Big 4 Music Festivals

Analyzing data of the four biggest music festivals in the US

Posted by Aditya Ranganathan on April 02, 2022 · 27 mins read

INTRO

Main Page This dashboard displays data regarding the 4 biggest music festivals held in the US: Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. It can be accessed from here.

Users can get an idea of the different acts performed in each of the festivals as well as the change in genres throughout the years, analyze the artisit lineup in detail for each festival, get a deeper understanding of some of the most famous artists who’ve performed at the festivals and finally see the timeline change in genres as well as the percentage of acts that make up the genre in each festival.

The data collected is from the years 1999 to 2015. The data comprises of different bands and the genres they represent, and the years played in diffferent festivals, their gross income etcetera.

While there is no source available, the author of the visualization has mentioned that the data has been taken from Wikipedia and other external sources.

This visualization was made for users who are either interested in music or are just curious about the various artists who perform at these festivals and those who wish to observe how the trend in genre and music ahs changed over time as these music festivals are considered to be the biggest in the US and can be assumed as a reference point in how music and culture has changed over time.

THE DASHBOARD

The dashboard consists of four sections, each corresponding to a different visualizations that focuses on a certain aspect of the festival.

Explore Trends The ‘Explore Trends’ section allows users to discover the various trends in genre that occur in each individual festival or in all the festivals as a whole. Users can discover the change in number of artists in a genre over a period of time, how popular a genre has become through the years and how fan-favourite artists and bands have become based on their frequency of performance at these festivals. Users can find the answers to these questions by observing the trend graph, highlighting the data they need and analyzing the tabular data and viewing the infomration on various artists.

Graph The graph in the centre displays the genre trend over time with each line corresponding to a specific genre and the points in the line denote the number of times Last.fm users have listened to songs by artists in that genre(ie. the playcount).

Highlight_Graph Users can filter the graph by either clicking on the line to filter the genre or by selecting the genre from the menu on the left side.

Fest Users can change the view of the graph by selecting the festival whose data the user wishes to analyze. The default option seems to be ‘All’ wich shows the overall genre trend in all of the festivals but users can drill down into each individual festival to find out more details.

Bands Users can also view data on the various artisits who’ve performed at the festivals. The table shows the artist name followed by the number of times they’re played in each festival. Each individual festival is denoted by a different colored musical note and the size of the musical note conveys the number of times the artist has played at the festival. Users also have the option of viewing data for a particular band by searching for it in the drop-down menu.

WHAT WORKS

  • The visualization is clearly divided into two halves with the left half displaying data regarding the changes in trends over time and the right half showing tabular information on various artists along with the frequency of attendance. This split makes it easy for users to understand and explore the visualization in dpeth

  • Multiple points of interactivity present allowing for greater user exploration. The trends on the graph are easily highlighted by clicking on them. Users can also highlight artists in the table which displays a pop-up showing a second graph that displays when artists have perfomred at festivals through time

  • note The size of musical notes in the table easily conveys the difference in number of times an artist has performed at the festival. The color-coding of the notes makes it easy to distinguish between the various festivals

  • The different genres are color-coded making it easier to identify on the graph

  • Graph is annotated at certain points showcasing different important events that have occurred throughout the timeline allowing for the user to get a better understanding of the bigger picture.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • The annotations filter doesn’t work. Regardless of option selected, the annotations are still displayed on the graph and cannot be removed.

  • While the size of the musical note conveys the number of times the artist has performed at a festival, there’s no legend that explains at what range the size of the note changes.

  • search The search bar allows users to scroll through varius artists and highlight the information they wish to see. But the large number of entries in the drop-down menu makes it difficult to search for a specific artist.

  • The large number of genres makes the bottom half of the graph appear cluttered

  • The list of currently applied filters is not shown to the user.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • The option to select/de-select genres allowing users to view information on only the genres they’ve selected. This will not only allow for easier exploration of data but can alo help to de-clutter the graph

  • Show a list of currently applied filters allowing for users to keep track of the changes made to the visualization. Add a reset button to remove all filters added

  • The option to type and search for specific bands in the table which improves efficiency of searching

  • The ability to filter both graph and table by genre. Currently they both exist as independent components but allowing users to filter the table by genre allows for greater analysis of data as users can observe the various artists associates with each genre increasing the dimensionality of inforamtion gained from the visualization.

POSTER COLLECTION - LINEUP DETAIL

Poster

Users can view data on the various lineups present in each festival in a specific year. Users can find the changes in poster design and increase/decrrease in artist lineup. Users can discover popular artists within a specific genre, how often a particular has perfomred at festivals, when did they perfomr and when was their first and last performance. Users can also discover number of artists in a lineup belonging to a specific genre and change in genre percentage through the years. These questions can be answered by filtering the data by year, poster bubble chart and bar graph.

This section is divided into four sections.

