Case Study: EDC

There are as many as seven stages where performers multitudinously blast out their music. Many people go the event wearing costumes. It is held at different locations throughout the world In (London, Lass Vegas, Puerco Roll, Orlando, New York, Chicago). L Electric Daisy Carnival was created by Upscale Rootlet who formed the company Insomniac Events , Inc. To organize this yearly event. The first ETC was in Los Angels in 1997 and it lasted for one day.

Its popularity grew each year so In 2009 it was extended from a one day festival to two days.

In 2011 it was held In Los Angels again as a three day event and became the largest event of Its kind with more than 300,000 people In attendance. ETC Is a destination event – people travel from miles away to attend. Going to ETC is not a cheap weekend getaway. Presage tickets for the 201 3 event in Lass Vegas went on sale as early as six months in advance at a cost of $199 for one-three day general admission ticket and $450 for one VII three day ticket. Prices increased as ETC got closer, going as high as $1000 and more.

Unless you lived in the Lass Vegas area, you had additional costs for a hotel, food and a ride to the ETC at the Lass Vegas Motor Speedway. If you weren’t one of the lucky ones who got a three-day shuttle pass for $80 before they sold out, o paid $45 or more a day for a car rental or $65 one way for a taxi. If you wanted a t-shirt to commemorate the event, it added around $30 to the total. In spite of the huge price tag, ETC has sold out every year. Vie never been to an ETC event so I spoke with a friend who worked at the 2012 Los Angels ETC to get a clear idea of what It would be like to go to the event.

I learned enough to know I will I never go to one myself. After listening to his description, I decided it Is utter madness. I don’t do drugs and from what he observed there were a lot being used at the events. As a exult he observed a lot of people with wild, out of control behavior, some causing disturbances. With so many people in one place, some people are bound to take advantage of the situation to break rules and laws.

Don’t want to be in a situation where so many unpredictable people could get out of control and unknowingly involve me.

I also don’t really care for the genre of music played there, so I wouldn’t want to be surrounded by It for 31 1/2 hours. I also to get a little claustrophobic at times, so I Don’t think I would like the idea of being surrounded by a few hundred thousand people at any given moment. So if you take all that into consideration, ETC doesn’t sound like a place for me. In fact, I think I would hate being there.

Before this assignment I had never heard of the Electric Daisy Carnival or seen any ads for It.

When I asked my friends, only one, who worked at the 2012 event, knew what I was talking about. It doesn’t seem to advertise on mainstream television or array Like toner concerts or sporting events out teeny may averters on channels or radio stations that cater to their specific market – the 16 to 25 year-old fan. To know about ETC, you must need to be in that scene. Deed’s primary method of marketing is through social media. ETC is on Twitter, has videos posted on Youth and has a Faceable page. The fans themselves help to market ETC simply by posting on Faceable and Tweeting with friends.

What fan would attend ETC and not post pictures of every sight, sound and experience on their FEB. page? ETC as well as Insomniac have websites with details that includes information about the event as well as a picture gallery, a list of who has or will perform at events and videos of past performances to give you a taste of what the carnival is like. Fans also have the opportunity to sign up on their email list to receive regular news about events and artists. Insomniac has also organized ETC Week before the actual event.

During this week one of the highlights is the Deemed Music Conference. It features panel discussions with well-known figures in the electronic music industry talking about the music as well as the business opportunities. There are also daily performances of as many as 1 5 big name performers in the industry at different venues throughout the city. These events also create news that is published in such well publications as Rolling Stone and Variety, helping to market the main event – ETC. Even though ETC may be a very popular event, there are concerns and controversies surrounding it.

In Chicago there were complaints because the music and fireworks could be heard as many as fifteen miles away and with so many people going to the same event, of course there were problems with traffic control and parking. However, the greatest concerns seem to focus on safety and security (or lack of security). A friend who was at the 2010 event reported the widespread use of drugs and that many entered the event with fake identification (minimum age is 18). He observed long lines at the entrance with security only doing quick, cursory checks of bags, pockets and identification.

He was also present when security agents were overrun by drunken participants who weren’t being served their drinks quickly enough.

According to my acquaintance, many vendors had problems getting enough people to work so they hired unknown personnel simply to match the body count needed for their booth. He also thought the same random hiring style may have been used to hire security personnel. Because security needs to be able to deal with unruly people, he thought e many middle-aged women working security were an inappropriate selection of personnel for this type of event.

Most concerning of all was the death off 15 year- old girl who died from an Ecstasy overdose. It’s a given that if someone really wants to use drugs at the event, they’ll find a way to bring them in.

But, perhaps if security had been better, this might not have happened. There were also 60 drug-related arrests and more than 200 medical emergencies. Lass Vegas newspaper articles about ETC 2013 suggest that at the event there in June, safety concerns were being taken care of more efficiently and appropriately. From its website it appears that the company is aware of its responsibility for the safety of the attendees.

It clearly states on several pages that there is a Zero Tolerance drug policy at the event and it gives multiple warnings of consequences.

In a September 19, 2013 interview by Steve Baltic of Rolling Stone, Appeasable Rootlet, CEO of Insomniac said, “It’s the promoters responsibility to do everything possible to protect the attendees and after you’ve… None everything you can 00, It really comes clown to people annealing tenet own business, people being responsible for themselves. ” The ETC website repeats hat same message.

Perhaps Insomniac and the ETC have learned from past events and provided better security.

After the event, Lass Vegas police reported to Lass Vegas FOX that there were an estimated 250,000 people attending the event over the three day period. LIVED posted 400 officers inside the event each night with additional security being provided by the promoter. There were 300+ medical emergencies most of which were minor illnesses due to exhaustion and dehydration, 60 people were arrested on felony drug charges and no there were no deaths. So this year Appeasable Rottenly and Insomniac are happy.

The ETC has come and gone without any major incidents.

The crowd in Lass Vegas was larger than ever before but the number of drug related arrests remained the same this year as last year – and there were no deaths. SOOT Strengths Large, growing following Unique product Dramatic cash flow into local communities (hotels, restaurants, transportation, taxes) Weaknesses Questionable security Bad reputation Overcrowding Opportunities Continue to add large city venues Lessen the possible “threats” Threats Tremendous liability due to drug and alcohol abuse Overcrowding and dangers associated with the games and carnival rides