There is something special about the festival season in the UK. However, the sad truth is that there is nothing special about the ticket prices. Music lovers should prepare to pay somewhere between £150 and £400 for a weekend ticket, including a camping spot.
Festivals are big business, and when you look at the names of not just the headline acts but many of the participating artists, you’ll see that. They are names that add a lot of credence to a weekend event. However, larger names come with higher fees, which is often reflected in the ticket prices.
It is fundamental economics, but that is of little consequence to those buying the tickets. Fortunately, we’re here to help by exploring legitimate ways you can obtain free or discounted festival tickets.
Volunteer Your Way In
Festivals do not organize or run themselves. Offering to volunteer at a festival is a great and reliable way to gain access to a festival without having to pay for a ticket. Now, of course, you’re going to have to put in some hard graft while you’re there. But at least you’ll be doing it to the tunes of your favourite bands playing live. Typically, festival volunteers work for 15-20 hours over the weekend in exchange for free entry, meals, and, at specific festivals, camping accommodations.
A pro tip for getting into festivals as a volunteer is to arrive early. It’s no secret that volunteering is a great way to get free festival tickets. Therefore, you will want to be ready and submit your name at the earliest opportunity. We’re talking 6-8 months ahead of time. Don’t be disheartened, though. Large festivals like Glastonbury, Reading, and Download will have thousands of volunteers, covering everything from stage assembly to litter picking.
Become a Brand Ambassador or Street Team Leader
Many large brands are always on the lookout for ambassadors to represent them at festivals and events. Companies like Red Bull, Vodafone, and Monster all understand that festivals are a marketing paradise. Frequently, there are free tickets up for grabs for anybody willing to take on a marketing role for the weekend. If you’re lucky, some ambassadors or street team leaders also receive compensation for their efforts.
To become a brand ambassador, start following the big festival brands on social media. Subscribe to anything they offer – newsletters, YouTube channels, social media pages, and so on – as positions are advertised through these channels first.
The work is usually good fun and relatively light-hearted given the nature of the weekend. The real perk is that once you have landed a gig and performed your role well, you may find yourself invited back to attend other festivals as well.
Social Media Giveaways
A riskier strategy for getting free festival tickets is to try your hand at social media giveaways. While festival tickets are not cheap, a good number are often used as prizes in online competitions.
These competitions are serious businesses, with many festivalgoers treating them like a job. To stand a chance, you need to be prepared to work for it.
Create a specific email address just for social media giveaways. Follow everybody you can think of on all channels: headline acts, sponsors, venues, record labels, broadcast stations. Turn on notifications and review them – over and over – and be prepared to engage. Like and comment on posts, and share things unrelated to the competitions and festivals. Often, these giveaway entrants are checked for engagement to avoid only rewarding professional competition entrants. Position your social media strategy as systematic rather than random.
Local Radio Competitions
Radio station competitions are another way for people to score free festival tickets. While this is an even less reliable strategy than social media competitions, it is one of the only other ways to find genuine, free tickets. Winning tickets this way is a gamble, and much like actual gambling, timing is crucial. Knowing when to make a move to enhance your chances of winning is vital.
The trick is to know which radio stations are likely to have a giveaway and to learn what time of day they run their competitions. Select the best ones, preferably local ones to you if possible, and be prepared to respond at a moment’s notice. The peak time windows for radio station competitions are 7-9 AM and 4-7 PM. This is when audiences are largest.
Save station numbers in your phone and be ready. There’s no way to predict that you will be called number 10, or whatever criteria are used. However, these prizes favour those who get in early.
Group and Early-Bird Bookings
Many festivals offer lower-priced tickets to those who sign up early. Early-bird prices are not free but can be purchased for up to 25-30% off the full price. The trick with early-bird tickets is that they go on sale a long time before the event, as a little reward for those dedicated supporters. To claim these tickets, you need to plan one season in advance.
Similarly, group bookings are a good way to grab festival tickets at bargain prices. Many venues offer better prices for large bookings. This can extend to as much as 30-50% for some events. In addition, festivals such as Download and Leeds run ‘bring a friend’ promotions to ensure interest remains high and tickets sell.
If you and your friends are all planning to attend a festival, then making a group booking is an effective way to get the best value for your money.
Conclusion
While it may not seem like it, there is not much luck involved in getting free festival tickets. It takes hard work, meticulous planning, and a dedication that will see you working at it like a real job in order to save a few hundred pounds on the ticket price for a single festival.
It might sound like a lot of work, but if it gets you in to see some of the largest acts in the global music industry, those free tickets are worth all the work.
Set yourself a target. Choose a festival and make your plan. Start following those social media accounts and get your name in the online forums and fan groups. Even if you don’t get tickets, you’re going to have a fun time trying and make some new friends along the way.
Add as a preferred source