AuguryFanaply Bets on Live Music: Warped Tour and Riot Fest Deals Set Stage for 2026 Push
This article was written by the Augury Times
Fanaply closes the year by bringing its app to Warped Tour and Riot Fest
Fanaply said it ended 2025 by signing integrations with two major festival brands: Warped Tour and Riot Fest. The company framed the partnerships as the latest step in turning festival attendees into repeat, trackable digital fans — not just one-day ticket buyers — and said the deals position it for a wider push across the festival circuit in 2026.
2025 performance: rising engagement, thin public detail on revenue
In its announcement, Fanaply pointed to higher engagement on its platform this year. The company described growth in active users at events where it ran pilots, higher completion rates for in-app challenges, and an uptick in sponsor activations. Those signals suggest the product is working in a live setting: people open the app, follow prompts, and stick around for sponsor content.
That said, Fanaply did not publish hard financial numbers in the release. The company shared percentage-style phrasing for engagement increases but gave no headline revenue figures, no breakdown of monthly active users, and no long-term contract values. Those gaps matter: pilot engagement can be promising without translating into consistent ticketed revenue or predictable sponsor fees.
For reporters and readers watching the business model, the missing pieces to verify include: exact user counts at the festivals, how many returning users the platform retained after events, and the economics of festival deals — whether Fanaply is paid per activation, earns a cut of merchandise or ticket upsells, or works on flat fees from organizers and sponsors.
How the Warped Tour and Riot Fest integrations work in practice
Fanaply’s festival product blends a lightweight event app with game-like elements. Attendees download or opt in at the gate, then unlock scavenger hunts, stage schedules, artist trivia, and sponsor challenges. The company says it wires these elements into the live schedule so fans get nudges — for example, reminders to visit a brand booth, claim a digital swag item, or check into a set for extra rewards.
On the activation side, Fanaply positions itself as a middle layer between festival production and sponsors. Instead of static banners or wristband scans, sponsors can deliver branded challenges that reward attendees with digital collectibles, discounts, or entries in sweepstakes. Fanaply claims this boosts meaningful interactions — brands get consented contact data and proof that someone engaged with a specific activation.
Fanaply also highlighted early pilot outcomes: higher-than-expected challenge completion rates and more time spent in-app during event days. The company framed those results as proof the approach lifts sponsor metrics. But the release didn’t quantify conversion rates from digital engagement to real-world purchases or sponsor ROI in dollars, which are the metrics buyers typically care about.
Fanaply’s 2026 playbook: scaling across festivals and venues
Fanaply sees 2026 as a scale year. The company told the press it plans to expand beyond single-event pilots into multi-festival contracts and venue rollouts that cover touring acts and regional festivals. That would shift Fanaply from a project-to-project vendor to a platform partner — a much larger and steadier opportunity if it succeeds.
The market for festival tech has grown in recent years. Organizers have been more willing to buy digital tools that improve crowd flow, sponsorship value, and safety. Competitors range from ticketing firms adding engagement layers to dedicated event-app startups and larger CRM platforms moving into experiences. Fanaply’s advantage, as it described it, is a product built specifically around gamified activations and collectible digital content tied to real events.
Still, scaling has pitfalls. Festivals operate on thin margins and can be conservative about charging attendees or giving sponsors untested placements. For Fanaply to win larger deals, it will need clear, reproducible proof that its features raise sponsorship fees or ticket revenue enough to justify adoption across diverse festival types and budgets.
Voices from Fanaply and festival organizers
In the company statement, Fanaply said the Warped Tour and Riot Fest deals illustrate growing organizer demand for “fan-first” digital experiences that make sponsor value measurable. The release included a line about making “every activation traceable and repeatable,” which signals the company’s sales pitch to brand partners.
Representatives from the festivals quoted in the announcement praised the pilot work as “interactive” and “audience-forward,” pointing to smoother sponsor handoffs and enthusiastic on-site participation. Those positive comments are useful, but they come from parties with a shared interest in promoting the activation, so independent verification would help when judging broader effectiveness.
Third-party data, independent sponsor feedback, or post-event conversion reports would strengthen the case that Fanaply’s approach delivers commercial lift rather than only engagement metrics.
What this means for festival operators, attendees and sponsors
For festival operators, Fanaply’s deals are a sign that digital engagement continues to be a practical lever for sponsorship revenue. If Fanaply can turn pilots into contracts with measurable sponsor ROI, adoption could accelerate. Attendees stand to gain smoother discovery of sets and chances to unlock perks — but they also risk more branded nudges during their festival experience.
For sponsors, the pitch is attractive: richer data and verified interactions are worth paying for. The question is whether the data converts to more sales or stronger brand lifts in a crowded festival environment.
Investor relevance is low to moderate. Fanaply’s moves signal product traction and a clear scaling ambition, but the lack of public revenue and retention numbers keeps the financial picture murky. The milestones to watch in 2026 are measurable: signed multi-event contracts, documented sponsor ROI in dollars, and any rollouts with larger venue partners or touring acts that prove the model works consistently.
Photo: Kampus Production / Pexels
Sources