Nickole Caballero

ENC 1101

Ms. Humphries

February 10, 2015

Inside Scoop On Music Festivals

People from all over the world love listening to music that comes in all different

forms and genres. Music is something very complex that is made from instrumental

sound or vocal sounds. Ultra Music Festival does a great job of doing so. This music

festival is very unique and diverse in accordance to many other concerts. This festival is

vibrant and the music is so invigorating that it defines the true meaning of music.

Sometimes, different sounds may even be combined to produce music that takes the

shape of beautiful harmonies that express different emotions. Majority of the people

interpret music in many different kinds of ways that may be taken negatively or

positively. People listen to music for many different reasons. Some people listen to music

because it is soothing and it calms them down and enjoy the background melody that is

coming out of the radio. Other people just like to read the lyrics because they feel it

speaks to them in a way that can relate to his or her life. Music is not something that is

concrete. It is the true meaning of beauty. Ultra Music Festival is an EDM concert that

occurs every year in the month of March in Miami. There are many different views in

relation to this music festival that will always spur up controversial thoughts and ideas.

This music festival does a great job of getting their word out to the public as much

as possible. They created an official website that is viewed from all places around the

world and is very well designed and detailed. There are many controversial ideas in

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relation to this concert. The website is composed of many vibrant colors and pop up

images that make the people on the website excited to want to participate. The website

also has videos and mini clips into what they might be seeing live at the concert. The text

and visuals mix very well in the sense that they both give an easy understanding of the

concert. The use of words are all happy vocabulary and the words are bold and some in

bigger font than others. This goes to show the excitement of the person who created the

website. People looking at this website will not find small font or dark colors. Everything

is “in your face” which at times can be overwhelming but at the same time will make the

audience want to read everything possible on the website. The visuals are also very

ecstatic looking. The website incorporates pictures and clips of people live at the concert

in previous years. What better way to picture yourself at a concert than by watching a live

video and imagining yourself front row on someone’s shoulders soaking up all of the

energy. All of this positive energy that is put forward into this website goes to show the

amount of energy that would be at the actual concert. It is a very good representation of

what Ultra Music Festival is all about.

Russell Fabisich and Alex Omes founded this festival in 1999 as it started of very

small and as a one-day concert with few amounts of performers who were not so popular

at the time. Because of the massive amount of attendance, this festival had to change

location due to the outstanding turnout. Over time, the creators came up with different

ideas to expand on this festival. For many people, this online website is a very neat

creation and a great way to figure out what you would be getting yourself into if you

were to go to this concert. The website was created in order to spread the word and

permeate positivity throughout their fans. It has a lot of background music and a links

showing how the festival was created. They give background information on how they

started and how much trouble they went through in order to be where they are today. This

message is trying to show how they started from nowhere and ended up being on top of

the world. This music festival was not only held in Miami but as well as Spain,

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, South Korea, South Africa, and Croatia. This expansion was due

to the Website that was created and it made a name for the music festival. The hidden

meaning for the creators of incorporating that part into the website was to in a way

motivate the audience to come to the concert. The tickets for the weekend are somewhat

expensive and out of the budget for many people. The creators are hoping to encourage

the audience to try and buy the ticket even though the price may be out of the range. This

was the hidden message to encourage the audience to try their hardest as the creators did

to make Ultra a well known festival to try their hardest to buy the ticket and enjoy the

festival.

When the website was first made, the creators knew that most of the people who

went to their very first concert were mostly young people. For this reason, the website

was directed towards that age group by putting vocabulary that is not so hard to

understand and grasp as well as making the process of purchasing the ticket more user

friendly. Since not many young people have his or her own credit card, the purchasing of

tickets is made in a specific way to make it more accessible to the public of whom they

are trying to entice. This ticket process is quite simple to the majority of the audience.

The payment method is called Venmo. This is a way of paying for something online

without the use of a credit or debit card. It is a payment system from peers to peers that

does not involve transactions and has some unique features such as Trust Request Option

that is strictly for strong bonded friendships that let the owner of the venom account to

allow certain friends to reimburse funds. There is also no fee while paying while using a

debit or credit card there usually is a fee which make paying through Venmo a plus.

