of Percept Limited and Nikhil Chinapa co-founded Asia’s premiere electronic dance music festival and India’s longest running and most successful dance music festival – Sunburn. Held every year towards the end of the year in Goa, this festival has brought brilliant artists from all over the world to India, and has been attracting a large number of audiences year after year.
So turns out that India has suddenly become very pro-concerts. The ultimate goal of every festival is obviously to increase profits, but a festival is also an investment – and a risky one at that. A spokesperson for Sunburn states that profits have been between 15%-20% over the past couple of years. A bulk of the money to run such events successfully comes from sponsors. Sunburn has landed huge sponsors like Micromax, Tuborg, VH1, MTV, Cannon, and Hero MotoCorp in the past. Media buyers say Hero has coughed up Rs 7-10 crore for the seventh season of the music festival promoted by entertainment and talent management firm Percept. This is the highest sponsorship deal for Sunburn so far.
It started as a small musical festival on the beach in Goa. But, now, Sunburn is the face of dance music in Asia. When Sunburn started in 2007, electronic dance music was still an unexplored genre in India and Asia. It was still part of the underground scene. The audience for such kind of music was lying untapped in the country. Hence, Sunburn was conceived to bring EDM into the mainstream. “And, most importantly, dance music has no lyrics, which means that everyone can understand. The music brings people together to celebrate, regardless of where they live or what language they speak.” says Shailendra Singh.
“As a property that has grown consistently at a fast pace over a short span of five years, Sunburn is expanding the brand across business verticals. Along with a roll out of major merchandising plans, Sunburn is looking into re-enforce its positioning in the lifestyle space with cafés , bars and clubs across key metros in India.” says Shailendra Singh.
While the festival is gaining tremendous organic growth with the turnout in 2012 being close to 150,000, this business expansion is a strategic step towards taking the brand beyond the festival.
Bacardi NH7 Weekender
Bacardi NH7 Weekender powered by MTS claims to be the happiest music festival in the country. The NH7 Weekender is a three-day indie music festival was first held in the city of Pune, India. Martin Elbourne, Vijay Nair and Stephen Budd put on the inaugural edition of the festival from December 10–12 in 2010 at Koregaon Park, Pune. It is organized by Only Much Louder’s festival division and was voted “India’s best music festival” by CNNGo in 2011. The second edition which was held from the November 18–20, 2011, saw over 25,000 attendees. The festival offers special discounts for students and people below the age of 21.
A huge pan India event like this is sponsored by big players like Bacardi, Eristoff and Dewars. Each of the sponsors have their own stages namely, The Pepsi Dub Station, The Dewarists Stage, The Bacardi Black Rock Arena and The Eristoff Wolves Den, each playing their own distinct genre of music. The brands get perfect direct advertising on a national basis on associating themselves with a huge event like NH7. The event takes place in four major cities across India – Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, and Kolkata, attracting crowds from all over India.
Judging by the numbers, one is left to wonder how it is to manage such huge crowds of people and keep them coming back year after year. “We are all about treating the 2,000 people who came to year 1 of our event well,” says Vijay Nair, a founder of Only Much Louder, the event management firm which organizes the NH7 Weekender. The event gives special offers on tickets to fans that attended the festival previously.
The Escape Festival
India’s first camping festival, Escape, is an idea that promises to take you far away from the routine, the commercial, the mundane, the expected, and the ordinary. A unique festival started in May 2009 when a few musicians and like-minded people decided to get away from New Delhi, it has grown since to become one of India’s foremost outdoor art, music and camping festivals.
The main festival ‘Escape’ takes place in a picturesque resort in Naukuchiatal, located at the foothills of the Himalayas. So how does a festival like this attract its audience to such a remote area? Turns out that a strong PR team, social media advertising, radio and newspaper advertisements are the answer. “Our main turnout is mostly from Delhi and nearby cities, as it is an overnight journey to Naukuchiatal, but there are also people who travel the distance for the love of music.” says Arnav Singhal, festival coordinator.
Escape is a festival that relies on its own funds. “We are a self funded festival that does not receive any cash sponsorships and we rely mostly on ticket sales. Our sponsorships are in kind by alcohol companies, namely Seagrams, and Coco-Cola India that provides us with the mixers.” says Arnav. So what’s in it for the sponsors?
“Alcohol companies associate themselves with an event like ours as they do not have any other medium for direct advertising. This provides them with a platform for advertising, especially when they have to launch a new brand of alcohol.” says Arnav, “And a huge company like Coca-Cola sponsors our event so they can increase their presence in remote cities.”, divulges Arnav.
“Our event started in 2007, and every year we have seen an increase of 15%-20% in ticket sales. This year we sold over 4,500 tickets so the expected number for next year is about 5,000.” Says Arnav.
“We have also started a weekend festival of sorts called Escape retreats. The event kick started at Manesar this year and we plan to make it a travelling event, spanning across North, South, East and West parts of India.” finishes Arnav
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