Is it just the Music? Towards an Understanding of Festival-goers and their Experience at UK Music Festivals by Alyssa Eve Brown PGCert, BA (Hons), FHEA A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire April 2019 i STUDENT DECLARATION FORM Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards I declare that while registered for the research degree, I was with the University’s specific permission, an enrolled student for the following awards: Post Graduate Certificate in Business and Management Research Methods Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Material submitted for another award I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work Signature of Candidate ______________________________________________________ Type of Award PhD__________________________________________________ School Lancashire School of Business and Enterprise ii Abstract Festivals are an adventure of the emotional and physical senses and can create unforgettable, exciting and thrilling memories of unfamiliar and unique experiences. With music festivals in particular, there is an additional emphasis on the chance to experience live music by often idolised musicians within a temporary community of shared musical interests. However, whilst a music festival may attract visitors through advertising an attractive and appealing line-up of popular acts, this far from guarantees a happy customer. There are many other elements that contribute to and impact upon the experience of the festival-goer (Morgan, 2008: 83). If these elements are managed well, this can result in benefits for both the consumer, through positive emotional and cognitive experiences, and for the organisation through repeat custom, recommendations and increased sales. However, if the festival fails and disappoints the consumer, this in turn can generate negative perceptions and an undesired reputation, hence reducing future attendance and sales. Thus, in order for festival organisers to achieve organisational success, they must respond and react to the needs and desires of their festival-goers. Therefore, this thesis aims to provide an exploratory analysis of the festival-goer and their experience at UK music festivals. More specifically, it examines who the festival- goers are and what experiences they seek. In doing so, the study aims to develop an experience value model, depicting the relationship between festival-goer characteristics and the value of experience attributes at UK music festivals. This research adopts a pragmatist philosophy and mixed-methods approach which is carried out across three phases: (i) interviews with festival-organisers; (ii) an online quantitative survey of festival- goers; and (iii), on-site interviews with festival-goers. The research results are analysed using appropriate methods including thematic coding, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and linear regression. The results identify common socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics amongst festival-goers to UK music festivals, whilst also indicating a distinction between those at rock or niche, and pop or mainstream festivals. The value of experience attributes is identified in seven areas: music, other entertainment, services, engagement, added value, ethics and image, all of which may influence the overall experience. The festival atmosphere is the most important experiential attribute; however, this research also demonstrates the significance of engagement and co-creation throughout the festival-goers’ journey. Most importantly, the results show that festival-goers’ socio- demographic and psychographic characteristics determine the value of experience attributes. Therefore, this research provides an original contribution to both theory and practice through the development of an experience value model, and by providing critical iii information to festival organisers so that it may inform the strategic management of their festivals. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................ x List of Figures .............................................................................................................. xi Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO EVENT EXPERIENCE AT UK MUSIC FESTIVALS ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 The UK Music Festival Market ................................................................................ 2 1.2 Understanding Customer Experiences .................................................................... 5 1.3 Festival and Events: Extant Research .................................................................... 6 1.4 Research Aims and Objectives ............................................................................. 10 1.5 Methodological Approach ..................................................................................... 11 1.6 Definition of Key Terms ......................................................................................... 13 1.7 Structure of Thesis ................................................................................................ 14 1.8 Thesis Overview ................................................................................................... 14 1.7 Summary .............................................................................................................. 15 CHAPTER 2: EVOLUTION OF FESTIVALS: PURPOSE AND PRACTICE ............... 17 2.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 17 2.2 Background and Evolution of Music Festivals ....................................................... 18 2.2.1 First Era: The Age of Reconstruction ...................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Second Era: The Age of Symbolic Resistance and Cultural Democracy .......... 18 2.2.3 Third Era: The Commercialisation and Economic Development of Festivals ... 19 2.2.4 Current Era: The Professionalisation of Festivals ................................................. 20 2.3 What is a Festival?................................................................................................ 25 2.3.1 Historic Definitions ..................................................................................................... 25 2.3.2 Celebration of Religion .............................................................................................. 27 2.3.4 Other Celebratory Concepts ..................................................................................... 27 2.3.5 The Act of Celebration ............................................................................................... 28 2.3.6 Liminality, Liminoid and the Carnivalesque ............................................................ 29 2.3.7 Festival Development ................................................................................................ 30 2.3.8 Defining the Popular Music Festival ........................................................................ 31 2.4 Purpose and Practice of UK Music Festivals ......................................................... 32 v 2.4.1 Culture .......................................................................................................................... 32 2.4.2 Identity .......................................................................................................................... 35 2.4.3 Sense of Communitas ............................................................................................... 37 2.4 Chapter Conclusion .............................................................................................. 39 CHAPTER 3: EVALUATING THE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE .................................... 40 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 40 3.2 Defining Experience .............................................................................................. 41 3.3 Conceptualising the Event Experience .................................................................. 43 3.3.1 Process ........................................................................................................................ 46 3.3.2 Content......................................................................................................................... 48 3.3.3 Personal Response .................................................................................................... 51 3.3.4 Value and Meaning of Experience ........................................................................... 52 3.4 Satisfaction and the Outcome of Experience ........................................................ 57 3.4.1 Satisfaction and Consumer Behaviour .................................................................... 57 3.4.2 Satisfaction