Statement from Melvin re: price hike

[gregory]

Unfortunately the £20 increase is unavoidable. The collapse of the pound versus the dollar has impacted on the festival very significantly.

Most of the major artists that play Reading & Leeds Festivals embark on worldwide tours that are paid in dollar amounts and with the pound having collapsed 30% against the dollar this has hit the budget to a very significant degree and it is in this context that the £20 is unavoidable.

I do accept that many fans will be concerned that this is a large increase but compared to many of our competitors who offer two-day festivals or a lesser depth in line ups and less stages, Reading & Leeds Festivals still represent incredible value.

Edited March 28, 2009 by gregory

[reni]

Most peculiar!!!

[jammy2211]

It's fair enough I guess, it's happening in all sorts of UK markets we're seeing rediculous price rises.

I'd say FR's integrity is really going to be challenged next year, provided the £ restores it's value...

[beLIEveR]

I don't blame him for taking a blatant dig at Sonisphere (that wasn't the only target, there's obviously V as well). Nor do I care about the price hike, it simply increases the amount of money I've saved.

What does get my goat is that he's got the gall to say "we've got a much stronger lineup than anyone else" before the first announcement. I don't doubt for a second that he genuinely believes it, but let the lineup come out, then defend the price.

Let's say I lend someone a tenner, safe in the knowledge that I'll get twenty back. The person pays me the twenty as promised. A year later the same guy asks "give me fifteen, can't tell you what yet but it'll be worth it". Should I trust him?

[Azzy G]

LIES!

its all about money!

and the more they can take from us, the better, the recession is an excuse!

lucky i got mine on presale

[calumtom19]

So effectively were getting no more a better for £20 more; . Can't even ditch the recession at R/L.

[Paul ™]

Still cheaper than TITP and thats only 2 1/2 days

[VCK]

£80 for a weekend ticket in 1999 represented "great value". This represents "brutal mugging".

[Bradders]

Not really. Still under £40 a day and tickets for just the headliners shows would cost that.

[gregory]

no; £175 / 3 days of music = £58.

[luckysalt]

add say £10 booking fee and postage making it £185 and its just over £61 a day, which if the line up is good, is still great value IMO

Seems to me Reading and Leeds are doing a great deal to improve its image and the campsite etc, the negative aspects that surround it, I say well done to them, but it would still take a lot to get me back camping, day ticket though for a great line up I would do, but it wound have to be great seeing as its looking to be £80+

[thomasowen]

Still good value for money, when you work out on average I will see 25 bands plus 5 days camping.

[kaosmark2]

Thing is everyone was always gonna complain about the prices but its the way he felt the need to make a statement to justify it when he shouldnt really need to plus he used an awful excuse thats gonna contradict itself.

[kaosmark2]

Awful excuse in regards to its not gonna get cheaper when the £ gets stronger is it?

[rexclark]

It is expensive, but will people still pay? Of course they will. When you work out how much you pay per band you see plus the unforgettable memories I still feel I get my worth.

[Marshall]

i bought a presale so £20 cheaper. Not sure about next year now and i've been going since 1990. The line ups for me were more consistant years back and I'm starting to feel how many of these bands would i bother going to see anyway. i did have a great time last year but that's how I felt and now it's costing a lot more. when you think of price per band it prob is still value for money for most but then you gotta take into account a lot of those bands yer only getting about 1/2 or 3/4 of a set. There's something which makes me cling to this festival because it was the first camping festival i attended and i feel passionate about it but then have to think it isn't really the same festival as it was back then(god listen to me sounding like grandad!) but my days are numbered and I think I could probably have a better and cheaper weekend elsewhere. I think summer sundae, indietracks and guilfest are much better value for money considering my taste in music. however if yer into the majority of the bands that play it is still more than worth it, if you can afford it(the credit crunch affects the punters too)

[Sparticus]

the swipe at other festivals is a bit pathetic really, sounds like sour grapes for sonisphere locking a lot of their bands into exclusivity clauses. This is the first year they're actually justifying the price hike, regardless of the recession they must know they're taking the piss otherwise they wouldn't have addressed it. Looks like no leeds this year, hopefully one of the euro festies will get some of the big bands due to play leeds like radiohead, and i'd presume weezer.

[rexclark]

the swipe at other festivals is a bit pathetic really, sounds like sour grapes for sonisphere locking a lot of their bands into exclusivity clauses. This is the first year they're actually justifying the price hike, regardless of the recession they must know they're taking the piss otherwise they wouldn't have addressed it. Looks like no leeds this year, hopefully one of the euro festies will get some of the big bands due to play leeds like radiohead, and i'd presume weezer.

[gr4h4m]

Having already paid £175 for Download with rubbish headliners and a pretty average line up so far I want something special from Leeds for £185

[Benj]

Not really. The £ vs $ is going to cause considerable cost. As long as they price freeze if the £ regains some of its strength then they can justify it.

[Benj]

the swipe at other festivals is a bit pathetic really, sounds like sour grapes for sonisphere locking a lot of their bands into exclusivity clauses. This is the first year they're actually justifying the price hike, regardless of the recession they must know they're taking the piss otherwise they wouldn't have addressed it. Looks like no leeds this year, hopefully one of the euro festies will get some of the big bands due to play leeds like radiohead, and i'd presume weezer.

[504329lt]

The reasons given for the price hike, are as usual, spurious.

The festival price has gone up year on year regardless of exchane rates. Yes, the pound has fallen against the dollar recently, but when it was rising over the last coule of years did we see a reduction in prices as booking costs became, in effect, cheaper?

Have a look at the exchange rate over the last 5 years. The value seen last year was very hign and is not the norm.

It is interesting to note that when the Glastonbury price were released in the autumn, the excuse used for a similar price hike was fuel costs. The price of oil has plummeted since then. Can we expect a reduction in price next year? Same goes for Reading if the pound recovers a bit?#

I am afraid this is an attempt to increase profits. Also noted that the campervan pass has doubled this year, although still good value at £20. The reason given for this on the Reading site is that there hasn't been an increase for some time? It was free in 2005! Please don't try to justify this in bridge / boat costs. I didn't ask to be moved to the other side of the river.

[kaosmark2]

It's a much higher price hike than usual, and the £ vs $ is an excellent justification as to why. As long as they price freeze once the £ regains it's strength, I'm not going to complain.

[pink_triangle]

This is just business, its the job of the festival to work out the highest price they can sell the ticket and still sell out, therefore making them as much money as possible. They still will sell out so they can come out with another excuse next year and hike the tickets up again. The onyl way to stop it is for people not to buy the tickets but i cant see that happening.

[beLIEveR]

What upsets me more than anything is the directness of it.

£5-10 a year I can live with. In real terms that's on average the cost increase, plus a little bit for themselves.

If they really needed to raise more money there are other things they could have done, such as a return to an overall sponsor (like Carling), a hike in food stall pitch rates (seeing as they're now going to be getting more business) or increasing car parking prices to borderline outrageous levels (if they're truly committed to a green festival).