Awakenings
Awakenings, founded in 1997 in Amsterdam and operated by Monumental Productions B.V., organizes large-scale techno events including the Awakenings Festival (80,000+ visitors from 80+ countries), Upclose, ADE club nights, and international stages, serving global techno music enthusiasts through ticketing, camping, hospitality, and sponsorship.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Awakenings does
Awakenings, operated by Monumental Productions B.V., is a Dutch live-music event company founded in 1997 in Amsterdam that organizes some of the world's largest dedicated techno events. The company's product portfolio centers on the annual Awakenings Festival at Hilvarenbeek (80,000+ visitors from 80+ countries across a single weekend, 120+ artists in 8 areas), the smaller-format Upclose festival at Spaarnwoude, an Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) club-night series at SugarFactory, recurring shows at the Gashouder and Ziggo Dome venues in Amsterdam, and an exclusive hosting stage at Spain's Monegros Desert Festival. Awakenings generated 300,000+ visitor attendances per year across all events.
The business operates a multi-stream revenue model anchored by ticket sales through its Bleep-powered shop.awakenings.com storefront, complemented by tiered camping and accommodation packages (Grand, Comfort, Low Stimulus Camping, glamping, Beekse Bergen safari tents and cottages), on-site food and beverage (100% vegetarian vendor policy), branded merchandise through store.awakenings.nl, and a sponsorship roster that includes Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Bud (Heineken), Lipton, and Bar-Le Duc. Regular festival tickets are priced at 75 (currency not stated, consistent with EUR); premium upgrades and loyalty/early-bird tiers are routinely sold out. International distribution is supported by six dedicated travel partners covering Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.
Awakenings is privately held and currently owned by KKR following its June 2024 acquisition of Superstruct Entertainment from Providence Equity Partners; the company had previously been acquired by SFX Entertainment in September 2014. Monumental Productions B.V. is the operating Dutch entity and is headquartered in Amsterdam, with 48 employees per firmographic data (and ~18 permanent staff within Monumental Productions specifically per the headcount source). Underlying technology is third-party (Bravoure for the website, Bleep for ticketing); there is no proprietary AI/ML, data, or platform layer described. The company's competitive position rests on 25+ years of brand heritage, exclusive venue relationships, artist curation, and a strong international community rather than on technology differentiation.
Awakenings firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Awakenings
- Legal name
- Monumental Productions B.V.
- Website
- https://awakenings.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Awakenings, founded in 1997 in Amsterdam and operated by Monumental Productions B.V., organizes large-scale techno events including the Awakenings Festival (80,000+ visitors from 80+ countries), Upclose, ADE club nights, and international stages, serving global techno music enthusiasts through ticketing, camping, hospitality, and sponsorship.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Awakenings industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Music Events & Festival Production
- NAICS
- Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- DJ & Electronic Music Venues (MPAGAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Nightclubs & Dance Clubs (THAFAEAC), Party DJ, Music & Audio Services (HSACACAI)
Keywords
Where Awakenings is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Amsterdam
- HQ country
- Netherlands
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
Awakenings business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Event ticketing: The primary revenue stream comes from ticket sales across all Awakenings events (Awakenings Festival, Upclose, ADE club nights, and international events). Tickets are sold via the Bleep platform with various tiers including regular, premium, loyalty, and early-bird pricing. Camping and travel packages are also sold as add-ons.
- Camping & accommodation packages: The Awakenings Festival offers multiple camping tiers (Grand Camping, Comfort Camping, Low Stimulus Camping), glamping options, and Beekse Bergen cottage/safari tent accommodations. Weekend festival tickets are bundled with accommodation packages.
- Food & beverage: All Awakenings events feature 100% vegetarian food vendors operating on-site. Revenue is generated through food and drink sales at festival grounds and campsites.
- Merchandise: Awakenings operates a merchandise store (store.awakenings.nl) selling branded apparel and accessories.
- Brand sponsorships: Sponsors including Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Bud, Lipton, Bar-Le Duc, and others provide commercial partnerships and brand visibility across Awakenings events.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Regular festival ticket (Awakenings Festival) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Premium weekend ticket upgrade |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Camping tickets (Grand, Comfort, Low Stimulus) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Tree donation (Trees for All) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels9 records
Marketing channels4 records
Awakenings product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Awakenings produces and sells large-scale techno music events, including the flagship multi-day Awakenings Festival at Hilvarenbeek, the Upclose festival at Spaarnwoude, ADE club nights at SugarFactory, Gashouder, and Ziggo Dome, and an international hosted stage at Monegros in Spain. Tickets, camping, premium upgrades, travel/stay packages, and branded apparel are sold primarily through the Bleep-powered shop.awakenings.com and store.awakenings.nl to individual festival-goers.
Product overview
Awakenings is a techno event company offering a portfolio of live music experiences and hospitality services. The core offering consists of large-scale festivals (Awakenings Festival in Hilvarenbeek and Upclose at Spaarnwoude), multi-night venue events (ADE series, Gashouder, Ziggo Dome, SugarFactory), and international events (Monegros in Spain). The portfolio is complemented by add-on services including camping accommodations (Grand, Comfort, and Low Stimulus options), premium ticket upgrades, travel and stay packages, and official apparel merchandise. All offerings are managed under Monumental Productions with events organized at various venues across the Netherlands and internationally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 300,000+ visitors per year across all events
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Awakenings
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Awakenings technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Awakenings partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Coca-ColaminorCoca-Cola is listed as a partner of Awakenings. The nature of the partnership is not detailed but appears in the Partners page showing logo display.
- Red BullminorRed Bull is listed as a partner of Awakenings with logo display on the Partners page.