These money transfers are social for everyone to see and if someone needs help with

paying for the ticket, someone else can easily help pay for it through this process. It is a

quick and easy way that generally makes peoples payment plans a lot more accessible.

The website does a great job of including many different pictures and videos that

show the audience what kind of people are attending this type of concert. The creators

wanted to make sure that there was no misunderstanding and that people do come dressed

to these concerts in whichever way they feel. The love for music is also expressed with

the creative and unique outfits that are made up by the people. For example, people are

shown to be dressed with very short shorts and cropped tops. Sometimes, people are not

even wearing shirts at this event. It all depends on the person. For example, on the

website, there is a link on what kinds of clothing to wear. This is giving the idea to people

on the wacky and crazy outfit ideas to wear. When this festival started, the clothing had

no input on this. Over time, the website has created so much trends and fashion advice for

the world to see and has created a chain amongst all of the people who attend the festival.

Everyone wants to fit in and look amazing at the concert.

On the other hand, this could be one of the factors as to why generally elders

frown upon this festival. When people hear Ultra they automatically associate it with

drugs and alcohol. This is the wrong mentality for this type of concert. This creates a

huge false stereotype that people who go to this concert are people who enjoy the use of

drugs and that the people do not attend the festival for the music. Unfortunately, the way

the concert is set up gives off this negative view, which is not good look for most of the

kids who are trying to convince his or her parents to attend the concert. The way the

website shows how people are dressed can give of a very bad image of the concert.

Imagine elders going on this website for the first time and seeing videos of previous

years. In this video, people are able to see the provocative clothing that attendees decide

to wear. This is not a very good first impression that should be given of the public. This

goes against the views of the website and leads to many controversial ideas of this

concert. The way people dress and act do let other viewers know what kinds of crowds

attend these kinds of concerts; but every coin has two sides. These visuals can lead to

negative views by the public but unless the person has to actually experience it first hand,

nobody will ever understand how amazing and thrilling Ultra Music Festival really is.

Depending on the type of person evaluating this website, they will make a judgment

based on their thoughts and opinions. It is all relative to the individual frame of mind

when it all comes down to the root of the problem.

In relation back to the website where people could find more information on this

concert, it may give the wrong message to viewers. The way Ultra website is currently

designed might send the wrong information to viewers which in turn will cause a major

set back when people are undecided on whether or not they want to attend. The use of

intense photographs with bolded letters that make everything seem trippy might look

questionable to the public’s eye. As well as the videos portraying the different people and

the types of clothing are also very questionable. Automatically, negative thoughts go

through the viewer’s head because that is the normal reaction of one to think when they

see something for the first time. These trippy effects and the display on how people are

dressed are usually linked to negative things such as drugs. This website indirectly is

promoting a festival that may or may not be filled with drugs and negative influences.

That is not the message that should be portrayed because Ultra Music Festival is not

about those negative influences. What the viewers are missing is the hidden message that

they would never catch until you are personally there in the flesh. Many people argue to

change the way the layout and other forms of advertisement are being displayed. Well,

the website designer created these visuals to send a strong message. According to

KISSmetrics, “Color wields enormous sway over our attitudes and emotions. When our

eyes take in a color, they communicate with a region of the brain known as the

hypothalamus, which in turn sends a cascade of signals to the pituitary gland, on to the

endocrine system, and then to the thyroid glands. The thyroid glands signal the release of

hormones, which cause fluctuation in mood, emotion, and resulting behavior.” This kind

of behavior is a very good strategy that the creator chose to put out to the public and even

risk his career. This great risk was taken by the creators even though they knew the

consequences of some people not attending due to the website visuals, text, and layout.

