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2009 v 2019 - why are tickets so hard to get now?


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5 minutes ago, DareToDibble said:

To be fair I say friend but it's someone I work with.

I was genuinely staggered. They had a hospitality ticket given to them so it never came out of the general sales pot but it's still unbelievable. It was the line "Still done Glasto though!". I was stunned. Didn't even see any acts!

These aren't the tossers that did a vlog on YouTube and went home early because tarquin (appolagies anyone called tarquin )had a football to play at the weekend are they. 

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Just now, LSTx said:

My thinking now is will it ever go back down to the days where it wouldn't sell out in half an hour? Probably not, this was my first year missing out on tickets in 5 years and it sucks, swings and roundabouts though. I had a bad feeling about tickets this year.

It may not drop off that dramatically in the immediate future - but I do think that 2020 is probably going to be the peak year for demand. A lot of people seem to have taken note of the 50th anniversary thing, I've seen plenty saying "well I have to be there for the 50th", even people who have never been before. And likewise I've seen a few old timers say that they see it as an appropriate marker to end their tenure (though I suspect many/most of them will change their minds a year from now).

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I think they struggled to sell out in 2008 until a day before the festival, not helped by such shoddy weather in 2007 

 I think the reasons it has become so popular since them are

1. Introduction of the Park

2. The development of the SE Corner, Shangri La, Arcadia, etc. Became a really impressive area really quickly and continued to change and develop over the following years

3. BBC coverage

4. Festivals became more popular and mainstream generally

5. The festivals continuing desire to develop, unlike most other festivals, so you get more returners now than you ever used to, there's so much more to do, and new things to see. (e.g  new JP area, The Woods, Glasto on Sea recently) Means the festival is much more than just a music festival and has become far less reliant on the line up than it ever used to. It can sell out without a single act announced, unlike any other festival.

6. Wednesday opening - most punters can now arrive on a Wednesday, two days before the main music starts, just shows that there;s so much more to it than just music

 

 

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2 minutes ago, FakeEmpire said:

Hugh Jass covers most of the obvious reasons.

I think that the "Beyonce" effect cannot be undestimated.  The coverage of her show in particular really opened up the festival to so many people who hadn't previously considered Glastonbury.

If you look at the time it has taken to sell out, there is an obvious shift the year after Beyonce (although there was a trend emerging at that point anyway).

2008: A day before the festival
2009: 4 months
2010: 12 hours
2011: 4 hours
2013: 1 hour 40 minutes
2014: 1 hour 27 minutes
2015: 26 minutes
2016: 33 minutes
2017: 50 minutes
2019: 36 minutes
2020: 34 minutes

I'd be really cautious about reading anything into those times - from 2011 onwards the sellout time has been entirely irrelevant as basically the tickets went as quickly as the ticket system was able/configured to do so. So arguably the coverage of 2009 and 2010 would have made more difference.

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Most of the points have been covered but

- a run of decent weather (after 2007 biblical conditions 2008 you could still buy tickets in HMV in the week of the festival!)

-slick BBC coverage 

-More pop acts as headliners

-instagram culture

-mainstream celebrity endorsements

-glamping/improved facilities

-Huge increase in one day festivals has meant, a wider cross section of people are now used to a festival type experience

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12 minutes ago, Steel city camper said:

These aren't the tossers that did a vlog on YouTube and went home early because tarquin (appolagies anyone called tarquin )had a football to play at the weekend are they. 

Nope, not them! But that sounds equally, if not more, frustrating.

I'm in 2 minds about if I want to see it but... does anyone have a link to that video!? Sounds horrific. 

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9 minutes ago, incident said:

It may not drop off that dramatically in the immediate future - but I do think that 2020 is probably going to be the peak year for demand. A lot of people seem to have taken note of the 50th anniversary thing, I've seen plenty saying "well I have to be there for the 50th", even people who have never been before. And likewise I've seen a few old timers say that they see it as an appropriate marker to end their tenure (though I suspect many/most of them will change their minds a year from now).

Agreed there, even people that I know were saying the same thing. Closely followed by the "it looked so good on TV this year, did you see ALEX?!". 

Social media in general + coverage this year / viral clips I think have massively boosted the demand this year. 

 

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As well as all the valid points above, esp regarding social media,  there is also a continuing online catalogue on Youtube of huge acts and iconic sets for the genuine music lovers.

I can't tell you the amount of times this old toad has watched Neil Young's A Day in the Life cover or that banging Dead Weather set from 2010. 

?

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I think the 20 years of TV coverage and the change in acts is the biggest reason.

