Why Tomorrowland and Ultra tracklists are so popular on 1001Tracklists
Every year, performances at Tomorrowland and Ultra Miami dominate 1001Tracklists with the most views. In fact, the top ten most viewed tracklists of 2018 were all performances at Tomorrowland and Ultra Miami, leaving no room for other events. But why do these two events hold total domination over the top ten?
Video footage uploaded to YouTube
The first major aspect that draws so many tracklist clicks for Ultra Miami and Tomorrowland is the fact that both festivals are live-streamed. Once the live stream is over, each of the individual sets is uploaded to YouTube, often generating multiple-million views from fans all over the world. For this reason, fans will continue to search for the tracklist for months, maybe even years after the set has actually been performed, offering a limitless opportunity for generating clicks. When a performance is not uploaded online, you are limited to only gaining the interest of those who actually saw the set in real life. By uploading it online, you lose these limits and have the opportunity to connect with a much larger volume of people.
Visual display
Both Ultra Miami and Tomorrowland have gained a reputation as incredibly visually appealing festivals. The set videos are always desirable to look at, leading to increased views. Ultimately, the most views you amass on a particular set, the more tracklist searches you will also accumulate. Even though you may believe that the appeal of a particular set relies upon the music itself, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The visual footage alongside the music plays a huge role in generating increased interest from your fanbase.
Tomorrowland prides itself on releasing a brand new exciting theme every year. In 2018, the stage was water themed and featured seashells. The backdrop provided by the mind-blowing mainstage created the perfect opportunity for viral performance footage from artists. In the past, the stages have included a volcano, a circus, a castle and more. For this reason, footage from Tomorrowland is more likely to generate views than footage from other festivals, highlighting the importance of striving to perform there. Likewise, Ultra Miami has always been visually appealing, set against the backdrop of the luscious blue Miami sea. The stage itself is always impressive, towering above the crowd and offering huge screens for artists to share their visuals. Like Tomorrowland, Ultra Miami’s set videos are incredibly visually appealing, providing a great opportunity for artists to experience an increased number of views.
New music
One of the main reasons why tracklists at Ultra Miami are so popular is the introduction of new music. Many artists take a break at the start of the year and focus on new music, spending a lot of time in the studio. Ultra Miami is known as the first festival of the summer, kickstarting festival season. When artists perform at Ultra Miami, the vast majority drop a huge number of new IDs that have never been heard before. For this reason, viewers are quick to visit 1001Tracklists to try and get hold of the new music. In fact, for artists like Hardwell and Armin van Buuren, their Ultra Miami sets are usually formulated entirely of new music, which is one of the reasons why their sets are so popular. At Ultra 2018, Hardwell’s set was entirely new, which made this set perhaps his most exciting of the whole year. Many would hail Ultra Miami as the stage for showcasing new music and looking towards the future. It is a great event to look at when attempting to track trends for the year ahead.
The popularity of particular festivals
Ultimately, certain festivals have a much further-reaching popularity than others. Festivals like Tomorrowland and Ultra are globally known, which is why so many artists strive to perform there. However, most artists understand that these festivals are very selective about who they enlist to perform, and you may struggle to even get a response from them if you aren’t well-known. There are certain steps you can take to try and get more out of your festival performances that aren’t at huge festivals like Tomorrowland or Ultra.
Firstly, you could film your entire performance at a festival and share it online. Naturally, this will cost, as you’ll need to enlist your own camera crew. But, if the performance looks appealing in the footage, you’ll soon reap the rewards through views and new fans. There are plenty of tactics you can learn from Tomorrowland and Ultra in order to increase interest around your performances.
The winning combination for a popular set video and tracklist is appealing both on an audio and visual level. Make sure that your focus doesn’t sit solely with the audio. Of course, you should strive to create the most appealing set you can. But, you should also pay attention to how your set looks. Work on creating inspiring visuals to go alongside your music. Give the audience something they won’t forget easily. By engaging your audience’s audio and visual senses at the same time, you stand a much greater chance of receiving their approval and support.
Tomorrowland and Ultra Miami look set to continue to dominate the festival scene for years to come. Arguably, their strongest assets are their visual appeal and their strategies centred around uploading footage to YouTube. There are no other festivals out there that upload almost every single set online, giving these two festivals specific appeal. Take a leaf out of their book and make sure to make the most of your live sets, upload them, share them, make sure your fans see you when you take over the festival scene.
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