How do music festivals work? We chat to Anna from Open Beatz

Organizing an open-air music festival means managing hundreds of artists, juggling dozens of moving parts, battling the elements, and making sure tickets sell. Not exactly an easy task.

To understand the mechanics behind festival logistics, we spoke to Anna Breitenfeld, Festival Booker at Open Beatz. Located in southern Germany, Open Beatz is a unique event set in nature, with stages nestled in forests and beside lakes.

Every year, Open Beatz books 170+ artists and attracts 30,000 visitors per day.

Here's an insider look at how a major festival comes together.

1. Find the right artists

Booking a festival lineup isn't about personal taste. It requires industry know-how and keeping up with new artists and emerging sub-genres. Anna explains that while some headliners are obvious choices because everyone knows they work, finding the right upcoming talent requires deep research.

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To verify if an artist is a true ticket seller, Anna uses data tools like Chartmetric and Viberate, but she also relies on old-fashioned networking.

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2. Collaborate with genre experts

With stages dedicated to specific genres like Hard Techno, Goa, and Drum & Bass, Anna admits that no single booker can know everyone. For specific stages, Open Beatz collaborates with external experts. These music industry connections are vital for navigating politics and clashes. 

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What's the difference between booking a club and a festival? The sheer scale of a festival changes the booking dynamic entirely.

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But the biggest differentiator is the environment. In a club, the climate is controlled. At an outdoor festival, the booker must account for the weather. Anna cites a recent booking of Dr. Peacock, who performed with a live band including a violinist.

Check out the video recording below to get an idea of the scale of Dr Peacock's shows:

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3. Get artist riders in order

Riders are the source of much negotiation. Anna distinguishes clearly between the hospitality rider (comfort) and the technical rider (production).

For hospitality, she's strictly practical. "If there are things which are not edible or drinkable, I would cross them out," she says. She also scrutinizes luxury requests from smaller acts. "If it's a smaller act and he requires Don Julio vodka, which is insanely expensive, I would cross it out."

Most importantly, she checks the rider against the contract.

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For the technical side, she relies on her production team. She sends the technical riders to their stage production manager and asks him to review. This is where budget issues often surface, particularly around special effects.

Need a primer on what goes into a rider? Read our full guide to artist riders.

4. Use the right tools

While booking agencies often send contracts via SystemOne, Anna manages the internal festival workflow using project management tools.

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This system ensures nothing slips through the cracks, from finance to marketing. "If I received a press kit and upload it to Dropbox, I can check that task and my graphic designer immediately receives the notification... and she can proceed with creating the artwork," Anna explains.

On the booking agency side, SystemOne handles the contract and document workflow—generating deal memos, sending eSign links, and automating payment reminders so the festival's team always has the right paperwork in hand.

Want to learn how booking agencies manage the contracting side of festival bookings with SystemOne? You can book a demo to see SystemOne in action, or request a free trial to try it yourself.

Get your festival up and running

Running a music festival sits somewhere between art curation and construction management.

Anna shows us that the role of a festival booker is more than being able to spot talent—you need insider info to gauge a talent's value, negotiate riders, and... make sure the roof is big enough to keep the violinist dry!

If you have an indie festival idea or want to work at an existing one, we recommend reaching out to festival bookers like Anna to learn how to get into the game.