Another day, another music festival cancellation. As Splendour in the Grass becomes the latest large scale Aussie music festival to shut up shop for this year (and beyond?) we can only question what does the face of live music look like from here.
It’s clear that many bands get their start at music festivals, whether it’s smaller grassroots festivals or an early slot on those side stages at the bigger events. Everyone has discovered a new favourite this way. For bands, it’s a guaranteed audience, it’s the removal of the logistical nightmare a solo tour brings and in many cases for Australia, the festival is the big ticket item that brings those lesser known bands to our shores.
So where is it all going wrong. As festival organisers hide behind ‘logistical reasons’ and rumours of ‘poor ticket sales’ spread, let’s hone in on Splendour in particular.
Months prior to Spendour tickets being released, as an avid live music goer I was invited to complete a survey about my feelings on the festival and if I would go. My feelings on this fell into three clear categories
1. Line up
Is the line up good enough to travel all that way? I was asked to suggest artists I’d like to see (side note: not one of them made the line up – and I wasn’t unrealistic, I chose people releasing music and actively touring. A mix of bigger names and smaller acts, local and international).
Even if you get one act you like, without numerous other artists from the same genre it’s unlikely to be worth it. No one wants to pay $$$ for a three day trip for a stunted, wing clipped, festival friendly set from one big name band they happen to like. Organisers currently seem to be desperate to fill the bill with anyone who will say yes without a thought for if they’re someone their target audience wants to see. (More on this later).
2. Cost
I did a rough costing of the price for two people to go to Splendour from Melbourne, taking into account the ticket prices, flights, accommodation and realistic spending money to actually have a good time while there. And guess what? The cost worked out roughly the same as going to Europe for a music festival that lasts longer, has a better line up and is closer to a major city. Plus, I get a holiday in Europe to boot!
3. Accommodation.
I don’t like camping. I never have, and it’s certainly not growing on me as I get older. The almost forced camping nature of festivals such as Splendour and the fact I’m stuck there eating festival food and not sleeping for the length of the event does not appeal at all.
I’m not unique in any of these feelings, many festival goers interviewed since the Splendour announcement have shared roughly the same misgivings. Watching Splendour (and others) trot out the same formula with hope of different results breaks the hearts of many live music aficionados.
Where do we go from here?
Key to all of this, the one thing that underpins it all seems that festivals have forgotten who they’re marketing to. There’s a desire to continue to lure the festival goers of years gone by whilst also trying to hook to 18-25 generation into their first festival experiences. Disclaimer: most 18-25 year olds don’t like the music I like, and even the few that do – I don’t want to camp in a tent next to a group of kids who potentially left my year 12 class a couple of years ago.
Teenagers need affordability. They need trending bands, and 24/7 entertainment. Over 30s want bells and whistles – proper food, accommodation and lights out by 2 am (at the latest) . We want festival vibes without having to bring our own toilet paper.