Tinder — the online-dating app — has had its share of updates looking to attract younger users. Now the company is trying to makes it way into the music festival market.
Its latest update, Festival Mode, helps people find other festival attendees in their area. The feature allows people to name which upcoming festival they will be attending through badges and match with other people who plan on attending. This helps people find a group before stepping foot on festival grounds.
So far, Festival Mode is only available for EDC Las Vegas, Hangout Music Fest, All Points East Governors Ball, Parklife, Bonnaroo, Firefly, and a list of other U.K.- based festivals. But who knows, it may expand to popular festivals like Afropunk The Roots Picnic, and Broccoli City Fest. Users get access to the badges about three weeks prior to each event.
People who use Tinder’s Festival Mode will also have the chance to get access to exclusive VIP upgrades, swag, and more.
Festival Mode is pretty similar to one of Tinder’s previous updates, Spring Break Mode which aimed to link you with your “vacay-bae.” Tinder’s updates highlight its move toward younger crowds who aren’t necessarily looking for love. Its parent company Match recently acquired another dating app Hinge, whose audience is more for working millennials.
The music festival market is potentially worth millions of dollars. According to Techcrunch, more than 30 million people are expected to attend at least one festival this year. In fact, Governor’s Ball, one of the more popular festivals in the world and one Tinder is launching it’s service on, had about 150,000 attendees in 2017 and has gotten so popular that it’s expanded to a three-day event.