In the last few years (say 5 or so) we've had a few come with our group who I would never have imagined coming with us the first few years we went. Maybe its cos I was younger, but it felt rebellious to go. I think our group dynamic has changed the same way as the festival - mainly down to the music being overall more popular (massive international pop acts), and them seeing it then on the TV/youtube, now progressing to instagram etc. 

Not saying this is a bad or good thing (well, bad, as more difficult to get a ticket) really, but that's my observation. 

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I've noticed tickets to smaller festivals have gone up by around 100+% over the years to around £100-150. When Glastonbury is "only" £250 its the obvious choice if your taking a week off to go to a festival. Whereas before I'd happily do something else given it was so much cheaper.

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The size of the CV & Glamping fields doesn't help.

We wouldn't have gone in 2010 if "camping with the great unwashed" was the only option - I have a bad back and the wife is an epileptic (fortunately not photosensitive) so a bed and a decent night's sleep was essential. 

If we couldn't have hired a campervan to stay in then we'd probably have never ticked it off our bucket list.

I've seen the errors of my ways and have roughed it (with a decent inflatable bed) but the wife refuses to go unless we can take a CV.

If there was less Glamping and CV availability I suspect demand would drop considerably.  

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1 minute ago, Penrhos said:

The size of the CV & Glamping fields doesn't help.

We wouldn't have gone in 2010 if "camping with the great unwashed" was the only option - I have a bad back and the wife is an epileptic (fortunately not photosensitive) so a bed and a decent night's sleep was essential. 

If we couldn't have hired a campervan to stay in then we'd probably have never ticked it off our bucket list.

I've seen the errors of my ways and have roughed it (with a decent inflatable bed) but the wife refuses to go unless we can take a CV.

If there was less Glamping and CV availability I suspect demand would drop considerably.  

Would agree with this. No longer have to rough it.

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Its because loads of people who wouldn't normally go to a festival all now want to go and buy all the tickets. The type that shouldn't really be anywhere near a festival- those that don't like raving, drugs and staying awake for days on end. Nowadays you'll be at work and someone who is square as anything and probably isnt even into proper music will announce they are going Glastonbury, you look at them and think what an utter waste of a ticket!

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15 minutes ago, The Toad. said:

I can't tell you the amount of times this old toad has watched Neil Young's A Day in the Life cover or that banging Dead Weather set from 2010. 

It was seeing Neil Young on the telly that made this young toad first want to go.

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30 minutes ago, incident said:

I'd be really cautious about reading anything into those times - from 2011 onwards the sellout time has been entirely irrelevant as basically the tickets went as quickly as the ticket system was able/configured to do so. So arguably the coverage of 2009 and 2010 would have made more difference.

Completely agree. Technology improved and they got the "system" sorted.

The SE corner is a factor too. Loads of people I know of want to go to Glastonbury just for the mythical SE Corner, specifically the Shangri La. A girl at work, that was her first question.

When I told someone I didn't go to the Shangri La once in 2019 she looked at me as if I was mental. It's too Busy, I stick to Block 9 and Unfairground in the SE Corner after dark.

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22 minutes ago, DareToDibble said:

Nope, not them! But that sounds equally, if not more, frustrating.

I'm in 2 minds about if I want to see it but... does anyone have a link to that video!? Sounds horrific. 

I've had a look but I cant find it , probably for the best ,if I stumble on it I'll let you know

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22 minutes ago, DareToDibble said:

Nope, not them! But that sounds equally, if not more, frustrating.

I'm in 2 minds about if I want to see it but... does anyone have a link to that video!? Sounds horrific. 

I've had a look but I cant find it , probably for the best ,if I stumble on it I'll let you know

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But it sold really well in 2007 and 05 didn't it? And the years before that were down to internet restraints, I've read some horror stories of people refreshing for 12 hours. It had a dip when the weather was shit a couple of goes in a row and people were resistant to the music change but since the weather was kind in 2009 and the line-up was safe its been a nightmare to get tickets since.

Did it really take 12 hours in 2010? I'm sure it sold out when I was still on my shift at Tescos which will have been till about 1pm (I didn't have a smart phone or anything at that point).

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18 minutes ago, jimbarkanoodle said:

Its because loads of people who wouldn't normally go to a festival all now want to go and buy all the tickets. The type that shouldn't really be anywhere near a festival- those that don't like raving, drugs and staying awake for days on end. Nowadays you'll be at work and someone who is square as anything and probably isnt even into proper music will announce they are going Glastonbury, you look at them and think what an utter waste of a ticket!

Some of us put quite alot of effort into appearing square at work. Beware, you may be misreading carefully calibrated front!

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