Introduction

Made Event is a live entertainment production company, co-founded by Mike

Bindra and Laura De Palma, which is focused primarily in electronic dance music
culture. It is most notably responsible for the electronic dance music festival, Electric
Zoo, which is held on Randalls Island Park in New York, over the Labor Day weekend.
Electric Zoo festival began as a two-day event on September 5, 2009, drawing in 26,000
people and 66 artists (Dodge, 2009). The second annual Electric Zoo festival sold out
with 25,000 people each day (Pareles, 2010). In 2011, Electric Zoo expanded to a threeday festival, with 100 artists, and 85,000 attendees ("Electric Zoo: 85,000 Electronic
Music Fans Attend 3-Day Festival Gallery of Photos"). In 2012, the event sold out
Saturday and Sunday tickets, and there were over 110,000 attendees over the three days
(Tantum, 2012). Made Event planned an even bigger festival for its fifth birthday in
2013, but the weekend was cut short when the third day was canceled.
As music festivals in general have become more mainstream since Electric Zoos
inaugural event in 2009, the number of ticket sales to these events has sky rocketed. The
increased number of attendees at Electric Zoo has created health and safety issues.
Incidents resulting from such issues include multiple arrests, hospitalizations, and the
deaths of two attendees of the festival in 2013. In light of these controversies, Made
Event has struggled to maintain credibility, social support, and acquire permits to
continue the event. In order to continue to hold Electric Zoo, Made Event must increase
security for the safety of attendees in order to maintain a positive image in the public and
prove to stakeholders that it can take place without casualties.
Contextual Analysis

Company
Made Event produces live entertainment events, specifically Electric Zoo festival
which features hundreds of the words biggest electronic music D.J.s and musical talent
of techno, trance, house, dubstep, electro, indie dance backgrounds. With over 25 years of
combined experience between the founders, and nearly 500 events produced in New York
City, Miami and elsewhere, Made Event continues to set the bar for quality electronic
music events. The festival has been comprised of 4 to 5 stages, a number of organic food
vendors, and art installations. Made Event is committed to excellence in the
programming, promotion, and production of electronic dance music events. The worldrenowned entertainment and expert production values that they bring into their innovative
venues make them some of the most expert leaders in their field. In the inaugural year of
Made Events Electric Zoo, they were nominated for Promoter of the Year by URB
magazine, as well as Best Music Event and Best Event Promoter by the International
Dance Music Awards in 2010. ("Electric Zoo: 85,000 Electronic Music Fans Attend 3Day Festival Gallery of Photos").
Electric Zoo received a coveted IDMA nomination for Best U.S. Festival and
Best Music Event by URB magazine, as well as press coverage from major
media outlets like CNN, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post,
Village Voice, Time Out New York, New York Post, The Source, DJ Mag,
Mixmag and Ocean Drive, establishing it as New York Citys premier electronic
music festival as well as a top American event ("Electric Zoo: 85,000 Electronic
Music Fans Attend 3-Day Festival Gallery of Photos").

While Made Event stands at the top of their field, public perception of the
organization has been tainted by the medias highlighting of the drug use, which occurs
within the festival grounds and the press surrounding incidents resulting from the issue.

Collaborators
Made Event collaborates with a number of people and organizations to put
together Electric Forest. Made Event books over a hundred world renowned D.J.s and
artists to perform over the three days of the festival. Made Event also brings in over 20
food vendors, offering a plethora of food options. Foodies have options ranging from
fresh juice from Juice Bar USA, Latin food from La Sonrisa, to Japanese comfort food at
Mimi & Coco, along with basics such as pizza, hotdogs, and burgers (Kapadia, 2012).
Randals Island Parks Department and the New York City Mayors office permit Electric
Zoo to take place.

Customers
Electric Zoo draws extremely diverse crowds from, including people from over
100 countries and 50 states ("Electric Zoo: 85,000 Electronic Music Fans Attend 3-Day
Festival Gallery of Photos"). From 2009 to 2013, the festival had been an all ages event,
with attendees ranging from elementary school-aged children (accompanied by their
parents) to the elderly. However, their largest demographic has been college age students.
Starting in 2014, attendees must be at least eighteen years of age to enter the event.
Attendees must purchase tickets online or through a box office. For this demographic,
tickets are pretty expensive. General admission for the three-day event begins at $289,

during the presale before taxes and surcharges. After the presale, general admission
increases to $369, and as the festival date approaches, ticket prices increase.

