And then came the digital ticket

Earlier this year, Adam spoke at INO CON 2023, a music and tech conference organised by Berklee College of Music, Valencia. Today, we’ll summarise Adam’s insightful presentation, focusing on 5 key reasons why music venues should embrace digitalisation.

The digital transformation journey of the music industry began around the early 2000s when ticketing companies introduced the concept of digital tickets. Once tickets became a digital footprint of the buyer, it became much easier to build tools to leverage this information. However, despite this significant evolution, it still took some time before digital ticketing became a widespread phenomenon.

Software tools for music venues are sweeping through the industry

Nowadays there’s a tool for almost every facet of live music venue management. Activity Stream Group perfectly encapsulates this statement. Yesplan provides the sturdy backbone with their event planning software, while Activity Stream offers great insights to drive targeted marketing efforts, and CrowdEngage enables meaningful connections with your audience on a grand scale, while maintaining a personal touch.

So with all this said, why should live music venues embrace digitalisation? Adam shares five compelling reasons that make adopting software tools an absolute no-brainer.

Reason 1: It’s never too late to start using software tools for your events

Early bird gets the worm? Yes, but you can still easily catch up with the early adopters. In the Arts & Culture Industry, digitalisation is still a relatively new phenomenon. With the currently available user-friendly tools, you can start today and enjoy the same benefits as those who have been doing it for much longer.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated certain crucial elements, such as contactless payments, QR-codes and an abundance of available data. Thanks to this it’s never been easier to get into the data-game.

Reason 2: Use data to drive insights; your competitors already are

In our digital age, attention has become the most sought after commodity. As a music venue, you’re not only competing with other local venues, but also with the likes of Netflix, TikTok and video game companies. These industry giants have sharpened their algorithm-fangs and attack with deadly precision, targeting their audience with hyper-segmented recommendations.

To thrive in this competitive landscape, you need to ensure your events reach the right people swiftly. This is where Activity Stream shines. As a marketing tool it allows you to leverage your audience-data to pinpoint the perfect opportunity to serve them the events that they’re looking for.

Reason 3: Build a relationship with your audience – they love you!

Can you ever say you truly know someone? You can’t… but data can! How extraordinary would it be to know who your most loyal supporters are? Better yet, picture knowing when they buy their 20th ticket, so you can reward their loyalty with a free drink. By applying your creativity in tools like Activity Stream, CrowdEngage and Yesplan, along with various integrations, you can forge an unparallelled connection with your audience.

Reason 4: Reduce administrative clutter, focus on making your events come to life

Working in the live entertainment industry is an endlessly rewarding experience, but it can also demand a lot from you personally. With long hours and often unpredictable challenges, it’s not uncommon to feel burnt out. However, it doesn’t have to be this way.

By embracing software tools to simplify your administrative tasks, you and your colleagues can reclaim valuable time and energy. Free from unnecessary clutter, you can direct your focus towards what truly matters: organising extraordinary events that captivate your audience and bring joy to everyone involved. Simplifying your workflow allows you to flourish in your field without compromising your well-being.

Reason 5: Save money through efficiency

Organising events involves financial risk, so you want to seek out every possible avenue to reduce costs. Leveraging software tools can significantly cut costs by increasing productivity. Hiring more staff or working longer hours is not always the answer.

Instead, simplify your planning by using Yesplan and use precise segmentation to get your events to the right people with Activity Stream. Finally, get all the necessary information about your upcoming events to your visitors with CrowdEngage.

What lies ahead for software tools in music venues?

We have already come a long way, but what does the future hold for technology and software in the live entertainment industry? Data usage will become more innovative and intricate and using machine learning and AI will be necessary to handle the vast amounts of information.

As software tools streamline administrative tasks, working in venues will become an even more positive and rewarding experience, attracting a pool of talented individuals with diverse skill sets and backgrounds – even from other industries.

Moreover, the data that’s now available to venues and ticketing companies will in the future become more democratised, potentially extending to artists. The data is already there, it simply needs to be put to good use. That same data being processed by artists can afterwards be recycled by venues and record labels, making the whole process go full circle.

Some words about Adam W. Smith

Before joining Activity Stream, Adam was a senior management consultant in the healthcare sector, and also maintained a career as a DJ and musician in Detroit. Seeking to fully transition to working in the entertainment industry, he pursued a Master’s in Global Entertainment and Music Business at Berklee, Valencia, specialising in the impact of software tools in live venues. Today, he applies his expertise as a Business Development Manager for Activity Stream Group, of which Yesplan is also part of.