The Underscore Archives

On 4/2/07, Simon Johnson <simon at lifeisland.net> wrote:

> there is a lot to be said for the kind of total immersion 4-6 day
> festivals provide

Absolutely. There are something like more than 400 'festivals' this
year. It's the thing. I fully approve of partying outdoors myself, but
they're not really festivals, but what would the promoters call them?
Something we noted last year while dashing around slinging up marquees
was that it tied in with the appearance of people like livenation
(Clear channel's live brand) re-creating the live band thing (anyone
notice all the re-formations and tours all of a sudden?).

We wondered if it was an industry response to online file sharing from
the labels/promoters because they simply can't beat the sharing...
push 'live' as a lifestyle.. It fits in with all the 'sharing' brand
stuff we are having hoisted on us too.

But then I am aware that many of them may well be promoters trying to
re-create that homely longer BGG/Glasto/Green man/Strawberry fayre
soap-dodging thing that we know and love and smell so much. So not all
promoters are the same.

But it's not all the promoters pushing... some of the VIP areas were
stuffed full of punters happy to pay £X for a bbq, good bar and clean
toilet. So fair enough... we get what the market will bear, so the
marketeers say...

At Wireless London last year, they had sales people trying to flog
credit cards to punters. The punters were queuing up to sign on the
dotted line. Why? Because they were giving away pens that flashed...
Really - we're getting what we ask for... including advertising on the
big screens between shows and people freely giving their mobile phone
numbers to get into the 'O2 chill zone' etc... My friend the doctor
(who was meant to be working at the time) spent much of his time
harrassing the sales people burbling about Babylon etc... that was
worth it alone!