Superfly Productions
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Superfly Presents is an entertainment and marketing agency [1] best known as the creators of Bonnaroo, an annual four-day music festival held on a farm in Tennessee.
The founders of Superfly are Jonathan Mayers, Rick Farman, Kerry Black, and Richard Goodstone.The four had worked together as music and event promoters in New Orleans before deciding to start their own festival, after attending California's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[2]
After gaining notoriety as the premier hosts of after-hours events during the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Superfly's owners realized they had hit a plateau, unable to compete with big venues that could profit from alcohol and other sales in addition to ticket fees.[3] The idea that they came up with was Bonnaroo.
Superfly's approach to the first Bonnaroo was notable for a number of reasons. The venue was remote. The bands were not chart toppers. And perhaps most unique, promotion was entirely done on the internet. The manager of Dave Matthews Band came on as an initial backer, simultaneously guaranteeing a headline act. From there, word of mouth drove 10,000 ticket sales in the first day of availability, and 70,000 total.[3] To this day, Bonnaroo tickets are exclusively available through the company's website, and the festival has grown to be one of the world's largest musical events of the year every year.
Bonnaroo has sold out almost every year since the first festival was held in 2002, and in 2007 Rolling Stone magazine named the festival one of "50 moments that changed the history of rock." [4]
Along with Bonnaroo and other musical events and festivals, like Outside Lands in San Francisco, Superfly also does corporate marketing campaigns and talent management.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Company website, http://www.superflypresents.com/
- ^ Buchanan, Leigh. Superfly Presents. Inc. magazine, June 2011
- ^ a b Sabin, Jonathan. The Temptation of Superfly. Fast Company, May 2006. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/105/superfly.html
- ^ http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2195562/Bonnaroo-%EF%BF%BDOne-of-the-50-Moments-that-Changed-the-History-of-Rock