Music festivals are a place where we go to escape all the stress in our lives. Festivals are a place to make new friends & have amazing experiences. A place to enjoy hours upon hours of music that gives us goosebumps, & an outlet for self-expression.
There are very few places that offer the kind of acceptance and whimsy that music festivals do.
The Growth of Festivals & The Rise of Theft
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]
Music festivals are growing. The total number of attendees, the number of events, & ticket prices are all growing. Many of these festival-goers are leaving festivals with fond memories and a smile on their face. Yet there is a growing issue. The festival community has been plagued by an ever-growing issue: THEFT. A study by Cooney & Conway suggests that as many as 1 in 7 music festival-goers will be stolen from… And that number is increasing. The people who are committing these acts of crime are certainly wrong, but they have found the perfect place to execute their wrongdoing. The stage is set perfectly for them (quite literally). They have tons of cover due to the size of the crowd; they know people are often in an inebriated state or they are very distracted by their favorite act on the main stage.
Large crowds of people are mushed together, constantly touching shoulders, backs, arms, legs, etc. of other peers. It has caused attendees to become desensitized when they are touched because it has become expected when they are in large crowds. Combine this with a laser focus on their favorite act, and they are a prime target for a pickpocket. Then the night falls and darkness gives the pickpocket an added layer of cover to potentially steal your phone that is worth a couple of hundred dollars on the black market… Even if it is cloud locked.
With all events factored in, this is a thief’s dream. They can stick their hand in your pocket or backpack without you having any idea. While some people like to say they are always protecting themselves against theft, it is almost inevitable that they or someone they know will have something stolen. These thieves have tactics that thwart the most guarded attendees and the police presence on site. By traveling in a pack and armed with a systematic plan from the minute they walk into the festival to the minute they walk out they are able to leave with $8,000 worth of festival-goer valuables to be sold for a profit. In a recent article about thieves running rampant at FireFly Music Festival 2019, some attendees were able to recover their possessions with the aid of the local police department. Although most wear not able to recover their phones and other possessions.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”5304″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]
Relentless Beats & GenZ Unite To Stop Theft at GoldRush Music Festival
GenZ, outdoor gear and apparel start-up, is here to help. The team of athletes and festival goers became aware of this problem and saw other areas where festival-goers could also elevate their experience. Launching this past March GenZ released the RaveRunner® hydration pack. The RaveRunner® is an anti-theft, fully customizable & easily re-fillable hydration backpack with tons of other bells-and-whistles included ranging from a solar panel charger to a sound reactive disco ball known as under-glow, to easily threaded EL wire. With raving reviews, the RaveRunner® has quickly become known as the ultimate festival hydration pack. At GenZ we do not want to limit our help through just a product, but rather to spread awareness of this on-going issue.
In April, Jason Euler, the partnership manager at Relentless Beats, a leader in dance music promotion reached out to GenZ. Jason asked about the possibility of a partnership stressing that Relentless Beats had to hire more security due to the growing issue. Previous efforts such as going cashless with RFID wristbands have greatly helped, but thieves were targeting phones, small electronics, and attendees were still bringing their wallets with credit cards. Jason stressed that theft is an ongoing problem and partnering. Through partnering with GenZ both brands look to increase the experience that festival-goers are seeking. We were honored and found this to be the perfect opportunity to run a strong awareness campaign to our fellow festival-goers. As well as align with a company that prioritizes its fans and their experiences above all else. Over the past couple of months, GenZ and Relentless Beats crafted a campaign “to take a strong stance against theft,” said Euler. With sponsoring the upcoming Goldrush Music Festival in late September, GenZ and Relentless Beats will be running a marketing campaign to raise awareness about this problem and how to have a more enjoyable experience. “At GenZ we believe that all festival-goers are entitled to nothing short of an amazing time. That is what we are here to do,” said Ryan Lange, the founder of GenZ.” Whether you are wearing a RaveRunner® or not, we want to make sure that you are carefree and safe,” said Lange.
With the ever going problem of theft on the rise, Relentless beats and GenZ are here to begin to turn the tide and take steps to put these thieves totally out of business. This is our community, our home, our festival, and it’s our obligation to run these pickpockets out of town,” Lange exclaimed.
JOIN US
Leave a Reply