final report literature review

Running Head: PROSPECTIVE FOOD BEVERAGE AND MUSIC FESTIVAL 1

Prospective Food Beverage and Music Festival: A look at festival Food, Beer, and Music

Jarett Pederson

Faculty Mentor: James Gould

University of Northern Colorado

PROSPECTIVE FOOD BEVERAGE AND MUSIC FESTIVAL 2

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore music festivals, festival foods, and the preferred

beverage at such events. An online and hardcopy convenience sample of 108 University of Northern

Colorado students completed the 14-item questionnaire composed of questions regarding music festivals,

preferred festival food, preferred festival beverage, and amount each individual would be willing to pay

for their ideal festival. Cross-tabs analysis showed the greatest desire for country music, BBQ food,

Macro Beer, and a price point of $75 dollars for a two-day pass to the festival. Overall, the study showed

the University of Northern Colorado Student body overall willingness to attend a multi-day music festival

in Greeley Colorado as high, with the most interest in a country music festival.


Prospective Food Beverage and Music Festival: A look at festival Food, Beer, and Music

With an eye toward the future and looking to enact a music festival, many components

other than music make the festival experience special in the eyes of the participant. Factors that

determine the success of music festivals range from type of beverage, style of food, type of

venue, time of year, pricing, and genre of music. All must be in unison with each other to create

a successful experience. Looking through the lens of a participant, it is important to understand

what draws them to a festival and how willing they are to attend.

Music

Music is a key factor in drawing attendees to events, therefore it is of high importance to

have bands or artists that are appealing to many people in the surrounding community. Country

and Rock are the two most popular genres in the U.S, however, rock is most popular with those

aged thirty-six and older and those aged 18-25 are twice as likely to associate themselves with

being fans of country music (NPD Group, 2013). However, Colorado itself has a vast variety of

enjoyed music genres. Colorado’s favorite artist is said to have been Lorde, an Electropop artist.

(Hogan, 2014a). The Naked and the Famous, is another band that is stated as popular in

Colorado and is also classified within the Electropop genre (Hogan, 2014b).

Top five listened to radio stations in Colorado include: Kosi 101.1 (Lite Rock), KXPK

96.5 (Spanish/Mexican Radio), KBCO 97.3 (World Class Rock), KS 107.5 (Hip-Hop and Rap),

and KYGO 98.5 (Country) (Elsbury, 2011). Music appeal is very broad in Colorado and it is

very important to focus on what regions listen to what music. Music, as its own entity, is likely

to diminish revenue because it is very expensive to book well known or highly preferred artists.

Companies like Pepsi, Anheuser-Busch, or Toyota (among many others) have made very large


sponsorship contributions to music festivals. In total companies like the ones named above will

donate $1.34 billion to sponsor 2014 tours, music venues, and festivals in North America (IEG,

2014). It is important to note that “Beer companies are 10 times more likely to sponsor music

than the average of all sponsors with spirits and banks in close pursuit” (IEG, 2014).

Food Preference

One of the biggest challenges a music festival has to overcome is what type of food best

matches up with its demographic. So many factors play a huge role in deciding such a decision

such as: time of year, music genre, age, and region of the country. Incorporating food into

festivals can be done in many ways. Many festivals utilize vendors or sponsors as the source of

food, either by donation for marketing or the vendors sell their own food. One great way to

promote a regions best foods would be to look at local vendors such as restaurants or food trucks.

In an article published by Las Vegas Business Press, Michael Schivo, a well-known festival

organizer stated, “Festivals, are born from the founder's desire to relive the sights, sounds and

smells that he or she loves. They take a culture, expose its inner parts and dish it up to the public

in mass quantities -- all for a price” (Emerson, 2011). The positive thing about local vendors is

that its ‘local’ and the public (no matter what age) will likely support local vendors. Having local

vendors not only shows support for the public but it also creates a source of revenue for the

public as well. Another route worth pursuing is a Cook-off type festival. In looking at other

models of cook-offs, many charge a minimal fee to both festival attendees and cook-off

participants. For example, the Golden Knock your Boots off Beer & Chilifestival, charges an

entry fee of $25 for a ticket to attend ($30 with beer tasting), this festival also charges individual

chili cooks $35 to enter their chili into the competition or $45 for a restaurant to enter their chili


into the competition. (Golden, 2014) With this type of model, one would see revenue from both

ticket sales as well as contest entries.

