[null, null, {"document_url": "https://www.barrons.com/articles/tech-made-sweet-music-commerce-at-bottlerock-show-1527532525", "unformatted_src": "https://asset.barrons.com/public/resources/images/ON-CN791_square_D_20180522113325.jpg", "src": "https://asset.barrons.com/public/resources/images/ON-CN791_square_D_20180522113325.jpg", "formatted_filename": "ON CN square D", "alt_text": "Tech Made Sweet Music, Commerce At BottleRock Festival"}, null, {"document_url": "https://www.barrons.com/articles/tech-made-sweet-music-commerce-at-bottlerock-show-1527532525", "unformatted_src": "https://asset.barrons.com/public/resources/images/ON-CN791_square_D_20180522113325.jpg", "src": "https://asset.barrons.com/public/resources/images/ON-CN791_square_D_20180522113325.jpg", "formatted_filename": "ON CN square D"}, null]
The View From (Near) Silicon Valley

Music festivals conjure images of the unwashed masses crammed into holding pens of dust-filled fields, baked by the sun and blistered by mega-sized amplifiers.

Not the most personalized experience.

So when 120,000 people braved the Memorial Day weekend to attend BottleRock, a three-day bacchanal in Napa, Calif., to see Bruno Mars, The Killers, Muse, and others, more of the same was expected.


Technology is transforming the show – from viewing and shopping, to WiFi service and food delivery – into an app-enriched experience many in nearby Silicon Valley have grown to expect.

The experience at BottleRock is what consumers have come to expect in everyday life, Jon Glickstein, senior vice president of enterprise partnerships at Live Nation (LYV), tells Barron's. The live-entertainment giant and Cisco Systems, who have installed WiFi in 28 amphitheaters in the U.S., this year for the first time offered WiFi for fans in BottleRock's VIP section.

Services from Cisco (ticker: CSCO), Square (SQ), Apple (AAPL), Twitter (TWTR), and Amazon (AMZN) were hard to miss. Twitter, for the first time, live-streamed performances from the three-day festival. Square Register and Apple Pay services processed transactions throughout the venue. Salesforce (CRM) and Samsung Electronics (South Korea: 005930) had major physical presences with booths and VIP seating.

The most intriguing app, which was being tested by Amazon for possibly wider commercial use, let concertgoers bypass long merchandise lines and purchase goods by scanning a QR code posted at the booth and having them shipped.

The combination of tech and music cuts both ways: Not only does Live Nation’s digital agenda provide a blueprint for future shows and events that enhance a fans' experience, the tech companies involved see an opportunity to expand their brand name footprint through the affluent demographic that usually attends high-priced music festivals.

Branching into live shows for tech companies – Apple and Samsung see (and hear) the wisdom through their music-related products and services – makes solid business sense. [Apple has more than 40 million paid subscribers.] Live Nation registered a 19% jump in first-quarter revenue, to $1.5 billion, on an increase in shows, up 22% to nearly 4,900. The company's Ticketmaster division had its biggest quarter ever, with almost 60 million tickets sold.

Shows like BottleRock "let us connect with consumers in a new way… and transform the fan experience," Michele Janes, vice president of Cisco’s global corporate marketing and branding, tells Barron's. Her division includes entertainment and sports events.

"This deepens the fans' experience," she says.

And it deepens the exposure of some of tech's biggest names in a coveted, flourishing market. Tech Made Sweet Music, Commerce At BottleRock Festival


