Forced to be festive? A study of the main differences in intent between music festivals in Amsterdam and Rotterdam based on online content.

This thesis explores the music festival fields in the two largest cities in the Netherlands, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and compares them in order to identify if and how they are different. Through an in-depth analysis of the “intent” by means of the software of ATLAS.ti, we examine if there are noticeable differences in music festivals in Amsterdam and Rotterdam considering online content. In addition, if so, what the main differences are and what the underlying reasons are for the perceived differences. Specifically, we consider the role that urban policies could play in relation to online festival intentions. We find that there are differences between cities, differences between genres and that these differences can be explained by the role of urban policies and the corresponding effects of city marketing. Moreover, the intentions of festivals in relation to urban policies and city marketing are a topic of debate.