Is 2017 the year the music festival died?
A Discussion
Eugenia Eze
Table of Contents
TOC o “1-3” h z u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc509558515 h 2Discussion PAGEREF _Toc509558516 h 2Theme 1: Music Reception and expenditure Analysis PAGEREF _Toc509558517 h 2Theme 2: The cultue of Music Festival PAGEREF _Toc509558518 h 4Theme 3: The price of Music Festival Tickets and Returns PAGEREF _Toc509558519 h 6Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc509558520 h 7References PAGEREF _Toc509558521 h 8
IntroductionMusical festivals have always been an integral part of British summer time. Travelers from all over the world travel in dirty fields, filling their ears with the best of modern music. Only last year in the UK there were more than 450 music festivals. Although British weather is usually more suitable for indoor classes, there are festivals that are well attended and enjoyed when it rains or shines. But when and where and how did the love for foreign parties come about? Musical festivals were almost as common in antiquity as today, although kings and gods were often the center of worship for modern goddesses (Bartie,2013).The Council of England on Art has developed a segment of 13 different groups in English, which gives an idea of ??how and why different types of people are now engaged in art. The section variables used were demographic and psychological. This was used to determine viable segments.
This essay is going to highlight and consider the point of view of the author of the original article in the Irish Independent and consider the points that contradict with it.
DiscussionTheme 1: Music Reception and expenditure AnalysisAccording to Hughes (2010), the amount that individuals were spending on live music was about 1 billion euros and has been growing steadily since 2005. Even though these statistics are not from the UK but based off of this it is fair to estimate that UK residents are approximately spending the same. Other incomes, such as drinks and goods received, through live performances amount to 300 million euros. Live music has outperformed other forms of outdoor leisure activities due:
Increase in and investment in venues
Willingness and ability of popular artists to tour
Musical talent shows on TV and ‘celebrity culture’ have increased interest in live performances (BOP, Consulting, 2013)
Growth of outdoor festivals in importance and success
Increased and more accessible distribution channels for tickets via the internet
Jamie T is seen covering Foo Fighters during the Bestival opening ceremony
The Pigeon Detectives performing at the Hope & Glory festival before it was shut down
Theme 2: The cultue of Music FestivalThe author in the article has discussed about the culture of recent music festivals in the country, along with the comparison with the music festivals that were held in other countries. The discussion has been made by the author on how the music festivals have changed their course with the time, and how the core importance of the music festivals, which was to have music based event only, has changed over the time, and the new era of music festivals have a very little space for the actual music, and much of the stage is occupied by other acts and events, that have become the part of the music festivals with the recent development over the time (Falassi, 1987). The author has discussed abut the music festival that was held in 2017 in Ireland, which had been considered a total disappointment by almost everyone that attended. There were several issues which could be identified at the music festival, and hence, the overall user experience of the music festival was not positive. One of the main issues raised by within the article mentioned that the lineup of the bands and singers in the music festival (Robinson, 2016). The author has complained repetitively that the music festivals have started to have a bad lineup of bands and singers performing and they are deemed as cheap, and not famous. They believe they have intentionally inviting only un-famous and not so good artists, to save money and make more profit (Frey, 1994). Linking this back to the discussion title, some individuals would agree that 2017 is the year that th e music festivals died because they intentionally brought artists which they knew were not up to par for such a big event such as the Electric Picnic. It shows that they are not focusing on the enjoyment on the attendees but more on the income and profit they are going to make.
The Notting Hill Carnival, London is one of the most famous street festivals held in Europe
People enjoying at the Wilderness Festival in Oxfordshire
Theme 3: The price of Music Festival Tickets and ReturnsIn addition, another point mentioned within the article was that the price of the tickets recently within the music festival industry are too high, as compared to the service that are provided by the event managers in the music festival (Pielichaty, 2015). Due to the fact that they didn’t incorporate any popular main stream artists, the visitors do not seem to be happy and satisfied with the price they had to pay for such a music festival. The article has revealed how much is actually being spent at music festivals. In this industry the music festival has become a source of earning, where the visitors are charged food and other services in the festival at a very high price, and hence, the stakeholders make a profit on it, at the cost of experience of the visitors (Foufas, 2018).
The most prominent point that was raised in the article is that the music festivals have not only been about music in the recent years. There has been an inclusion of number of side events and programs, as well as acts in the festival, which are in no way related to the music. By the stakeholders using these small events as filler in the music festival it increases the income received for them to have a massive revenue turnover (Gornall, 2015). Even though this doesn’t directly link with the discussion title but it does provide evidence to support the idea that they are just filling the events with random acts, showing that they don’t care about the festival but the money. This would discourage people from going because they are spending a large sum of money at a festival that they feel that there is no effort put into.
ConclusionFurthermore, there are many arguments for people to agree and disagree that 2017 was the year that the music festival died. From the analysis and decision on the article and reflecting on the three themes discussed here, it is clear that the music festival have changed its course over the years, and a lot of works needs to be done there in understanding the needs of the visitors of the music festival (Hendricks, 2014). The visitors wish for a famous singer, good artists and nice band, but wish to pay less, which is to possible for the stakeholders and promotors to manage, and hence, it is compensated by introduction of side events and acts, and sharing of stage, and hence in turn, bringing more profit to the companies.
ReferencesBartie, A., 2013. Edinburgh Festivals: Culture and Society in Post-war Britain: Culture and Society in Post-war Britain. Edinburgh University Press.
BOP, Consulting. 2013. Economic impact of Glyndebourne. Lewes: Glyndebourne and East Sussex County Council.
Edmtunes, ( 2017) First Glimpse of Ultra Music Festival 2017 Main Stage: Available from:https://www.edmtunes.com/2017/03/first-glimpse-of-ultra-music-festival-2017-main-stage/accessed on 01:02:2018
Falassi, A., 1987. Festival: Definition and morphology. Time out of Time: Essays on the Festival, pp.1-10.
Foufas, C. (2018). What exactly is the point of music festivals?. online Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/10922801/What-exactly-is-the-point-of-music-festivals.html Accessed 4 Feb. 2018.
Frey, B.S., 1994. The economics of music festivals. Journal of cultural Economics, 18(1), pp.29-39.
Gornall, J., 2015. Tickets to Glyndebourne or the Oval? Big tobacco’s bid to woo parliamentarians. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 350.
Hendricks, K.S., 2014. Changes in self-efficacy beliefs over time: Contextual influences of gender, rank-based placement, and social support in a competitive orchestra environment. Psychology of Music, 42(3), pp.347-365.
Pielichaty, H., 2015. Festival space: gender, liminality and the carnivalesque. International Journal of Event and Festival Management, 6(3), pp.235-250.
Robinson, R., 2016. Music festivals and the politics of participation. Routledge.
Shuker, R., 2016. Understanding popular music culture. Routledge.
