The Future of Glastonbury

[Suprefan]

14 hours ago, clarkete said:

Some eye-watering cost increases  mentioned here

"Ella Nosworthy, who runs Nostock in Herefordshire, saw the cost of hosting her 5,000-capacity event soar by 40% since the pandemic. Rostron says the build price of one event, meaning assembling stages, bars etc, rose from £400,000 in 2019 to £900,000 in 2023."

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/22/uks-position-as-live-music-leader-at-stake-nine-festivals-cancel-amid-rising-costs

I think when everyone has the same 10 acts at the top of the lineup its going ti cause problems. Like i get the regionality and all but why would anyone travel anywhere except for a handful of big fests each summer. It doesnt promote anyone really going elsewhere. And if things were spread out you would not have this over saturation.

[stuie]

4 hours ago, Suprefan said:

I think when everyone has the same 10 acts at the top of the lineup its going ti cause problems. Like i get the regionality and all but why would anyone travel anywhere except for a handful of big fests each summer. It doesnt promote anyone really going elsewhere. And if things were spread out you would not have this over saturation.

Did you read the article? Or even the quoted section? This is a small boutique festival and we have lots of these here,  that people travel all over the country for, because of their USP’s.

The problem is inflation. Not their lineups. 

[Crazyfool01]

7 hours ago, km9 said:

Once a few people start having a go at you on the Internet it becomes very easy for everyone else to pile on. Good for you for daring to think differently.

Stay away from the politicis thread, independent thinking is very much frowned upon there.

All thinking is very much accepted there unless it becomes personal  

Edited February 23 by Crazyfool01

[Ayrshire Chris]

22 hours ago, clarkete said:

Some eye-watering cost increases  mentioned here

"Ella Nosworthy, who runs Nostock in Herefordshire, saw the cost of hosting her 5,000-capacity event soar by 40% since the pandemic. Rostron says the build price of one event, meaning assembling stages, bars etc, rose from £400,000 in 2019 to £900,000 in 2023."

https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2024/feb/22/uks-position-as-live-music-leader-at-stake-nine-festivals-cancel-amid-rising-costs

That’s scary and quite depressing. Costs like that not only reduce the number of festivals but also discourage others from setting new ones up.  Mid range and new  acts will have less public exposure. 

[clarkete]

24 minutes ago, Ayrshire Chris said:

That’s scary and quite depressing. Costs like that not only reduce the number of festivals but also discourage others from setting new ones up.  Mid range and new  acts will have less public exposure. 

Aye very true and maybe with the cost of stadium shows - established artists will continue to get a big chunk of what's available 

[JayDiesel]

This is somewhat off topic, but following on from the cost of festivals chat above...

I'm looking into attending Way Out West in Sweden this year, and the finances involved just don't make sense in my head. The lineup is pretty incredible (https://www.wayoutwest.se/line-up/), but a full weekend ticket equates to just £183 (when adjusted from the SKR). 

Presumably, being a festival based in Gothenburg, there can't be many more than 50,000 attendees to this at sell out, so how can they afford to keep it going?

[dotdash79]

16 minutes ago, JayDiesel said:

This is somewhat off topic, but following on from the cost of festivals chat above...

I'm looking into attending Way Out West in Sweden this year, and the finances involved just don't make sense in my head. The lineup is pretty incredible (https://www.wayoutwest.se/line-up/), but a full weekend ticket equates to just £183 (when adjusted from the SKR). 

Presumably, being a festival based in Gothenburg, there can't be many more than 50,000 attendees to this at sell out, so how can they afford to keep it going?

It’s not a camping festival so they don’t have to have as many staff working all hours. Or as much infrastructure. 

[jfaragher]

On 2/23/2024 at 3:18 AM, Suprefan said:

I think when everyone has the same 10 acts at the top of the lineup its going ti cause problems. Like i get the regionality and all but why would anyone travel anywhere except for a handful of big fests each summer. It doesnt promote anyone really going elsewhere. And if things were spread out you would not have this over saturation.

More info on Nozstock, in case anyone is interested.  They've been running the festival as a family for 25 years, started out as a small party for friends, and has grown from there.  They book a pretty varied line up given the size of the festival, with a few largish headliners and a lot of depth in electronic music.  The festival has an incredibly good reputation amongst those who have attended - excellent vibe, good mix of music vs other stuff going on, decent food options, reasonable bar prices etc.  And many of those who crew it will happily tell you it's their favourite festival in the UK to work at (me included!) because the festival treats its crew so well.

In 2023 they didn't sell out - they rarely sell out to be fair - but ticket sales were down a bit on the previous couple of years, and they lost a decent chunk of money.  Coming on the back of not having any reserves after COVID cancellations, this has had a massive impact - it's basically costing the family money to run the show.

Because of this, 2024 will be their last year, which is a real shame for such a great show that offered a lot more than a lot of the small festivals that in every provincial town these days.  

If you have the means and the opportunity, I strongly recommend you catch the last show (and come visit me working on the merch stand)