Competitors
As electronic dance music becomes more and more mainstream, more emc
festivals have been created. CEO of Insomniac Events, Pasquale Rotella, brought Electric
Daisy Carnival to cities around the world. EDC made its debut in New York in 2012 and
is scheduled for a third time in May 2014. EDC is only a two-day event, and tickets sell
for around $150 presale, and $254 after that. EDCs tickets go on sale well before
Electric Zoos and their lineup is also released earlier. Other large dance music festivals
that take place in the summer months include Bonaroo, in Tennessee, and Electric Forest,
in Michigan. EDC, Bonaroo, and Electric Forest each offer their own unique experiences
due to the artists they showcase and their locations. Bonaroo and Electric Forest also
offer camping options.

Context
In the United States, dance music parties had been taking been since the 80s,
however D.J.s and partiers were confined to the shadows, most events took place in dark
dingy warehouses, often without proper permits (Kot, 2012). These parties became
known as raves where groups of people gathered to do illegal drugs. As the festival scene
made its way to the United States, they were referred to as giant, outdoor, daytime raves,
and its attendees referred to themselves ravers. This put such events at a disadvantage
from the beginning. Festivals such as Tomorrowland had already been taking place for

years in Belgium, drawing hundreds of thousands of attendees each year. Electric Zoo
festival emerged as electronic dance music began gaining popularity among high school
and college aged-students in the United States. Since the festival began in 2009, the
number of attendees it has drawn increased astronomically each year. The introduction
Electric Daisy Carnival made its debut in May of 2012 and Life in Color, moved
electronic music festivals even more into the spotlight, which helped increased Electric
Zoo ticket sales even more.
Fashion has been influenced by the culture as well. First, neon colored clothing
began popping up everywhere. Festivalgoers are notorious for their attire. The festival
attendees have an anything goes policy for the most part. Flowers began to become a
staple accessory and so it influenced the trend. Coachella, a music festival on the West
Coast, where many of the attendees are celebrities, is almost the equivalent of watching
celebrities arriving on the red carpet for the Oscars.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
-

International fan base, and a passionate, unique edm culture is closely

associated with the festival (Plexi PR, 2011)

Fans are willing to pay the high prices for tickets to festivals (Plexi PR,
2011).

Made Event produces trailers (commercials) for Electric Zoo, which are
released months before the event, when tickets go on sale.

Official recaps of the previous years festival are released on YouTube as

advertisements and searchable videos.

Made Event has received much support and praise from Mayor Bloomberg
(Dawsey, 2013)

Made Event has made hefty donations with profit from Electric Zoo, such as;
$42,000 to FLOW, an outdoor art exhibition, the Bronx Museum of the Arts,
and Rockefeller NYC Cultural Innovation Fund (Wood, 2011).

Press coverage from major media outlets; CNN, New York Times,
Huffington Post, Village Voice, Time Out New York, New York Post, DJ
Magazine.

Widespread social media presence including: D.J.,s personal Twitters,

Electric Zoo festivals Twitter and page on Facebook, and the fans Twitter
and Facebook activity.

Weaknesses
-

Customer dissatisfaction over the cancellation of the third day of the EZoo in
2013 (Schulman, 2013).

Rampant illegal drug use.

Being able to employ staff that attendees feel comfortable going to in the
event they consume illegal drugs and need help.

Communication between festival coordinators and the NYC police

department (Schulman, 2013).

Contractual issues for D.J.s, such as competitors insistence they will not
play at any other festivals in the state within a certain period of time before
and after.

Artist lineups arent released until after ticket sales begin.

Opportunities
-

The implementations of anti-drug videos that ticket buyers are required to

view in order to activate their bracelets (Goodman, 2014)

Increased security at festival entrances, such as more in depth searches into

bags and persons (Goodman, 2014).

Drug sniffing dogs (Goodman, 2014).

Blame-free garbage disposals along the entrance leading up to security at the

entrance of the festival.

