Why has Glastonbury got so popular?

[Hello... I'm Johnny Cash]

Double post

Edited May 12, 2014 by Hello... I'm Johnny Cash

[julesangel]

I've often wondered if demand really does outstrip supply by that much?

I've been going since 2003 and nobody in my group (average size of approximately 10) has ever failed to get a ticket - that can't solely be down to just luck?

Sure, we get organised and work as a team. Plus the info on this website tips the odds slightly in our favour but not by that much.

For the first time ever this year one of our group had to rely on the resale (although that was due to our cock up with the registration numbers), but even then we ended up with 4 out of a possible 5 of us getting the order screen up in time to by the 1 ticket we needed.

I might be wrong, but my impression is that the internet has made the demand seem a lot higher that it really is.

[russycarps]

I'm in a facebook group of around 50 and all bar 8 failed to get tickets in either the main sale or the re-sale. They have all been going for years so I think it must be harder to get tickets every year. Having said that, although I missed out on the mainsale, I got through 5 times in the re-sale, so I dunno.

I do also think that Glasto is so popular because it's the only festival where you can openly bring in your own booze. This makes a massive difference to the budget for the 5 days. If I had to buy alcohol, it would cost me a fortune.

[drewsstrat]

No uk festival compares in terms of size , diversity, pulling power (via better tv coverage), and being closer to free spirited festivals of the 70s (ie non corporate). Also they have done well to keep both sides of the demographic happy. Picking bands that dads and kids can watch together to headline keeps us old crinklies happy. Of course when you get the glastonbury bug it doesn't matter who plays (and I guess the fuss about who is playing, on eboards comes mainly from newbies)

[FloorFiller]

the booze thing never occurred to me as much of a deal breaker, but when you think of festivals like Coachella where you have designated drinking areas, Glastonbury is amazing in that respect isn't it? imagine having to be pretty much sober for the entire day or miss out on acts if you wanted a pint

as said above, the sheer variety of acts available at Glastonbury is also a great selling point. they've got pretty much everything bar regular metal acts playing (something which might change in the future now that Metallica are topping the bill, although probably not too much) so pretty much anybody can go and find something

it's just the whole package really. take away one of these aspects and the festival lessens so. but all of it together makes it almost faultless (especially when compared to the corporate, single-minded ways of other festivals)

[kabillion]

Remember that Glasto 2008 didn't sell out straight away as the previous couple of years before it. Festivals (and Glastonbury) are very popular. However, there were a number of festivals last year that were cancelled due to low ticket sales. Also, I think a couple of very wet Glastonburys in a row would reduce the amount of people going for tickets.

[kabillion]

I do wonder if Metalica was announced before tickets went on sale, would that affected the volumes of people trying to get tickets. (I still think it would have sold out).

Lineup doesn't bother me at all, as the festival (as we all know) is more then just that. However, I remember when Jay-Z was announced for '08, some of my group decieded to not bother that year.

No uk festival compares in terms of size , diversity, pulling power (via better tv coverage), and being closer to free spirited festivals of the 70s (ie non corporate). Also they have done well to keep both sides of the demographic happy. Picking bands that dads and kids can watch together to headline keeps us old crinklies happy. Of course when you get the glastonbury bug it doesn't matter who plays (and I guess the fuss about who is playing, on eboards comes mainly from newbies)

[russycarps]

In sure the dreadful weather of 2007 had more of an impact than JayZ. But I do think Jay Z was probably the last straw for a lot of people that were on the verge of giving the festival up anyway, considering how much the festival had changed in the 2000s.

[Rumblestripe]

I think I'm right in saying that Beautiful Days is also booze "friendly" in that you take your own in anywhere in the festival. It was one of the alternatives I looked at when I was staring down the barrel of no tickets.

[Perks]

I'm in a facebook group of around 50 and all bar 8 failed to get tickets in either the main sale or the re-sale. They have all been going for years so I think it must be harder to get tickets every year. Having said that, although I missed out on the mainsale, I got through 5 times in the re-sale, so I dunno.

I do also think that Glasto is so popular because it's the only festival where you can openly bring in your own booze. This makes a massive difference to the budget for the 5 days. If I had to buy alcohol, it would cost me a fortune.

[jdizzle]

BBC coverage?

[Hello... I'm Johnny Cash]

Try telling that to nal and lawn!

Edited May 12, 2014 by Hello... I'm Johnny Cash

[stuartbert two hats]

There's no doubt at all that demand is higher than supply - some people will inevitably miss out. I'm not doubting that.

I'm just questioning whether demand out strips supply by orders of magnitude.

A few years ago I read that a million people tried to get tickets - given my experience that can't be true and if you look on here for people that did or didn't get tickets, the vast majority that tried were ultimately successfull.

[Avalon_Fields]

If I were to list my Top Ten reasons why Glastonbury is so popular:

1. Best atmosphere - 99% friendly, everyone open to chatting with strangers, feels like one big, special party

2. Diversity of music - massively more choice and variety than any other festival, virtually all genres (Hence: Don't complain about Metallica!!)

