Music concerts and festivals are back. Music lovers in the NY tri-state area attended Hot97 Summer Jam with heavy-hitting acts like Cardi B. Internationally, Switzerland held the Montreux Jazz Festival with Johnny Depp and John Legend. Afro Nation was a success in Portugal. Coldplay, Alicia Keys and BTS are performing all over the world. Justin Bieber is set to perform in South Africa. In California, the big festival of Coachella is returning in 2023. So is Eric Ramazani.
Eric Ramazani is a familiar face in New York City and a household name in the music industry. He is a former music executive who spent years curating live music events for international music festivals and concerts. Born in Switzerland, raised in the United States. Eric Ramazani an eternal optimist got his intellectual talent from his parents who taught him to “always believe in the ability to innovate”. During his career he went on to work as a consultant at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, where he brainstormed the first ever UN resolution on homelessness adopted by the UN Commission for Social Development on March 9th 2020. His initiative caught the attention of Forbes magazine who recognized his leadership. He is currently an English teacher in France, while working towards launching the “French American Music Festival” through his company “Gen Z Creatives Productions”.
The “French American Music Festival” in Paris, France is curated to bring every year, creatives and major artists from the United States of America and France for one day, in the biggest indoor arena of Paris. The festival aims to be the largest annual music festival in France, with Hip Hop, Pop and French Musiques Actuelles.
“The key is to focus on increasing customer satisfaction and revenue”. He says.
Eric Ramazani is developing innovative methods such as offering tickets with accommodation. Eric believes that partnering with the hospitality industry can also reduce the cost of accommodation for artists while benefiting the sponsoring-hotel and airline company through marketing.
“Let’s be realistic. Advertising is happening online. Brands can reach millions of customers by having talents/artists promoting their products or services. Unfortunately, what’s popular online becomes popular offline”. Eric Ramazani added.
As festivalgoers become more technology savvy and music festivals more competitive. The merging of technology and innovation is impacting the modern-day music festival.
“Yes, using technology can help make a music festival more attractive to festivalgoers and at the same time make the organisation’s logistics and operations more efficient. We are looking at electronic ticketing using QR codes, the use of RFID wristbands and contactless ordering using mobile apps to place orders negating the need for queuing. Mobile apps also provide additional branding and sales opportunities for commercial sponsors. The use of holographic and VR technology. Having an excellent sound quality and amplification, makes the listening experience better. Technology is also providing ever more extravagant light shows that add to the visual impact. But whilst we can be restricted by the budget making it harder to use new technology, we are at least keeping up to date on innovation taking place in the industry. As time goes by the cost of technology will usually drop making implementation more affordable”. Eric tells us while enjoying his meal on the aircraft.
Finally, Eric concludes “We know we are creating the future of music festivals but what we don’t know is when is the right time to launch it. Our business plan goes up several years. As a former international relations expert, I know how to analyze current global events, like pandemics, geopolitical conflicts, safety issues and economic instabilities. We believe that we should wait to see how the live event market recovers and makes its trajectory in the years to come.”
As he gets up to get back to his seat on a flight packed with famous artists and record labels executives, he says: Enchanté de vous avoir rencontré and remember that every challenge comes an opportunity.