Types of cook-offs are also an important factor and important to the area in which the

event will be held. Colorado cook-offs almost always consist of either BBQ food or chili cook

offs. These are the most popular foods for cook-offs in Colorado. Another example or model of a

cook off that is held in Colorado is the Smokin’ Brew, located in Parker Colorado in late August

(Cherry Creek, 2014). The only distinct difference from the Golden Knock your Boots off Beer &

Chilifestival is the admission charge for vendors. Each vendor/BBQ challenge participant is

required to pay a $200 entry fee plus an additional $25-50+ depending on the size of booth they

desire; it is also important to note that BBQ Challenge winners are eligible for over $8500 in

cash prizes. (Cherry Creek, 2014).

Beverage Preference

Beverage selection also plays an integral role in the proposed festival. With 142 craft

breweries unique to Colorado and countless others accessible from outside of Colorado, the

supply of beer is readily available. Although little evidence is proven, one of the biggest things to

strive to find out is whether or not there is a difference between an individual's music preference

and the beverage of their choice.

According to certain music festivals, blues and light rock tend to pull in a crowd with a

more exquisite taste for micro brews, whereas a country music festival would tend to attract a

crowd more inclined to drink a macro beer. In researching other beer events, like those detailed

on ColoradoCraftBrews.com, the trends appear to indicate most beer festival range in price from

$20-35 for a beer tasting. One model, based on the Fort Collins: Colorado Brewers’ Festival,

lays out the festival as free admission with a low $20 ticket price for one beer sampling. This


appears to be a much liked option, because it is inviting to people who came to the event for beer

and those who didn’t. Keeping the cost minimal is also appealing to event goers. Majority of

beer events are sold as a general admission ticket that allows you to sample the beverages that

you would like. Though this is a successful way to run a beverage oriented festival, it has also

been shown to be very practical to sell the beverages individually as long as there is another form

of entertainment, like live music.

Music Festivals

It is also important for an event to be differentiated from those around it. By looking into

similar events in surrounding areas, it is clear to see that differentiation may be difficult. The

closest and most similar event is the Loveland Loves BBQ, Bands, and Beer. This festival is very

similar, but it is smaller scale. The most important detail to consider is when this event is held.

The Loveland Loves BBQ, Bands, and Beer is an annual event that is held in mid-July. In order

to draw the highest level of attendance, it would be wisest to hold a similar event during a

different time of year. However even with this being said, the biggest question is still to ask is

who is the primary target audience? With the University of Northern Colorado having such a

large student population and such a small window for events, it important to research an event

that would target these students.

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to explore music festivals, festival foods, and the

preferred beverage at such events. The following questions guided this study:

R1: What is the most appealing music genre for a UNC Music Festival?


R2: What is the difference between music genre and preferred beverage/food at a UNC Music

Festival?

R3: What is the difference between music genre and preferred setting for a UNC Music Festival?

R4: What is the difference between preferred music genre and the price the individual is most

willing to pay?

Methods

Participants

An online snowball sample was conducted by creating a link to the survey instrument

through Qualtrics. The study invitation and link to the questionnaire were posted on

Facebook.com from November 2nd, 2014 to November 8th, 2014. Respondents were encouraged

to send the questionnaire link to fellow UNC Students. In all, 34 surveys were taken online

during this time frame. In addition to the online survey, a convenience sample was also

conducted by providing students on campus with surveys and having them fill them out.

Locations where students completed surveys included Michener Library and Kepner Hall. In all,

74 hard copy surveys were completed. In total, 108 UNC Students participated in the study and

all (n=108) responses were analyzed. All respondents were University of Northern Colorado

students and ranged in age from 18-27, 68.5% of the participants were female and 30.6%

categorized themselves as male, and less than 1% categorized themselves as other.

Measures

The instrument for this study was a 14-item questionnaire assessing the UNC Student’s

desire for music festivals, festival foods, and the preferred beverage at such events. The

questionnaire sought to discover the most preferred genre of music desired by UNC students for

their ideal music festival. The questionnaire asked respondents to choose their top preferred


music genre as well as rate their three top preferred artists. Participants chose their most desired

drink between Macro Beers, Micro Beers, Mixed Drinks, and non-alcoholic drinks. To determine

the desired food preference among participants, those who completed the survey were asked to

rank their top three food preferences among pizza, turkey legs, burgers, BBQ Food, Hot

Dog/Bratwurst, Funnel Cake, Greek Food (Gyros), Mexican Food, or Other. Participants were

also asked what they would be willing to pay for a ticket to attend their ideal music festival.

Choices for potential pricing were determined by local festivals that have similar offerings. Last,

participants were asked to report their age and their willingness to attend their ideal music

festival in Greeley, Colorado.