According to HelpScout, “The study Exciting Red and Competent Blue also

confirms that purchasing intent is greatly affected by colors due to the impact they have

on how a brand is perceived. This means that colors influence how consumers view the

"personality" of the brand.” With these statistics being presented, it goes to show that the

creator had very good intentions. Colors do attract the public in a positive way. Once they

are on the website, they will stay and read about it. Even if it does not interest them, they

will know what the concert is about and the message will relay to his or her friends and

that is how the word gets spread about this concert. Good or bad sayings, people are

talking about this concert, which is the main goal. Put aside the wardrobe and any other

factors that might come up, people need to focus on the music itself and not the outside

factors. Way back when, do you think people focused on the clothes that people were

wearing or the status people held? It was solely based on the music and nothing else. It

was more simple back then. Today, we do have many more obstacles that we have to deal

with. Ultra does a great job of not letting those obstacles get to them and they continue

to put on a great show despite what the public has to say.

First glance at the Ultra Music Festival webpage, thoughts will spark wild in

someone’s head. Most people believe that those who have not experienced it firsthand do

not know the inner workings of this festival. When it comes to the opinions of the adults,

many think it is very unsafe. As a matter of fact, the festival itself is generally very safe.

The Music Festival is very deceiving. The concert is located at Bayfront Park

overlooking the beautiful scenery of the Miami Atlantic Ocean with the massive palm

trees surrounding your every move. All of the stages are in the same vicinity from each

other so it easy to maneuver from place to place. Since the creators knew the controversy

that was bound to occur, they made sure to include everything possible that will not make

the people double think their opinions. The website does a great job of providing a map

that shows the whole layout of the park. This map shows all of the stages and where they

are located do the audience has an idea of how far apart each stage is from each other.

The map also shows the different locations of the water stations as well as the bathrooms.

During this time of year, Miami gets very hot and that makes it easier for the people to

become more dehydrated. With the water stations, people are able to fill up their water

bottle as they please. Water is already so expensive to buy at the event and nobody wants

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to spend the money on continuous bottles of water. With the water station, it makes it that

much more convenient for everyone. The bathrooms locations are also provided as well

as the food stations. This map could also be printed out before hand in order for the

customers to carry it around with them throughout the weekend. On March of 2013, Ultra

implemented a new rule to ensure extra safety with the loyal customers. According to

AXS, Natalie Wicks states “While we sincerely value the incredible ongoing support

from our younger fans, we ultimately believe that Ultra Music Festival is a premium

event geared towards adults.” This goes to show that even though the music festival

may have lost some loyal paying customers, safety always comes first.

Music was created for the sole purpose of unifying different groups of people

together. In the past, there have been many controversial issues about the concert. Music

was the only concrete thing that would hold the people together from all around the world

ranging from the many different kinds of races. For 3 days, people forget about the

controversies occurring around the world, and all of the racial concerns and quarrels that

are happening in every corner of the world. In these 3 days, people forget about the

negative issues happening in the world and all focus on one thing: electric dance music.

There is no judgment whatsoever in this concert. Everyone is there for one reason and

one reason only which is to have fun and enjoy the beauty of amazing music that was

produced by very talented people. The ability to attract hundreds and thousands of people

in one weekend just goes to show that this music festival isn’t all negative as some people

make it out to be. The online visual might give off a negative connotation of what the

concert really is but a person must experience it first hand in order to really see and

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experience the outrageous feeling of being at the live concert. No matter what,

assumptions will always be made. There is no way of stopping that from happening.

When it comes down to it, there will always be infinite amount of pros and cons

to this subject. People just have to learn how to always be open to hearing both sides of

each story before making any assumptions and judging the situation. Music is a form of

unique art. With unique forms of art, it is known that there will always be room for

controversy. This just means that Ultra Music Festival is something worth appreciating

with an open mind.

Works Cited

Ciotti, Gregory. "The Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding." The

Psychology of Color in Marketing and Branding. Help Scout, 6 Aug. 2013.

Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

"How to Use the Psychology of Color to Increase Website Conversions." How

to Use the Psychology of Color to Increase Website Conversions.

KISSmetrics, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

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"Ultra Music Festival." Ultra Music Festival. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.

Wicks, Natalie. "Ultra Music Festival Announces a Minimum Age Requirement

for 2015." AXS. AXS Contributor, 6 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.