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

[kevbizarre]

43 minutes ago, GETOFFAMYLAWN said:

I would've hoped we could all agree that the idea Jay-Z was at all responsible for poor sales in 2008 is, and always has been, racist bollocks perpetuated by indie rock morons; yet here we are with some people still wheeling it out over a decade later.

Also 05 and 07 were brutal weather years and I just needed a break in 08 perhaps like a few others? 

[Amy Lawn]

54 minutes ago, jparx said:

I think Jay-Z is actually part of the reason the festival has exploded in the last decade. 

This is it. The festival's current standing as the best is due in very very large part to Emily taking over and renewing it for the millennials. Jay Z is the first big headline booking where you can see it's her doing her own thing as opposed what the old guard would've done.

[Matt42]

Everyone is competing with Glastonbury now.

Coachella is paying up to $14 million a headliner some years just to get headliners that won’t be anywhere else in the world.

International festivals are competing with Glastonbury! That’s how mad it’s got!

[Smeble]

22 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Everyone is competing with Glastonbury now.

Coachella is paying up to $14 million a headliner some years just to get headliners that won’t be anywhere else in the world.

International festivals are competing with Glastonbury! That’s how mad it’s got!

That figure is astounding considering the headliners this year.

[CaledonianGonzo]

It's all Foals fans, desperate to be there on the glorious day when every actual headliner on the planet is unavailable.

[lukethekid]

It’s because over the past 15 years it’s became the most diverse festival in the world, it appeals to every type of festival goer. There’s nowhere like it. 

[Catba]

3 hours ago, Matt42 said:

Everyone is competing with Glastonbury now.

Coachella is paying up to $14 million a headliner some years just to get headliners that won’t be anywhere else in the world.

International festivals are competing with Glastonbury! That’s how mad it’s got!

That’s an incredible sum of money for one act. Do you know how much a Glastonbury headliner would be paid on average? 

When a festival is pumping that much money into their headliners, naturally, they are going to compete with any festival line up. I think it’s probably the culture and the extra points of interest thought that sets Glastonbury above the rest. That take years to build and not sure any festival will be able to compete with Glastonbury in that regard. Hence the reason the demand is so high. 

[lukethekid]

I wonder how much money the artist will then earn due to the publicity of playing on the BBC? So I wonder if it’s not only the fee from the festival that is worthwhile. 

[MetaKate]

Its social media. Unfortunately it makes everybody aware of everything. If something seems good, everyone now wants to do it. It's just going to get worse. 

[CaledonianGonzo]

I blame Neil 

[hfuhruhurr]

When the BBC broadcast pictures of a very happy crowd that look like the people watching, then the people watching want to be there and go. It looks safe and happy, people they know have gone - it snowballs. Couple that with the "I've done it" thing with specifically Glastonbury that social media encourages and we've got the demand for tickets.

Having lost out this year for the first time in 10 years, I think it's fab that so many people are going and statistically I hope, so many new people. More people out there with glasto spirit can only be a good thing.

[eFestivals]

3 hours ago, lukethekid said:

It’s because over the past 15 years it’s became the most diverse festival in the world

i'd say it's got less diverse and more mainstream. Not hugely, but definitely some.

1 hour ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I blame Neil 

if it wasn't me it'd be someone else.  

[dingbat2]

I think the main stages have become more mainstream, really getting the biggest, most current, acts at the particular time whether it be Jay Z, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Stormzy, etc  and the BBC viewers love that, as all as the classic legends slots of Lionel and Dolly, but the smaller stages are far more diverse, not least because there are more of them these days. Those legend slts of recent years probably do more to encourage new people to go these days than most of the headliners, people always ask me did I see the legend act, the sets really go down well on TV,. Most types of music are catered for somewhere almost everyone you can find something they like  I have spent more time at William's Green than any other stage in the last 5 years

[Matt42]

7 hours ago, Smeble said:

That figure is astounding considering the headliners this year.

Ariana got $8 million (same as Beyonce). Think G&R or AC/DC were the ones who got $14 mil 

4 hours ago, Catba said:

That’s an incredible sum of money for one act. Do you know how much a Glastonbury headliner would be paid on average? 

When a festival is pumping that much money into their headliners, naturally, they are going to compete with any festival line up. I think it’s probably the culture and the extra points of interest thought that sets Glastonbury above the rest. That take years to build and not sure any festival will be able to compete with Glastonbury in that regard. Hence the reason the demand is so high. 

To be fair (without boring you) Coachella’s high fee comes with a lot of terms which explain why the fee is so high.

- the act can’t play any west coast shows (that may infringe on CA ticket sales) between roughly December and July. So if anyone is in CA and wants to see said band, Coachella is the only time they can see them.

- It’s over two weekends.

