What does it take to run a successful music festival? A stellar lineup, ideal dates, and a kick-ass PR campaign. From securing an exclusive for the lineup announcement to handling media accreditation requests to running a press preview on-site for the event, our PR agency is going to take you through a step by step process on how to crush this kind of campaign.
Step One: Prepare the Media Accreditation Form – Before you have the lineup and dates released to the public, you want to make sure your media accreditation form is in place so that once requests start coming in, you’re good to go. This form is often linked to the festival website and has to include a variety of different questions you need the answers to. A few examples can be found below:
Media Outlet
Unique Monthly Views
Coverage Proposed
Phone Number
Email Address
Step Two: Secure the Exclusive – When announcing something as exciting as a music festival’s artist lineup and dates, you want to make sure you get it in the right hands as a standalone exclusive piece. Think big outlets like Billboard, Pitchfork, NME or music blogs like EarMilk or Pigeons and Planes, but know your niche. If your lineup is all EDM, you won’t be pitching Rolling Stone. Also be mindful of the journalist you’re going out to. Have they run lineup announcements in the past? What genre of music do they usually cover? Would they like the headliners? Once your exclusive is secured, be sure to give the publication the grace period it deserves before taking the news wide.
Step Three: Pitch Far and Wide – Once your 24 hour exclusive window has closed, it’s time to hit up all types of outlets, from music blogs to local publications in the city where your festival is taking place. For example, when our team of public relation specialists ran PR for Meow Wolf’s recent event Dark Palace, we connected with all Denver-based publications to try and obtain as much local coverage as possible. Rather than just pitching for journalists to cover the lineup and dates, diversify your pitch angles and offer things like artist interviews, features on the festival directors, or for the event to be included in an upcoming round up. We’d also recommend sending the media accreditation link to all journalists that express interest so that they have the option to easily apply to cover the event on-site.
Step Four: Review Accreditation Requests – In most cases, we would suggest closing accreditation two weeks out from the event so that you have plenty of time to sort through the applicants, determine who should be granted a press pass, and provide them with all details they’ll need on-site. Once you’ve determined who you think has solid coverage plans and comes from a notable outlet, share the list with your client and gauge their thoughts. Once confirmed, send out notifications letting everyone know they’ve been accredited and further provide details for things like what their pass gets them into, parking, rules and regulations, etc.
Step Five: Advance Interviews – It’s always beneficial to lock in as many interviews in advance of the festival, so that pre-coverage runs and helps ticket sales. It also makes your life easier while at the event if most interviews have taken place beforehand. Pitch the event directors, the artists, and whoever else is notable in regards to your festival and connect those calls prior to the event.
Step Six: Press Preview – If you have an interesting venue or artists available to do in person interviews before the event, it’s definitely worth setting up a press preview for high level journalists. This gives them a sneak peak before the madness begins and offers exclusive access. When we ran Dark Palace, we were working with a space where local Denver artists were collaborating on a series of different installations, so we were able to show amazing pieces of art to top press before the festival kicked off.
Step Seven: Enjoy the Show – There are always going to be hiccups on site and we can almost guarantee that you will be running around, but try to take some time to enjoy the music – the bulk of your work is done.
Have an event coming up that needs PR? Contact us today!
Megan Balyk is Vice President at Jive PR + Digital, where she helps consumer and immersive brands build cult‑level followings through integrated PR, social, and influencer marketing that drives measurable ROI. With 15+ years of experience across North America, Asia, and Africa, she has a strong track record of leading high-performing marketing teams and scaling companies (from start-ups to publicly traded companies).
A recurring source for outlets such as Business Insider, Megan is known for blending cultural insight with sharp performance thinking to help brands show up where Gen Z and millennials actually are—not just where the media plan says they should be. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the University of San Francisco School of Management’s Digital Marketing program, helping shape the next generation of marketers in the world of AI.
