Crossing the Transmedia Frontier

This study documents and explores the emerging trend of music festivals that are incorporating transmedia narratives into their programming. Through a study of music festivals, the concept of transmedia, and the emergence of a transmedia aspect to music festivals, the reader will gain a background to the field. I will then expand with three case study festivals: Midpoint Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio, Treasure Island Music Festival, in San Francisco, California, and South by Southwest, a music, film and interactive media festival in Austin, Texas. Through attendance, observation, and interviews of those associated with the festivals, a few trends emerge. This study serves to document these trends, and the place of a transmedia festival in a wider culture of media-consumer interaction.