Users can select a poster from the given thumbnails categorized by year to show information regarding a specific festival.

poster_year Users can also click on the year to get overall inforamtion on all the festivals in that year, the overall number of artists who’ve performed and the genres they represent.

search Users can search for specific artists by scrolling through the drop-down menu. Selecting a specific artist displays the posters of the events they’ve played at along with the years in which they played.

bar Users can also see the breakdown of genre as a stacked bar. The genres are color-coded and display the percentage of artists associated with the genre for that specific year or festival. The bar also acts as a filter. Upon clicking a specific genre, users can view a bubble chart displaying the various artists in that genre in that particular year or event.

bubble The bubble chart displays information on various artists. Hovering over a bubble displays the verious sub-genres that an artist falls under while clicking on a bubble displays posters of the festivals the artist has performed at along with the year.

table The table shows information on artists, the total number of listeners on Last.fm and the total playcount up till the latest timeline present in the data.

WHAT WORKS

  • poster_year2 The ability to filter by year is great for users to view overall information for that particular year. Users can see the overall makeup of artists and the genres they represent

  • The option to filter artists by genre is great for users to explore the various acts associated with the genre

  • Multiple points of interactivity. Users can filter artist performances either through the drop-down menu or by clicking on the cooresponding bubble in the bubble chart.

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • The bubble chart gives no clear explanation regarding size of the bubbles.

  • It’s tedious and inefficient to scroll through the artist list and find the required entry

  • The table in the graph displays the latest listener and play count for that particular artist. But this information is not conveyed to the user. At first glance it may appear that the information in table corresponds to the selected year, when infact the table is static.

  • No option to reset filters. After application of filters, there’s no option to reset filters to show visualization in it’s default state. Users have to either click on a blank space within the visualization to reset it (this is far from intuitive) or refresh the entir webpage.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • The option to type and search for artists allowing users to find inforamtion more efficiently and quickly

  • A legend which gives more detail regarding the bubble chart such as the significance of the bubble size

  • The option change view of bubble chart based on popularity or playcount of artists

  • More information on hover. Currently very limited information is displayed when the user hovers over a bubble or genre bar. Inforamtion such as frequency of artist performances, popular artists in a genre for that particular year, playcount of genre for that particular year etc. could be displayed as well.

  • A dynamic table implementation that would show information corresponding to the year and artist selected. Currently, while the artists in the table change based on the lieup of the event, the information corresponding to each artist is static across the years. By changing this information to a more dynamic nature, users can uncover more information.

ARTIST ANALYSIS [A STORY]

This section consists of preselected analysis on different artists focusing on different aspects. Based on the sleected aspects, users can discover information on artists who’ve perfomred in all 4 festivals in a year, the rising and declining popularity of certain artists, highest grossing artists at a festival amongst others. The answers to these questions can be obtained by analyzing the individual visualizations and the tabular data present in them. The data can be further drilled down by sorting the table as per the users requirements and highlighting points of interest.

The 4-Timers Club

4timer This visualization shows the list of artists who’ve played in all 4 festivals in a single year.

The table shows the list of artists, the genre they’re associated to, the year they performed and playcount graph. Users can click on a particular artist to highlight their entry.

On hovering over the playcount bar, information is displayed regarding the festivals the artists have played at and the total Last.fm playcount. The ‘Festival Debut’ text indicates that the artist in question is playing for the first time in any festival.

Users can filter the entire artist list by genre through clicking on the bubble in the bubble chart. The size of the bubbles in the bubble chart indicates the number of artists associated with the genre. A larger bubble indicates more number of artists and vice-versa.

The bar graph at the bottom indicates the year and the genres for that specific year. Clicking on a specific year filters the artistis who’ve performed in that particular year.

WHAT WORKS

  • The bubble chart clearly conveys inforamtion regarding genre and the number of acts. The color-coding of the bubble chart makes it easier for users to identify and drill-down the table by genre

  • The bar graph easily allows users to filter data by year. The stacked bar plot allows users to easily identify the genre in each year and hovering over a block displays the artist information

  • The components in the visualization are well placed with the left-half displaying the table info and the right-half displaying the graphs and filters

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • The bubble chart and bar graph simultaneously filter the table. But this information os not conveyed to the user. A user could click on ‘EDM’ and select ‘2009’ and see a blank page with no data and no message

  • Clicking on the individual blocks in the stacked bar highlights the block which also implies information specific to that block can be displayed but instead it displays the same information as clicking on the year.

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • Option to sort table information by playcount or genre allowing for easier and more efficient viewing of data

  • Option to filter data by ‘Festival Debut’, allowing users to see list of new debutantes

  • An error message that is displayed when any clash in filter occurs giving users feedback that their option choice needs to be changed

Highest Grossing Tour Acts

gross This visualization displays information regarding who’ve toured in festivals and the gross income generated by them.

Users can view information regarding the artist, year, the gross value and the festival they played at from the table.

Users can filter the table by clicking on the bar in the bar graph. The bar graph is color-coded by festival and the number displayed on top of the bar indicates the number of artists in the table who’ve performed at the festival

WHAT WORKS

  • The bar graph allows for easy understanding and filtering of data

  • The visualization is well placed and users can easily view and analyze data

  • The color-coding allows for users to easily distinguish between festivals.

