Managing a live music performance: a supply side analysis

Abstract

Purpose and objective: The purpose of this research is to determine what managers regard as important critical success factors in ensuring a memorable visitor experience at a live music performance. Problem investigated: When organising a live music performance, it is evident that the various characteristics that form part of the visitor experience have to be considered. The critical success factors of live music performances from the supply side are fundamental, since the costs of organising live music performances are high, the needs of the visitors are constantly changing and competition plays a major role in the success of such events. Management furthermore constantly needs to be aware of the ever-changing external environment by determining what factors visitors consider to be vital for a rewarding experience at a major music event. This is extremely important since the concept of experience has become more pervasive, mainly given that the event sector, such as live music performances, has adopted experience as a tool to make individual businesses more competitive, as the organisations operating within this sector exist to provide consumers with an experience. Design and/or methodology and/or approach: A qualitative research method, by means of interviews, was used to obtain the relevant information from the selected participants. All the data collected in the process were transcribed into text and presented in narrative form. The six steps of data analysis and interpretation were applied to analyse the data. Findings and impications: The following four major themes emerged from the analysis; each theme was differentiated in terms of various categories and subcategories. Theme 1: The most important aspects for a memorable visitor experience; Theme 2: Main purpose when organising a live music performance; Theme 3: Important aspects regarding the management of a live music performance; Theme 4: Timing of event management. Based on the research conducted on the critical success factors from a supply side, the following findings emerged. Firstly, it is evident that the critical success factors differ significantly from one tourism sector to another. Therefore, more qualitative research should be applied with regard to critical success factors in other tourism operations. Secondly, comparing the results of the qualitative research reveals significantly more in-depth information than those of the various quantitative research studies conducted on critical success factors. Thirdly, it is evident that the pre-event, during-event and postevent planning phases differ from event to event. Lastly, it is evident that there is no common guideline with regard to creating a memorable visitor experience. Conclusion: Determining the critical success factors for memorable live music performances (from the supply side) in South Africa enables management to improve the current management plans in order to ensure an outstanding memorable visitor experience whilst also improving the overall success rate.