Coachella is basically booking each act as a west coast exclusive for like six months. It seems to work as the tickets sell like Glasto.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Matt42

[MetaKate]

11 minutes ago, Matt42 said:

Ariana got $8 million (same as Beyonce). Think G&R or AC/DC were the ones who got $14 mil 

To be fair (without boring you) Coachella’s high fee comes with a lot of terms which explain why the fee is so high.

- the act can’t play any west coast shows (that may infringe on CA ticket sales) between roughly December and July. So if anyone is in CA and wants to see said band, Coachella is the only time they can see them.

- It’s over two weekends.

Coachella is basically booking each act as a west coast exclusive for like six months. It seems to work as the tickets sell like Glasto.

Ticket prices at Coachella are also MUCH higher and dont include camping. Plus they do things like VIP packages so there revenue is a lot higher. 

[Quark]

I think we might be over-complicating this tbh.

Take our group - started off in 2009 when I first went as 4 people. Then friends heard us banging on about out how good it was, so they started coming.  That upped it to 8.  Then they brought some more friends, increased to 11.  A few people have dropped out and been replaced by others this year, but from 2009 to to 2019 we're looking at a three-fold increase in the number of applicants.

You expand the microcosm out to the festival, plus factors like social media, BC coverage and bigger mainstream names like Kylie, Adele, Sheeran etc. There's your answer.

 

[Chubby Dude in a Tiny Car]

which year was it that it took all night to sell out?

sorry if this has already been talked about - but one year i'm sure i remember tickets going on sale in the evening, i stayed up F5'ing until i fell asleep, then carried on the next morning when i got to work - that was hard work! 

but in answer to the question in the OP - the reason getting tickets are so hard is the same reason society in general is falling apart... the fixation the modern world has with constantly staring at a screen.

 

[lukethekid]

2 hours ago, eFestivals said:

i'd say it's got less diverse and more mainstream. Not hugely, but definitely some. 

I’d say that’s what’s made it more diverse though is what I’m saying. It already used to host some incredible musicians in rock and alternative music, as well as so many other genres, it now still hosts them as well as opening the door to more massive mainstream pop artists. It’s introduction of them has then opened the door now to everyone. 

[UEF]

I'm not sure the people going to the festival are any more or less diverse than before, other than attracting a few more poppy/Instragram types

[Hugh Jass]

4 hours ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

I blame Neil 

Lonsdale?

[FlyingCircus]

1 hour ago, MetaKate said:

Ticket prices at Coachella are also MUCH higher and dont include camping. Plus they do things like VIP packages so there revenue is a lot higher. 

Not to mention the fact that Glasto doesn't really have any advertising or sponsorship income.

[Led festivals]

I think realistically while we all want a return to glory days of easy tickets, the festival is better as a result of younger newbies coming in. The great thing about Glastonbury is the buzz, and sure, some of that is from the community of old-timers who call the festival a second home, but just as much comes from the wide-eyed first-timers who have never seen anything quite like it.

I'm salty I've not got a ticket this year, but if this level of demand keeps the festival as vibrant and as culturally significant as it is, then it is for the best really. There's always volunteering!

[Chubby Dude in a Tiny Car]

2 minutes ago, Led festivals said:

I think realistically while we all want a return to glory days of easy tickets, the festival is better as a result of younger newbies coming in. The great thing about Glastonbury is the buzz, and sure, some of that is from the community of old-timers who call the festival a second home, but just as much comes from the wide-eyed first-timers who have never seen anything quite like it.

 

but is that really the case tho?

it seems that first timers these days are not in wide-eyed amazement - because they HAVE seen it. 

endless videos & pictures, and endless messages means that they have seen it all before they even get there - and the only reason for being there is to create more videos, pictures and messages to feed into the never ending stream of it all...

 

[Led festivals]

3 minutes ago, Chubby Dude in a Tiny Car said:

but is that really the case tho?

it seems that first timers these days are not in wide-eyed amazement - because they HAVE seen it. 

endless videos & pictures, and endless messages means that they have seen it all before they even get there - and the only reason for being there is to create more videos, pictures and messages to feed into the never ending stream of it all...

 

I didn't notice the phone issue too much this year, not when compared to other festivals and concerts. It is also just a fact of modern life that we need to learn to accept. I am a teacher, and social media often feels alien and weird to me (old school message boards aside), but that is the medium through which a lot of students articulate their excitement and wonder surely?

I also might have a slightly biased perspective because I was there with a bunch of newbies. They weren't too phone-centric (perhaps because they were in their 30s) and their energy certainly helped keep me going when I was flagging after an 8 hour night shift!

[Garrett_Salas]

i really think people overstate the instragram crowd. Yes, young people like to put photos on instagram but this idea that there 10-20k influencers just there for a photo op is wrong and boring.