More free-water stations around the festival to decrease lines.

Provide more spaces where people can sit in the shade, out of the sun, during
the day.

Threats
-

Negative media attention surrounding deaths, hospitalizations, and arrests at

Electric Zoo festival.

Ability to acquire the permits they need to hold their events is jeopardized.

Increasing competition (Dawsey, 2013).

Antidrug groups boycotting the festival.

New York City polices surveying attendees, as well as increased security

measures may deter people from buying tickets.

Conclusion
Made Events Electric Zoo festivals fate and reputation is at stake this
2014. Negative media attention involving injuries and deaths of attendees has tarnished

the events reputation. Illegal drug use by festivalgoers has put them in danger at the long
festival, which takes place in August under the hot sun. Made Event has a great
reputation amongst its customers and those within the industry, so drawing a crowd will
not be an issue. It is crucial that Made Event increases security and safety measures at the
festival. Made Event should highlight its generous donations to New Yorks inner-city
schools, and art programs throughout the city.

Works Cited
Buy Tickets. Electric Zoo. Made Event. Web. 24 April 2014.
<http://www.electriczoofestival.com/tickets.php>.
Dawsey, Joshua. Park Festivals Draw Scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal. The Wall
Street Journal, 02 Octob 2013. Web. 24 April 2014. Web. 24 April 2014.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240527023041769045791113224
84957230>.
Dawsey, Joshua. "Bloomberg says Electric Zoo Organizers Have a Stellar Record."
The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal, 03 Septe 2013. Web. 24 April
2014. <http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2013/09/03/bloomberg-calls-electric-zooorganizers-stellar/?mod=wsj_streaming_latest-headlines>.
Dodge, Derek. 'Electric Zoo' Brings New Light to Dance Music in NYC. Made Event.
CNN, 2009. Web. <http://www.madeevent.com/presskit/coverage/Electric-Zoo2009/reviews/coverage.php?jpg=091809_CNN>.
Electric Zoo: 85,000 Electronic Music Fans Attend 3-Day Festival Gallery of Photos.
New York City: Plexi PR, 2011. Web. 21 April 2014.
<http://www.plexipr.com/2011/09/22/electric-zoo-85000-electronic-music-fansattend-3-day-festival-gallery-of-photos/>.
Goodman, Jessica. "Electric Zoo Returns With New Drug Policies In 2014." Huff Post
Entertainment. Huffington Post, 22 Apr 2014. Web. 23 April 2014.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/22/electric-zoo-drugpolicies_n_5193095.html>.

Kapadia, Jessica. "Feeding Time: NYC's Electric Zoo 2012." Food Republic. Food
Republic, 1053 Septe 2012. Web. 21 April 2014.
<http://www.madeevent.cohttp://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/09/05/feedingtime-nycs-electric-zoo-2012>.
Kot, Greg. "Electronic dance music has its spring awakening ." Chicago Tribune.
Chicago Tribune, 08 Jun 2012. Web. 24 April 2014.
<http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-08/entertainment/ct-ae-0610-kotelectronic-music-20120608_1_electric-daisy-carnival-electronic-music-dancemusic>.
Pareles, Jon. "Hard-Driving Star D.J.'s Serve Up the Thumps." Made Event. The New
York Times, 06 Sept 2010. Web. 21 April 2014.
<http://www.madeevent.com/presskit/coverage/Electric-Zoo2010/reviews/090610_NewYorkTimes.pdf>.
Schulman, Jacob. "Insomniac CEO Electric Zoo 2013: How it went down before shutting
downAims to Preserve EDM Spirit at Electric Daisy Carnival." inthemix.
inthemix, 03 Septe 2013. Web. 24 April 2014.
<http://inthemix.com/news/electric-zoo-2013-how-it-went-down-before-shuttingdown/709>.
Tantum, Bruce. "Time Out New York." Made Event. Time Out New York, 13 Septe
2012. Web. 21 April 2014.
<http://www.madeevent.com/presskit/coverage/Electric-Zoo2012/reviews/coverage.php?jpg=EZ2012_TONY>.
Wood, Andrew. "Electric Zoo Gives Randalls Island a Positive Charge Read more at

http://observer.com/2011/08/electric-zoo-2011/