3. The Legacy - has the standing & aura of 40+ years

4. Non-music entertainment - no other festival could fully occupy you like Glastonbury, it's not just music, there is quality everywhere: circus, comedy, 'street' artists, etc

5. The weird, unexpected sights and people awaiting around every corner

6. The Shangri-La, Arcadia, etc naughty night time set up - again, nothing else comes close, never experienced anything half as good

7. The old hippy feel of the Healing Fields, Avalon, etc (Appeals to me anyway!!)

8. Secret gigs and secret areas - a real buzz if you're lucky enough to come across something happening

9. It's soooo big, after 10 years there's still plenty left to explore so impossible to see it all

10. The continuing popularity - It probably wouldn't be so special if there was less demand, it's a real sense of achievement to get the magical ticket every year, so the popularity feeds off itself!

....Just my views

[HurrahBrother]

My ill informed thoughts on it is Legacy (it feels like it has always been there), exposure (TV so mass audience), limits on the number of entries, headliners (often top notch with ,mass appeal), I think that it is 5 days helps (not quite a week, but more than the 3 days which most others are).

2008 was a strange one, 2007 was a drizzelfest, it was near constant rain, and that was televised, I remember that the sun made a brief appearance during the Gogol Bordello set and that was about it! The controversy over the Jay-Z booking (the first real non-conventional headliner) which alienated the traditional attendee.

[frostypaw]

There is no million people trying, that's how many are registered In Total so including all the repeat registrations and folk who have never tried

It's like summer temperatures - they want to post the biggest most impressive numbers is not 29 degrees it's 100 on a scale we don't use anymore.

Higher numbers mean more news interest and hence more publicity

Weather is definitely a bigger factor than jayz - regulars know one headliner you don't like is nothing so it could only have affected the newbie sales, the big drop off came from people broken after the Somme like nightmare of bits of 07,hot on the heels of 05's drama

[fuchsiaflower]

There's so much to see and do that you have to go back to see all the stuff you've missed.

There are quite a few festivals I feel too old to go to now. A decade ago I thought Reading was great, but I wouldn't camp there now. I'm not sure I could even be arsed to go for the day.

I guess I've never watched the bbc coverage much. I've seen gigs on there but I didn't think the atmosphere translated across very well.

[hedgepeg]

i dunno really.

[JayBalls]

i dunno really.

[cassiel1972]

Another factor may be the shift in music business priorities in the age of the download. Gigging is the main revenue stream for a lot of artists (and record companies) these days. And - thanks to its international status as the world's no.1 festival, wall-to-wall television and media coverage during the festival and endless YouTube and other clips circling forever afterwards - Glastonbury is the year's best advertisement for an act's live credentials. Which means that the record companies will continue to push their bands onto the bill and bands will play for buttons (figuratively speaking). Metallica aren't just playing out of a love of the Festival. They're playing because they think it'll help them shift arena tickets post-Glasto. All of which contributes to keeping the line-ups strong and which, in turn, shifts tickets.

[pedmills]

The headliners this year match up very well to 2008's - two that aren't a huge draw (Arcade Fire & Kasabian; Kings of Leon & The Verve), and a controversial one (Metallica; Jay-Z).

The headliners of the previous year are also pretty similar (Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, & The Who; Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons, & The Rolling Stones).

The difference is the weather:

2008 came after 3 muddy festivals in a row.

2014 comes after 4 mostly dry festivals and just one wet one.

So two or three wet festivals in a row and its popularity could decline again.

Edited May 12, 2014 by pedmills

[port]

its more or less entertainment on 24 hours a day for 5 days..........alternative large festivals herd you like sheep back to the campsite..... where theres fik all to do.

common sense why its so popular ......lot more for the same price?

[OneLittleFish]

I think it's brand recognition. If you don't know about vacuum cleaners you buy a Dyson, if you don't know about Smartphones then you'd be highly likely to buy an Iphone and if you've not been to a festival then it's a good chance you'll know about Glastonbury.

Glastonbury does what it does very well, consistently so. The difference is that it not only appeals to newcomers but it's big and expansive enough to keep the attention of those who have been to festivals for a while.

Simply put Glastonbury is and has been very good at what it does and it's built a suitable reputation, even to those who aren't festival savvy.

[stuartbert two hats]

I think it's brand recognition. If you don't know about vacuum cleaners you buy a Dyson, if you don't know about Smartphones then you'd be highly likely to buy an Iphone and if you've not been to a festival then it's a good chance you'll know about Glastonbury.

Glastonbury does what it does very well, consistently so. The difference is that it not only appeals to newcomers but it's big and expansive enough to keep the attention of those who have been to festivals for a while.

Simply put Glastonbury is and has been very good at what it does and it's built a suitable reputation, even to those who aren't festival savvy.

[ThomThomDrum]

Metallica aren't just playing out of a love of the Festival. They're playing because they think it'll help them shift arena tickets post-Glasto. All of which contributes to keeping the line-ups strong and which, in turn, shifts tickets.