Is the era of music festivals coming to an end?Β
We have already brushed past this subject folks, and not to repeat ourselves, but recently, there has been increasing speculation on whether music festivals are dying, slowly, albeit definitely.
Festivals like Glastonbury are getting bigger with every coming year, and as seen this year, calling in older, more legendary artists on the roster to add weight to the increasing size and grandeur of the festival. The question is: will there be enough and big enough headliners to sustain the current eminence of big, outdoor music festivals?
Assuming this hypothesis is spot on, one possible reason for the gradual decease of music festivals could be that the festival-goers themselves are getting older, making way for a more aggressive and less lay-in-the-grass-listening-to-blues generation.
Consuming music at festivals is like 3 for 2 in Tesco’s. You get 1 thing you need/like and 2 you don’t. It’s also lazy and boring.
β Sadglam73 (@sadglam73) June 24, 2015
Festival lineups being released this week are boring. Major music festivals recycle the same talent over & over. We’ve seen everyone by now.
β Ryan Mac (@RMac18) March 25, 2015
According toΒ Festival Insights, an industry publication, in 2014 the average age of a festival-goer was 33. Festival promoters (like Glastonbury) may be reacting to this by putting on older acts.
Essentially, it’s as simple as this. If headliners cannot be found, festivals will have to adapt. Maybe focus on other things that will attract crowds such as nicer bathrooms, more comfortable stay, better food, etc. Or they may have to simply shrink the original size and scale of the festival. As the DJ behind Bestival, Rob da BankΒ says, it’s a “more cut-throat industryβ.