‘We eat and drink at risk’: high prices bring down UK music festivals | The music industry

Hosting Womad’s first festival in Scotland seemed like an easy sell in Glasgow, the country’s gig capital and self-proclaimed capital. “worldwide dynamic for music lovers”.

However, last week the world-renowned event, which has been successful in 30 countries since it was founded by former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel in 1982, was canceled due to low ticket sales.

It’s the 20th threat so far this year as small and independent festivals enter another tough summer facing a host of challenges, from tight-lipped consumers choosing how to spend their money, to rising energy and operating costs, and competition from big-name companies.

“Independent festival organizers eat and drink at risk,” said Jon Collins, chief executive of Live, the organization that represents the UK music industry.

“The next year they have to commit to a lot of money to book everything, and then they have to believe that they will sell enough tickets to pay, and hopefully make a little profit at the end. It’s hard, there are easier ways to make money, but they love it.”

The long-running Secret Garden Party, which featured acts from Ed Sheeran to Clean Bandit and attracted Prince Harry as a party participant in 2014, closed at the end of its 2024 edition with a similar burning of the main stage as its founder said. “there is no more stability for independents to celebrate”.

This year, the dream of Chai Wallahs, a touring festival group, to hold their event at the same venue in Cambridgeshire this year has also been dashed.

By April, they had smashed their fundraising goal, raising £180,000 launching a new non-profit grassroots festival, Where It All Began, with the goal of giving back “enterprise agreement” in the industry.

But at the end of the month two of its members turned to Instagram explaining why it should be postponed until next year. Problems included poor ticket sales, which he said were “felt throughout the region”, and a 10% to 15% increase in construction and transportation since the beginning of the Iran conflict.

“If we had pushed forward we would have faced a loss of £60,000 to £80,000,” the pair said. “Where It All Began would have died before it began.”

A few days ago, a “Rock’n’Roll Duke”Henry Fitzroy, has closed his Red Rooster festival in Nashville, which was supposed to take place at the end of May, which he held at the Suffolk family home for more than a decade. The event ended, in terms of high and low ticket prices, without hope of return.

However, despite the increase in casualties at the festival, this year’s closure is the best, if not the lowest, since before the pandemic.

There were 43 cancellations or suspensions last year; in 2024 this number was 78, and in 2023 the number was 36, according to the Association of Independents. Celebrations (AIF).

More than 250 festivals have been closed since before the pandemic, and the annual numbers are now approaching 600.

“This year is the lowest number since I’ve been writing, and some haven’t fared well, they’re just taking a year off,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “There are always some who fall because they don’t get it right, or they don’t have what they want.

“The truth is that the cost of living is very tight along the coast.” Festivals used to have the ability to rise in value between 11 months and the day of the festival, but now they cannot rise as much as before.

“Look at the salaries of artists, as one example: they have increased 60% to 70% in the last five or six years, especially for high-quality art. This may not be a problem for the big players, but they are independent.”

There is also an ongoing dispute over the involvement of major corporations such as US giants AEG and Live Nation, which also own Ticketmaster.

The wireless festival, which is owned by Live Nation, made headlines after the organizers were forced to cancel after opposing Ye’s decisionthe artist formerly known as Kanye West, was named the headliner of a three-day festival in London in July. As the furore grew, the Home Office moved to cancel the artist’s travel visa.

Organizers of A woman Glasgow said its failure “shows the difficulties of launching a major new event in a competitive and crowded market”, but this congestion has not stopped the deep world of Live Nation which is holding two major festivals later this month.

State Fayre promises to bring a “A real taste of Americana” at the former V Festival venue in Hylands Park in Essex, with headline acts including Kings of Leon and Alanis Morissette, while Blenheim Palace festival It’s a five-day event that includes Michael Bublé, Katy Perry and Teddy Swims.

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have been scouting the market for Live Nation. The company’s UK business operations were put on the spotlight last year when competition regulators launched an investigation into the strategy. tickets for the Oasis reunion were purchased at a discount through Ticketmaster.

Last month, the business and trade selection committee of parliamentarians published a report called on the competition’s regulator, the CMA, to investigate Live Nation’s dominance and impact on the live music industry, and pointed out that there appears to be “season of terror” among the witnesses who testified to his investigation.

A spokesperson for Live Nation said: “The challenges faced by festivals are being felt across the sector, with revenue rising significantly for events of all sizes.

“The UK festival sector remains diverse and highly competitive, with major operators, regional promoters, private festival companies and hundreds of independent events all playing an important role.”

AIF’s Rostron is cautiously optimistic. He said: “We are almost done. “But without further intervention there is a dark cloud that is hanging around. We need to support freelancers to thrive and survive; there is potential for significant growth across the festival spectrum.”

Next month, a Kelburn Garden Partyheld in the grounds of Kelburn Castle outside Glasgow, is expected to welcome around 7,000 revelers for its 16th edition.

Chris Knight, the founder and director of the multi-day festival, says that the dedication of festivals after the population growth of the 2010s has left many who failed to overcome the long-term, sustainable way.

“This is our best year ever, we’ve almost sold out weeks and weeks earlier than last year, we’re on a roll,” he says. “There are the same pressures of fewer ticket buyers, higher prices, tighter conditions.” Now companies are cutting back and those who survive are leaner, stronger, and know what they are doing.

“The independent festivals that have survived are focused on communities, not on big stages and big headlines. We focus on local digs. We had to raise ticket prices by 10%. This is more than inflation, but we are offering a great event that people are happy to pay for.”