The Future of Festivals (with Geoff Ellis)
The economic downturn has so far left a trail of bankrupt businesses from banks
to furniture showrooms. As the 2009 festival season starts to get underway,
questions are already being asked as to whether festival tickets with face
value in excess of £150 will become an expendable luxury item. The Daily Music Guide caught up with T in the Park and head of DF Concerts guru, Geoff Ellis at The
Event Show’s Access Session, Olympia, London to discuss the future of the UK music
festival.
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In terms of the UK festival scene, Scotland-based T in the Park has always been
notable for its stellar line-up of acts that don’t necessarily appear on an English bill. Last year boasted a line-up of the
likes of Amy Winehouse, metal pioneers Rage Against the Machine and a UK
Exclusive performance from the legendary R.E.M. So how did Geoff think last
year’s festival went?
“Last year went very well and it sold out in less than an hour. On the Tuesday
after the event we put half of the tickets for 2009 on sale, which sold out in
a couple of hours. I could put a bill together for half of the money we spent
last year and know that we’ll still sell the tickets. We over-deliver and that’s what keeps the festival strong and makes the tickets sell so fast.”
And Geoff has every reason to be confident with over half the tickets gone
before a single act is announced. Last Year only Ireland’s Oxygen Festival could deliver R.E.M. and the event also fielded legendary acts
from the best of Reading and V’s line-ups like Stereophonics, Kings of Leon and The Verve. So what can
festivals do to keep the interest in them?
“I think it’s about value-for-money, a decent concert ticket will cost £40+ which is equivalent to a day at a festival. £150/60 is particularly good value which works out at less than £1 per band. If our line-up was the same as Reading or V
then people would start thinking twice – we are in Scotland, which is a whole different country. But it’s not just about the line-up, it’s about having a unique event and we’re conscious people may choose to go to 2 or 3 festivals.”
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Glastonbury chief, Michael Eavis has already confirmed that the 2009 event is
90% sold, thanks to his new early-bird booking system. Whilst Eavis may have
found a way around the recession, what does Geoff think the downturn will do to
his sales and will Glastonbury’s moves affect his own festival?
“You’re always conscious of those who won’t have a high disposable income but then our core market of festival goer – whether its boom time or recession, their financial situation is the same. They
aren’t the most affluent members of
society.
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Glastonbury gets a lot of media attention, whatever they do and people look to
see what others will do as a result of it. I don’t think it will affect us as we have never tried to emulate the likes of
Glastonbury and Reading, but rather be somewhere in between. We have bigger and
more contemporary names than Glastonbury but are more of an event than Reading,
so we have our own niche in the market.”
In recent years, festivals in and around the UK have sprung up, however many
seem to have been setup in a short-term mindset. One only has to think back to
last year’s Zoo8 festival in Kent that was beset with problems such as artists pulling out
(having discovered they weren’t to be paid), lack of space for camping and even stages closed due to safety
reasons. So what is the future for smaller festivals trying to grab a slice of
that pie?
“They may need to stop running or perhaps have a break. I think that’s always going to be the case in a recession and there were too many about – not all of them can survive. They may not care as much about what they’re doing as we do and may not have as much experience – if any, of organizing events.
If you try and start too big, you will be found out. When Michael Eavis first
started Glastonbury (in 1970), he didn’t try to do a massive festival and had just a few thousand people there. There
are a few things that have happened that have created a bad world for
festivals, you don’t want people going away thinking the facilities are dreadful or half the bill
didn’t show up.
A lot of people think that if you put on a festival, you can pay for it all out
of ticket sales, but how do you know the sales will be there? You have to grow
sensibly and organically.”
Organic thinking is certainly the theme of the day as Ellis’ showcase festival has pioneered in recent years – having their carbon footprint measured and conjuring schemes to reduce it. And
other festivals have continued that trend with Glastonbury offering free
bio-degradable tent pegs, Reading offering beer for bags of rubbish and
car-sharing promotions. It seems festivals are going green to improve their
image, but what else can festivals do to survive?
“I think the good festivals will survive and the ones that appeal with a USP
(unique selling point) such as the Under-Age Festival. That is unique and it
shows there was a market for it. If there were ten like that they wouldn’t work as it’s about people being creative and knowing their market. Like any business, you need to run it sensibly.”
And considering the likes of HMV have just invested a considerable sum in live
music (buying the Barfly chain), it would indeed seem that live music and
festivals may not have had its last hurrah offering value-for-money and top
bands, for the small inconvenience of camping in the mud for a long weekend.
Finally, what does Geoff feel the future will bring?
“I’m confident for the future of the industry but there will be a little bit of
pain for some festivals, which will have a few years without growth.”
An investment banker couldn’t have said it better. CM
(c) ChrisOnline.biz 2009