Procedures

In order to answer the first research question, frequencies were used to assess the

participants preferred music genre and their highest preferred music genre. A Crosstab analysis

was used to identify the differences between the participants preferred music genre and their

desired food and beverage choices. Two separate Crosstab analyses were used to identify the

difference between the participants preferred music festival and their preferred setting. Crosstabs

utilized included analyzing preferred music genre and preferred time of year, as well as preferred

music genre and preference of indoor vs. outdoor. One final crosstab analysis was conducted to

compare the differences between the participants preferred music genre and the price they would

be most willing to pay for their ideal music festival.


Results

For the first research question, frequencies including averages and percentages of

participants regarding preferred genres and specifically desired music artists, was studied. Out of

all the participants that participated in the survey (n=108), 39.8% of them preferred country,

making it the most preferred music genre. The second most preferred music genre is rock at

15.7% and third being reggae at 7.4%. However, it is worth noting that 23.1% of participants

declared they would prefer a music festival with the combination of 2 or more genres. In looking

more specifically, participants also identified the top three artists they would like to see at a

music festival. The number one artist participants identified as their most preferred artist was

Luke Bryan at 12%, followed up by country music artist Eric Church at 4.6%. The third most

preferred music artists were tied at 3.7% with Florida Georgia Line and Miranda Lambert who

are also country music artists. For the second most preferred artist Luke Bryan again came in at

number one with 7.4%, followed by three more country music artists and one hip-hop artist,

Eminem, tied for third at 2.8%. Participants reported the third most preferred artist to attend a

music festival, Luke Bryan again came in as the most preferred at 5.6%. Out of all the artist

ranked in the third most preferred music artist category, three of them were country artist and

one of them is rock being Imagine Dragons at 3.7%. In total country music artist Luke Bryan

accumulated 25% of all the participants’ votes for most preferred music artist for a music festival

and the country music category dominated all other genres.

For the second research question, a crosstabs analysis was used to find differences

between the participants preferred music genre and their preferred beverage. In total, 39.8% of

participants chose country music as their preferred genre and of those participants who chose

country music, 39.5% chose macro beer, 34.9% chose mixed beverages, 16.3% chose micro


beer, and 9.3% said they would prefer to have non-alcoholic beverages. The participants who

most preferred Rock had a different preference of beverage. Of the 15.7% of total participants

(n=108) who preferred a Rock genre of music, 35.3% stated they would prefer micro brews,

29.4% stated they would prefer non-alcoholic beverages, 23.6% stated mixed drinks were

reported four times and macro beer was reported two times. The third most preferred genre,

Reggae, reported a 37.5% for both micro and macro beverages, with mixed beverages coming in

at 25%, and 0% for non-alcoholic beverages. In addition, a split file layered by ideal music

festival genres was used to view frequencies and compare means of preferred food. The most

recognizable relationship that can be seen by comparing the means is the relationship of BBQ

food with country and rock music, the higher preference of the turkey leg across multiple genres,

including country, rock, and reggae, can also be seen. Refer to Table 1 for mean comparisons of

Preferred Food in the Genre of Country and Table 2 for mean comparisons of Preferred Food in

the Genre of Rock.

For the third research question, descriptive statistics were used to find the difference

between preferred music genre and the setting of the respondents’ ideal music festival,

specifically the time of year and whether they preferred an indoor or outdoor venue. Of those

who prefer country music, 53% reported they would prefer to have their ideal music festival held

in the summer. 27% reported they would prefer to have their ideal music festival held in the fall.

21% reported they would prefer to have their ideal music festival held in the spring. No

participants who preferred country music wanted their ideal music festival to be held in the

winter. All (n=43) of the respondents who preferred country music, reported they would prefer

their ideal music festival to be outdoors. Of the participants who chose rock as their preferred

genre, 53% chose summer, 29% chose spring, 18% chose fall, and none chose winter. Of the


participants who chose rock as their most preferred genre, 11.7% reported they would like their

ideal music festival to be indoors. Reggae followed the pattern of those who preferred country

music, with summer being the most preferred time of year, followed by fall, and last spring. Of

the participants who reported Reggae, 12.5% reported they would prefer their ideal music

festival to be indoor. Please see Figure One, for a better understanding of preferred music

festival setting.

