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Sales are slow this year! WTF?

Guest guyzer

By Guest guyzer
in Reading & Leeds Festivals

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harderfaster Newbie

harderfaster

Posted
Posted

i reckon it's a combination of:

uninspiring headliners

increased competition from other festivals

ticket prices going up (again) ... i've always thought that there will be a limit at which mummy and daddy don't want to fork out for johnny's ticket for this overpriced crap where gas cannisters get blown up anymore, and it looks like we've reached it.

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pink_triangle Veteran

pink_triangle

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Posted

I dont think you can totally discount the ticket prices. Clearly as the cost goes up, the people willing to pay goes down. With many in the country having less money, continued above inflation rises will have an impact. Its true that if you put lots of big bands on the line up, they will sell easily at that price. However big bands are expensive and the organisers will look at their profit margins.

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harderfaster Newbie

harderfaster

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^ true, it's hard to tell really. you hear more about people who got scammed than people who didn't so people have a biased view of getting tickets off of ebay.

but the point still stands that as we approach the festival buying tickets off of ebay might not be such a bad idea after all. i'd say if it doesn't sell out by the end of today then there's going to be some mental shit coming in the next few months - starting with amateur touts panic selling today/tomorrow.

and we all know that amateur touts panic selling = cheap as chips tickets for those who are willing to take the risk...

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jump Mentor

jump

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Posted

^ true, it's hard to tell really. you hear more about people who got scammed than people who didn't so people have a biased view of getting tickets off of ebay.

but the point still stands that as we approach the festival buying tickets off of ebay might not be such a bad idea after all. i'd say if it doesn't sell out by the end of today then there's going to be some mental shit coming in the next few months - starting with amateur touts panic selling today/tomorrow.

and we all know that amateur touts panic selling = cheap as chips tickets for those who are willing to take the risk...

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Joe- Newbie

Joe-

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Think it's more the lineup, after all festivals like TITP, Glastonbury and IOW have sold out, and they cost around the same if not more.

If I hadn't have brought in December then I probably wouldn't have got one for this year, got some good stuff so I'm not so bothered.

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5co77ie Enthusiast

5co77ie

Posted
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Think it's more the lineup, after all festivals like TITP, Glastonbury and IOW have sold out, and they cost around the same if not more.

If I hadn't have brought in December then I probably wouldn't have got one for this year, got some good stuff so I'm not so bothered.

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Belisha Beacon Newbie

Belisha Beacon

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The guys on pages 1 and 2 have short memories. In 2001 weekend tickets sold out in June/July and I think Sunday tickets were avilable right up until the week of the event. The festival adverts in magazines weren't a waste of time - people could actually buy tickets at their leisure! Don't forget they were only £80 each then too! and still my friends would say "I'm not buying mine until I get paid" etc etc

Glastonbury 2003 sold out in 24 hours, which was totally unbelievable at the time - the idea of 100k+ tickets all going on the first day (2002 took 9 weeks to sell out) - people thought it was an April Fool's joke. I remember Reading taking weeks rather than days to sell out as recently as 2005, but V Festival 2006 was a first-day struggle and it's been like that with both reading and V since then pretty much. Now that people know these thnings sell out firs tthey get ready in time or they lose out.

Why slower this year?

There is an element of "same old same old" about the line-up and little wow factor.

I bet 90% of people who really want to go and see Muse at Reading will have seen them before - if not at Reading then at V or Glastonbury or Wembley Stadium (they've done all of those many times in recent years) - not everyone wants to see bands they like over and over and over. And this the 2nd year of them touring a not-universally-loved album. Some bands tour every 3 years and they just play 1 or 2 UK shows/festivals on that tour - Muse are not one of those bands!

Pulp weren't popular enough to headline in 2002 when they played just before they broke up - granted they were big back in the day. Maybe nostalgia ain't what it used to be? The Strokes have always been average when I've seen them (maybe they've improved lately) and their first new album in 5 years is barely out. Some of the other bands down the bill, well-established or not, are the usual suspects - Offpsring have played that 2nd / 3rd on the bill slot 3-4 times in 10 years.

More longer term - the tickets have been being snapped up quickly for years - clearly, a lot by groups of teenagers. Maybe the next generation of teenagers know it's really hard to get a ticket and so don't look straight to it as the must-see thing this summer? And yes it does get pricier and pricier every year.

I'm not going this year but I've only been for 2 x 1 day since 2005 (see sig) so I'm not one of the missing thousands (EDIT: Subsequently DID buy a ticket for Sunday as I'm a sucker for Origin of Symmetry...).

Edited by Belisha Beacon
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Lubic Community Regular

Lubic

Posted
Posted

This years lineup is better than last years, and quite a few people I know agree. And even you think the lineup is worse, do you seriously think ticket sales for one of the biggest festivals in the world are going to be hit as ridiculously as some of you are suggesting solely down to a slightly poorer lineup? Many others have already commented on the other more likely factors contributing towards tickets being easier to get.

Also, last year weekend tickets were available for WEEKS after going on sale.

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Matticus Newbie

Matticus

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hopefully its because the bubble has burst and the shitty brats with no interest in music have f**ked off back to thier natural habitat of V and T4 on the beach ( or wherever there playing shitty dubstep) and Reading can once again become an Alternative festival with fresh bookings for the counter culture.

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