Tekijät

• Kinnunen, Maarit (University of Lapland)

Asiasanat

COVID-19, attitudes, cultural events, discrimination, festivals, harassment, leisure time activities, music, music events, performing arts

Sisällön kuvaus

Festival Barometer is a recurring study aimed at gathering information about attendees of Finnish music festivals and tracking changes in their music and festival preferences over time. In 2022, the survey also included questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The dataset contains open-ended questions, making it suitable for qualitative analysis. In 2022, the study was conducted by LiveFIN ry, Lapland Institute for Tourism Research, the Sibelius Academy at the University of the Arts, and the following 24 festivals: Blockfest, Flow Festival, Himos Juhannus, Ilosaarirock, Karmarock, Kesärauha, Kuopiorock, Nummirock, Pori Jazz, Porispere, Provinssi, Qstock, RMJ, Rockfest, Ruisrock, Sideways, Suomipop Festival Jyväskylä, Suomipop Festival Oulu, Tammerfest, Tikkurila Festival, Tuska Open Air Metal Festival, Työväen Musiikkitapahtuma, Wanaja Festival, and Weekend Festival.

In the first section of the survey, respondents were asked to answer questions with one specific festival in mind that they had attended in 2022. They were asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the chosen festival and assess various aspects of it, such as the program and services. The survey also asked how much money the respondent spent both within and outside the festival area.

In the more general section of the survey, respondents were asked to reflect on their opinions about festival attendance in general. Questions included who they usually attend music festivals with and what would encourage them to participate more often. Those who attend festivals alone were asked follow-up questions: why they go to festivals, how it feels to attend alone, and what they gain from the experience. The survey also explored key elements of the festival experience, such as performers and festival programme, food and beverage services, and the festival area itself.

Next, respondents were asked about their likelihood of attending festivals in the coming years and were given an open-ended question to explain why they might not participate. They also shared how much they would be willing to pay for festival tickets, food, and accommodation. Respondents were asked whether they had experienced inappropriate behavior or harassment at music festivals in Finland during the past five years. They also indicated whether they belonged to any underrepresented group or minority. Additionally, the survey explored preferred music genres and the respondent's relationship with music. Finally, respondents were asked whether the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their attitude toward live music events.

Background variables included year of birth, gender, largest cities, region, education, occupational group, social class and annual income. The survey allows comparisons over time with other data in the series, as respondents from more than one year can be combined using the id variable.