Summer of streaming: Festivals report viewership boom

Major festivals have reported huge increases in global livestream and broadcast viewership this summer, with year-on-year increases of up to 324%.

From terrestrial TV to TikTok, collaborations with digital and traditional platforms are democratising access to live music and enabling fandom to transcend borders.

A prime example is Japan’s Fuji Rock, which has garnered an “unprecedented” global audience through its partnership with Amazon Music. Last year, the Smash Corporation-promoted event set the record for the most-viewed festival livestream in the service’s history, only to surpass that in 2025.

Fans could stream select performances from the festival’s four main stages on Amazon Music and Twitch, free of charge and without a membership. The livestream of the 2025 festival, held at Niigata Prefecture’s Naeba Ski Resort from 25–27 July, not only brought worldwide attention to international artists such as Fred again.., James Blake, Four Tet, but also to Japanese artists.

“The record-breaking success of Fuji Rock 2025 represents a pivotal moment in our mission to connect music fans with unforgettable live experiences,” Kirdis Postelle, global head of content, Amazon Music, tells IQ.

“Fandom knows no borders”

“Whether it’s Fuji Rock in Japan, Primavera Sound in Spain, or Stagecoach in Indio, customers from around the world come to Amazon Music to experience the most important festival livestreams. This reinforces what we’ve known all along—that fandom knows no borders. Our strategy isn’t just about broadcasting these incredible festivals; it’s about creating meaningful connections between artists and their fans worldwide, whether they’re watching from the front row or their living room.”

Tomorrowland 2025 has also broken new ground through its long-standing partnership with TikTok, setting the audience record for a live event on the platform.

More than 74 million unique viewers watched TikTok LIVE streams from the festival across both weekends, shattering the previous record of 16 million set in 2023.

As the EDM spectacular’s official content partner, TikTok broadcast a 24/7 livestream from the Mainstage, Freedom Stage and OneWorldRadio, sharing all content in the #Tomorrowland in-app content hub on TikTok.

“This holistic global partnership has taken Tomorrowland on TikTok to a new level, making it one of the strongest music accounts on the platform, and creating incredible impact, engagement and value – both on- and off-platform – for the artists participating in and supporting this amazing campaign,” says Michael Kümmerle, global head of music partnership development at TikTok.

“Everyone can enjoy their own slice of this special festival spirit”

Montreux Jazz, meanwhile, experienced a 324% year-on-year increase in livestream views in 2025, surpassing 2.5 million views on YouTube and 7.5 million across all social platforms.

Montreux Media Ventures, set up to expand the festival’s audio-visual offering on the back of its UNESCO-registered concert archive, streamed 21 out of 28 concerts from the Lake Stage.

In addition to livestreams, Bonard’s team also works with artists on commercial releases. In 2024, Raye released a record of her Montreux performance within six weeks of the show, with others now looking at a similar model, bringing direct commercial benefit to the festival.

Later this month, Superbloom will set a precedent as the first German festival to be livestreamed on Amazon Music. The Munich festival’s managing & festival director, Fruzsina Szép, says the deal marks a “major milestone” for an event still in its infancy.

“It not only proves how firmly Superbloom has established itself within the European festival landscape but also allows us to share our unique festival magic, music, and energy with fans everywhere,” she tells IQ. “We’re thrilled to take the Superbloom experience far beyond Munich, ensuring that everyone can enjoy their own slice of this special festival spirit.”

“A key driver of [Rock am Ring’s] rise was our long-standing partnership with MTV, which broadcast the festival worldwide”

Fellow German festival Rock am Ring, however, has long gleaned the benefits of broadcasting partnerships.

“A key driver of [Rock am Ring’s] rise was our long-standing partnership with MTV, which broadcast the festival worldwide,” PRK DreamHaus’ Matt Schwarz tells IQ.

“The live coverage reached fans as far as South America and Eastern Europe, where people would gather just to watch those performances. Combined with the iconic racetrack setting and an unrivalled, passionate artists and audience, those broadcasts created a kind of magic that resonated far beyond Germany.”

For the 2025 edition, which marked 40 years of the Nürburgring festival, Rock am Ring teamed up with Germany’s largest media brand, BILD, to provide extensive editorial and digital coverage of the anniversary weekend, including a free livestream of the main stage.

According to organisers, the video of the livestream attracted up to 90,000 simultaneous viewers over the weekend and was viewed more than 26 million times.

For this year’s Glastonbury, the BBC livestreamed more than 90 hours of performances with coverage across TV, radio, iPlayer, online and social media.

Coverage of Glastonbury is one of the biggest jewels in the BBC’s crown, evidenced by a record-breaking 23.1 million people watching the festival on TV in 2023.

Speaking on the value of livestreams, Alison Howe, executive producer at BBC Studios for Glastonbury on TV, says: “All we’re ever trying to do is just offer the best seat in the house.”

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