The Festival Barometer was collected for the first time in 2014. The barometer was preceded by a survey that was targeted at the visitors of small festivals in 2013. The Festival Barometer series is collected in a collaboration between festival operators and Finnish universities under the leadership of Maarit Kinnunen. The series is a longitudinal study, which means that data from the same respondent can be combined between data from different years.
The Festival Barometers examine the experiences of visitors at music festivals (excluding classical music festivals). The surveys chart changes in festivalgoers' musical preferences, practical issues related to the organisation of festivals, financial issues, and visitors' satisfaction with different aspects of festivals, such as performers, food services, and the festival site.
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. The dataset also contains open-ended questions, making it suitable for qualitative analysis. In 2024, the study was conducted by LiveFIN ry, The Multidimensional Tourism Institute of University of Lapland, the Sibelius Academy at the University of the Arts, and the following 28 festivals: Blockfest, Flow Festival, Helsingin juhlaviikot, Himos Juhannus, ILMIÖ, Ilosaarirock, Iskelmä Festival Himos, Iskelmä Festival Pori, Jysäri, Jytäkesä Go-Go, Kaupungin äänet, Kesärauha, Kuopiorock, Nummirock, Porispere, Provinssi, Qstock, RMJ, Ruisrock, Suomipop Festival Jyväskylä, Suomipop Festival Oulu, Tahko Juhannus, Tammerfest, Tikkurila Festival, Tuska, Työväen Musiikkitapahtuma, Wanaja Festival and Weekend Festival.
In the first section of the survey, respondents were asked to answer questions with one specific Finnish festival in mind. They were asked to evaluate their satisfaction with the chosen festival and assess various aspects of it, such as the programme and services. The survey also asked how much money respondents 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. 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 how much festival tickets, food, accommodation, and travel expenses should cost at Finnish festivals. They were also 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. In addition, respondents were asked whether they had experienced inappropriate treatment, harassment, or discrimination at music festivals in Finland during the past five years. They also indicated whether they belonged to any underrepresented group or minority. Finally, the survey explored respondents' preferred music genres, their relationship with music, and the importance of various values in their lives.
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 who have participated in more than one survey year can be linked using the id variable.
The participating festivals distributed the link to the online survey through their social media channels, such as Facebook and Instagram. Individuals who follow the festivals' posts made their own decision about whether to participate in the study. For those involved in the longitudinal study, the online form was sent by email before the survey was published by the festivals. These individuals had expressed their willingness to participate in the longitudinal study in the 2022 survey and had provided their email addresses for that purpose.
Prizes provided by the festivals were raffled among the respondents. A total of 17,100 people responded to the survey. Of these, 1,828 participated in the longitudinal study. Among them, 94 had been involved since 2014, 46 since 2016, 122 since 2018, 436 since 2020, and 1,140 since 2022.