For the fourth research question a descriptive statistics were used to analyze the music

preference and preferred pricing of their ideal music festival. Of the participants (43) who

recorded country as their most desired genre, 41.9% of these participants said they would pay a

$75 fee for a two-day pass, 30.2% said they would pay $100, 16.3% said they would pay $125,

9.3% said $150, and 2.3% said they would pay a different fee than what was offered. The second

most popular genre, rock (17), recorded 53% of these participants (9) saying they would pay

$100 fee for a two-day pass. The third most popular genre, Reggae, recorded 100% of

participants stating they would only pay $75 for a two-day pass.

Conclusions

The purpose of this research was to determine and asses what music genre would be most

successful for the UNC community in Greeley, Colorado. In summary, the majority of the

findings indicated that country music along with a macro beer festival would accommodate to

the UNC students. Not only did the genre of country dominate in that specific category, but

country artist Luke Bryan also dominated the open ended question of most preferred artist to see

live. Over half of the participants said they would prefer a music festival in the summer and fall

months and about 95% claimed they would prefer the venue to be located outdoors.


Pricing of the music festival did not support the hypothesis was that most college students

would not be willing to pay an extraneous amount of money to see a two-day concert. Almost

half of the participants said that they would only pay $100 for a two-day pass while the other half

said they would pay $125-$150 for a two-day pass. The topic of a beer festival was not as

popular amongst college students as expected however, seeing as little to none were interested in

the thought of one.

The research that was revealed was expected in the hypothesis when looking specifically

at the UNC demographic. A few questions in the research questionnaire were good indications of

new evidence that was not expected, however the majority could have been foreseen. Questions

regarding the difference pricing for beer tasting and an overall music festival however could

have been either worded differently or even taken out as a whole. The topic of gender as well

could be removed from the questionnaire. If the survey were to be completed again, a larger

sample size would be preferable to obtain maximum results.

In looking at the research the majority of UNC students would be interested in attending

a music festival of this caliber. Originally the idea was to combine a jazz and micro music

festival into a hybrid however as research shows there is no interest in a music and brew festival

of that kind. Seeing as the genre of country was most popular and rock was second best, a

hybrid of both or just country would be the best route to pursue if the Greeley

Stampede were to pursue such a thing. A music festival could be wildly successful

and generate a lot of revenue if the festival was modeled after festivals such as

Country Jam or Cheyenne Frontier Days.


References

Cherry Creek Valley Rotary Club of Parker. (2014) Smokin’ brew BBQ. Retrieved from http://www.smokinbrewbbq.com/index.php

Elsbury, C. (2011, March 4). Top of the List: Radio Stations. Denver Business Journal. Retrieved from http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/broadway_17th/2011/03/top-of-the-list-radio-stations.html

Emerson, L. (2011, May 23). Bands, Vendors, Festival! Las Vegas Business Press. 28 (21). Retrieved from http://0search.proquest.com.source.unco.edu/docview/871764062?accountid=12832

Golden Chamber of Commerce. (2014) Knock Your Boots Off Beer Tasting And Chili Cook-Off. Retrieved from http://goldencochamber.org/event-items/knock-your-boots-off-beer-and-chili-festival/

Hogan, M. (2014a, February 27). The Actual Map of Each State's Favorite Artists is Kind of a Bummer. Retrieved from http://www.spin.com/articles/map-favorite-music-by-state/

Hogan, M. (2014b, February 26). This Map Shows Each State’s Most Popular Music Not Popular Anywhere Else. Retrieved from: http://www.spin.com/articles/most-popular-music-by-state/

IEG. (2014, March 3). Music Sponsorship Spending to Total $1.34 Billion in 2014. IEGSR. Retrieved from http://www.sponsorship.com/IEGSR/2014/03/03/Music-Sponsorship-Spending-To-Total-$1-34-Billion.aspx#.U01ytvldXnh

NPD Group. (2013, February 28). Country Music Rises to Become America’s Favorite Genre in 2012. Retrieved from https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/the-npd-group-country-music-rises-to-become-americas-favorite-genre-in-2012/


Table 1

Mean Comparisons of Preferred Food in the Genre of Country

Measure MeanPreferred Food Pizza 2.0588 Turkey Leg 2.0000 Burger 2.0435 BBQ 1.6452 Hot Dog/Brat 2.0556 Funnel Cake 2.1250 Greek Food 2.0000 Mexican Food 2.7778 Other 2.0000


Table 2

Mean Comparisons of Preferred Food in the Genre of Rock

Measure MeanPreferred Food Pizza 2.1111 Turkey Leg 1.8000 Burger 1.8571 BBQ 1.5000 Hot Dog/Brat 2.0000 Funnel Cake 2.8000 Greek Food 2.0000 Mexican Food 2.0000 Other -

Figure One: Participants preferred setting for ideal music festival.

final report literature review

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