- Bar-Le DucminorBar-Le Duc (Dutch beverage brand) is listed as a partner of Awakenings with logo display.
- Bud (Heineken)minorBud (Heineken-owned beer brand) is listed as a partner with logo display.
- Lipton (Lipton Iced Tea)minorLipton is listed as a partner with logo display on the Partners page.
- Trees for AllcoreSince 2011, Awakenings has partnered with Trees for All to plant trees on their behalf and compensate CO2 emissions. Awakenings donates 2% of income from every parking and shuttle bus ticket. For the 20-year anniversary, 2020 trees were planted. Current project focuses on restoring tropical forest and orangutan habitat on Borneo (Sebangau National Park).
- Bridges for MusiccoreAwakenings has a long-standing partnership with Bridges for Music (non-profit academy in South Africa). Awakenings offers 4 scholarships per year, mentors 2 students, and collects mandatory guest list donations for the organization. Students from the academy have created playlists for Awakenings Festival.
- Handicap NLcoreHandicap NL is a Dutch organization specialized in providing care for persons needing extra attention. They are present at Awakenings Festival with multiple volunteers to assist visitors and help around the festival and campsite.
- Circular FestivalsminorAwakenings participates in The Green Deal Circulair Festivals, an initiative by the Dutch Government for sustainable event practices.
- Green EventsminorGreen Events assists Awakenings in making events more accessible and sustainable. Awakenings also contributes to ADE Green, the sustainable conference program of Amsterdam Dance Event.
- Celebrate SafeminorCelebrate Safe is listed as a partner, likely related to social safety initiatives.
- National Park SpaarnwoudeminorNational Park Spaarnwoude is the host location for Awakenings Festival (Upclose). Awakenings invests in the park annually and collaborates with its residents.
- SexmattersminorSexmatters is an independent foundation committed to raising acceptance, equality, and social inclusion. They work with Awakenings on social safety, providing impartial advice on incidents and developing the Safer Clubbing project for nightlife venues.
- Patta AcademyminorAwakenings hosts a masterclass day together with ID&T to inspire students of the Patta Academy (talent school for young entrepreneurs in Amsterdam) on organizing events.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Awakenings competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- EXIT Festival: Serbian multi-genre music festival at Petrovaradin Fortress with strong electronic music programming. Comparable in scale, festival duration, and European electronic music positioning to Awakenings.
- Creamfields: UK-based electronic music festival held annually in Daresbury. Comparable to Awakenings in scale (80,000+ capacity), camping format, multi-stage programming, and electronic/dance music focus.
- Ultra Music Festival: Miami-based electronic music festival brand with global editions (Miami, Europe, Asia). Directly comparable to Awakenings as a premier electronic music event brand with international licensing model and EDM fan base.
- Tomorrowland: World's largest electronic music festival held annually in Boom, Belgium. Directly comparable to Awakenings as a global, multi-genre EDM festival with camping, premium tiers, and massive international attendance. Same business model (festival + ticket + camping + sponsorship).
- Sensation: ID&T's premier electronic dance event brand (white-tie themed). Comparable as a large-scale Dutch electronic event with international editions and similar target demographic, though more mainstream/house than Awakenings' techno focus.
- Mysteryland: Dutch electronic music festival and another Superstruct/Monumental Productions sister brand. Comparable festival format, camping, and electronic music focus, though broader multi-genre than Awakenings' techno focus.
- Time Warp: German-based techno event series (Time Warp Mannheim) with editions in multiple countries. The most direct techno-specific peer to Awakenings, targeting the same hardcore techno audience with single-night to multi-day formats.
- DGTL: Amsterdam-based electronic music festival brand and sister company to Awakenings under Superstruct/Monumental Productions. Same target audience, similar sustainability positioning, comparable scale. Strongest direct comparable as an internal peer.
- Movement (Detroit): Detroit's flagship techno festival held at Hart Plaza. Direct techno genre comparable to Awakenings, though smaller scale and North American focused.
Broad incumbents
- Defqon.1 (Q-dance): Hard dance/hardstyle festival brand, owned by ID&T (which became part of LiveStyle/SFX, same lineage as Awakenings). Comparable as large-scale Dutch electronic festival with camping, but focused on hard dance subgenre rather than techno.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Awakenings social profiles
Digital presenceAwakenings financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Awakenings leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Awakenings subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Awakenings funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Awakenings M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Awakenings
What does Awakenings do?
Awakenings produces and sells large-scale techno music events, including the flagship multi-day Awakenings Festival at Hilvarenbeek, the Upclose festival at Spaarnwoude, ADE club nights at SugarFactory, Gashouder, and Ziggo Dome, and an international hosted stage at Monegros in Spain. Tickets, camping, premium upgrades, travel/stay packages, and branded apparel are sold primarily through the Bleep-powered shop.awakenings.com and store.awakenings.nl to individual festival-goers.
Is Awakenings a public or private company?
Awakenings is a private company. It is classified as private equity controlled and is currently operating.
When was Awakenings founded?
Awakenings was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Awakenings based?
Awakenings is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.
How does Awakenings make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Event ticketing is the primary driver. The others are camping & accommodation packages, food & beverage, merchandise and brand sponsorships.
Who are Awakenings's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are EXIT Festival, Creamfields, Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland, Sensation, Mysteryland, Time Warp, DGTL and Movement (Detroit). Defqon.1 (Q-dance) is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Awakenings have an API?
No public API is recorded for Awakenings.
What industry is Awakenings in?
Awakenings's product category is Live Music Events & Festival Production. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAIAE, DJ & Electronic Music Venues, with a secondary code of THAFAEAC, Nightclubs & Dance Clubs. Its NAICS code is 71 and its SIC code is 7900.