  • The stars next to the artist allow users to easily identify the festivals at which the artists performed at

  • Users can sort table by individual columns allowing for greater readability and analysis for users

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • No explanation regarding artists without stars next to them

  • Empty values in year

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • More clarification regarding artist information and the festivals they’ve played at and the gross values earned

  • More information on hover could be displayed such as the genre they’re associated to, the incomes earned etcetera.

“Stale Acts” ?

stale Users can view information on artists who are in the decline.

Users can see the artist listing, the years they first and last performed, the number of appearances, touring span, trending peak year and deviation form peak, and a line graph showing trend over a period of time.

WHAT WORKS

  • Users can sort tables via the individual columns

  • The tabular format is simple and easy to understand

  • On hovering on the line graph, information is concisely displayed making it easy for users to keep track of

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • No proper explanation explanation regarding how decline is calculated. This information is not conveyed to the user in any way

  • The line graph conveys very little meaning. The size of point signifies the number of records but that has very little relation to the topic in question. On hovering, apart from the year and number of records, the rest of the information is static and users can gain no further information from this.

  • Small size of line graph makes it difficult to interpret

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • Text describing in detail what the table informations tracks and how the information is tracked

  • Legend that describes in detail what the line graph tracks and what the size of the points signify

  • Line graph that plots playcount by year or number of listeners by year which would be more appropriate in tracking decline

REUNION ?

reunion This visualization shows artists who’ve toured frequently, but haven’t toured in a while.

It follows a simplistic tabular form showing information on artists, first and last appearance, number of appearances, touring span and a line graph showing trend over time.

WHAT WORKS
  • Like previous visualizations, the tabular form is easy to understand and can be sorted by individual columns allowing for greater readability and analysis of data
WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • Bad placement of graph header at the bottom. Users need to scroll till the bottom of the page to understand what the graph tracks

  • No real expalanation of how the artists have been selected or what factors contributed to the selection of the artists displayed

  • Small size of line graph makes it difficult to interpret

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • Text detailing further info on how artists were selected

  • Legend describing what the graph tracks and significance of point size in graph

  • Increase size of line graph for greater readability.

“On Fire” !

fire This visualization displays list of artists who’ve gained popularity over the years and have started playing more frequently in festivals.

Simplistic interface makes it easy to read and analyze information.

Users can view artist listing, first and last appearance, number of appearnces, touring span, trending peak, deviation from peak and line graph showing trend.

Like previous entries, this visualization has the same advantages and disadvantages as previous ones. The tables can be sorted by individual columns for grater readability and analysis.

There is again, no explanation on waht factors contribute to the selection of the artists for the given objective and no legend explaining the significance of the line graph and what the points in the graph indicate.

Gaps Between Appearnaces ?

gaps The table keeps track of artists who’ve taken a long gap between performing in festivals. The artists are selected based on the large value of touring span.

Users can view and sort data by the individual columns artist name, first and last appearnce, number of appearnaces, touring span and line graph.

Like previous visualizations, there is no expalnation or legend regarding the line graph, what it signifies and what the points in the line indicate.

All of these issues could be resolved by giving more information to the users such as a legend and a text explanation which goes in-depth on the factors which cause the basis of selection.

GENRE VARIETY

genre This visualization tracks the number of artists associated with each genre over a period of time in each festival. Users can find what changes have occurred in genre as time progresses, how popular/unpopular certain genre have become, the time taken for new artists to arrive in a genre and how different festivals cater to different genre with change in time and number of artists. These answers can be deduced from the bar graph along with the filters to swithc between different years and tracking the differences that occur between the years.

genregraph Users can view bar graph where each bar corresponds to a specific genre and the number on top of the bar indicates the percentage of artists who’ve performed at the festival.

toggle Users can either view the overall data, or can view the change in genres and artists over a period of time by clicking on ‘Year-by-Year Animation’ and using the left and right toggles to swith between years.

WHAT WORKS

  • Genres are color-coded to make it easier to distinguish between users and make it more readable.

  • Graph is divided into different sections based on the festival. This makes ot easier for users to analyze and compare the number of artists in a particular genre between festivals. This goes a step further as users can also take into consideration time and observe the changes that occur in each festival as time proceeds.

  • Search bar allows for selection of a specific year. This bar is enabled when clicking on ‘Year-by-Year Animation’

  • Hovering over the individual bars gives more infomration regarding number of artists in the genre and what percentage they make of the total artists who’ve performed at the festival.

  • The shaded bars in the ‘Year-by-Year Animation’ shows the difference in number of artists over the years allowing users to keep track of these changes while analyzing data

  • Sliding bar allowing users to easily switch between the years

WHAT DOESN’T WORK

  • The stop/play toggle in between the left and right toggles doesn’t work. Users have to manually click on the toggles to swithc between the years instead of seeing it in one go

  • Large number of genres makes graph looks cluttered

  • Filter button is obscured from user. User must first click on the filter button to enable the option, and then click on individual genres to highlight them

SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT

  • The option to filter out different genres by simply clicking on them for greater readability and in-depth analysis of data by the user.

  • Play button to see the timeline move and more easily observe the changes happening

CONCLUSION

Users can come up with their own analysis by going through the visualization and discovering patterns or points of interest.

← Previous Post Next Post →