How to Broadcast Digital Festival Radio

Although festivals like Glastonbury are out of the question nowadays, that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good. Online only events like ComplexLand proved that digital festival radio can work. And with the help of Jam3, made the experience unforgettable.

Whether you’re setting up your own digital festival radio station or researching ideas for next year’s event, discover how Jam3 and Complex Networks succeed by reaching an audience of over 70,000 listeners.

Digital Festival Radio Explained

For the uninitiated, digital festival radio is a way to broadcast both live and pre-recorded performances to listeners online. Similar to internet radio, but with an emphasis on reaching high amounts of listeners over a short period.

In the case of ComplexLand, festival-goers had the opportunity to walk around a fully digital park. Complete with shops and food trucks (more on that later), all whilst tuning into live talks and performances.

Jam3 on Setting up Radio for Complex

Jam3, a design and experience agency, help the world’s top brands launch unique products. In the case for Complex (aka Complex Networks), that’s ComplexLand: a first of its kind, e-commerce-enabled, immersive digital experience.

“This first-of-its-kind virtual destination that combines gaming, fashion, and shopping in a globally accessible experience - the hype is real. Fans can customize their digital avatars, access 50+ of their favourite brands & artists, and experience hype drops, food deliveries, celebrity panel discussions and more. Brands connect with influencers, sell out their products, and solidify their brand’s street cred.”

Complex Networks partnered with fashion designers and big brands like Adidas, GUCCI, Rokit, and Tokidoki for virtual booths that users could visit to shop for exclusive clothes like jackets and sneakers. And sponsors included world-renowned companies like Head & Shoulders, eBay, Showtime, and Adobe.

The event itself was available in the browser. No apps to download or software to install. Festival goers logged into a digital event, complete with live talks, music, shops, and even food trucks that let you order online and have the meal delivered to your front door.

“Radio.co offered the flexibility and freedom we were looking for in ComplexLand in terms of being able to create multiple channels, completely customize how the radio looks to the user, and didn’t require user account creation.”

Each station could be accessed via a game-like interface. Split across 5 channels called ‘Complex Radio’, festival-goers could dip in and out of talks or live performances, just like Glastonbury.

How ComplexLand Broadcast Live to Listeners

In terms of setup, Jam3 created 5 radio stations, all broadcasting content for ComplexLand.

Over the course of 5 days, from 7th to 11th December 2020, 70,000+ listeners tuned in whilst at the digital festival. Each of the 5 stations was a ‘channel’, allowing festival goers to switch to different live talks and performances from the likes of Fat Joe and Lil Yachty.

“ComplexLand featured a small radio player accessible on both desktop and mobile which included a variety of curated playlists on 5 different channels. Each channel had a uniquely distinct sound that allowed users to set the tone of their world.”

From a technical point of view, a channel was a streaming URL. When the channel was selected, the stream would get picked up and played whilst the listener was browsing around the festival.

Thousands of Festival Goers Tuned In

Overall, Complex’s event was a success. Both from the number of people that attend and financially point of view. In terms of figures, there were around 70,000 listeners tuning in across 5 days.

And just on one of Jam3’s stations, concurrent listeners peaked at over 1,000.

From an e-commerce perspective, all brands involved saw a massive boost in traffic and sales, going beyond what they originally expected.

“The event was a huge success to the point where we’re already planning the 2021 version. Martin Toys, for example, doubled their projected sales with no overhead and Edgar Hernandez, Complex Networks CRO, said 'ComplexLand is poised to become like a digital Madison Square Garden.' ”

Advice on Broadcasting Digital Festival Radio

Whether it’s a silent disco festival or live charity event, it’s best to hear from those involved. From Jam3’s perspective, digital festival radio had all the hallmarks of a challenging event, only intensified by a big client: Complex.

But they rose to the occasion. Not only was the festival a success, but ComplexLand could see a likely return next year.

“Building a first-of-it’s-kind virtual festival is no easy feat! It’s super important that you understand your customer and what they want / expect to get out of the experience, and then you can begin tailoring the features and events you’ll offer from there. From there - you just need lots and lots of planning :)”

Conclusion

Times are strange. But we adapt and thrive. That’s the idea behind ComplexLand, the fully digital festival radio and e-commerce event. Bringing a Glastonbury style event to listener’s front-doors, and with over 70,000 tuning in, it couldn’t have gone better without the help of Radio.co.

“Everything is simple - the Radio.co platform is very intuitive and easy to navigate, flip between channels, and upload tracks to.”

But all that being said, what ideas do you have for radio? Let me know in the comments. And if you’re looking to test the waters, then start a free trial. There’s no obligation, and you can cancel at any time.