BBC article

[2rare2die]

I still believe that regardless of tastes and whether or not you like the headliners the fact they cannot even get a sub spot at a festival that R/L is in direct competition is detrimental to the marketing of R/L.

[rachbon]

I still believe that regardless of tastes and whether or not you like the headliners the fact they cannot even get a sub spot at a festival that R/L is in direct competition is detrimental to the marketing of R/L.

[Fesival_goer]

Even before I saw the lineup the price put me off. £200!!!, more expensive than Glastonbury which is on for longer.

I understand prices have to increase as fuel/electric costs increase.

Then hearing the lineup helped me keep the money in my pocket. Each to their own, but £200 for that is taking the mick. MCR are not a headline band (sub-headliner yes), Strokes i can agree with and Muse are.

I always ask the question, how do other european festivals get amazing lineups and charge a fraction of the price??? Opener festival is £70 for the whole weekend, with a equivalent lineup???

Festivals are starting to take the mick out of the fans on prices they charge and it is now coming back to bite them on the ass as people are tightening the purse strings.

[RichieParf]

Then hearing the lineup helped me keep the money in my pocket. Each to their own, but £200 for that is taking the mick. MCR are not a headline band (sub-headliner yes), Strokes i can agree with and Muse are.

[harderfaster]

^ yeah but this is different: instead of 'who the f**k are arcade fire?' it's 'i hate MCR, why the f**k are they headlining?'

[RichieParf]

I hate Kings of Leon, I never questioned their ability to headline

[Yellow_Fellow]

didn't make them less of a draw for Download

Edited March 27, 2011 by Yellow_Fellow

[2rare2die]

didn't have anything to do with the fact they weren't announced till after download, huh?

Edited March 27, 2011 by 2rare2die

[Vacant0]

Except that download and soni haven't sold out. R+L probably has the lowest age group as its audience out of all of those and they're the ones who will have been most impacted by the changes that have taken place in the economy since last year. Cutting middle class benefits, raising tuition fees, ever climbing youth unemplyment etc etc. I don't think blaming it purely on a lineup you don't like is really accurate, I don't see that its any stronger or weaker than last year. Muse and The Strokes are hardly weak bookings, and MCR have headlined download before and are more than capable of filling the slot.

[RichieParf]

This shouldn't really make any difference, but then a lot of students didn't seem to understand what they were protesting about at the time so aye, could well be a factor.... Agree with the rest though. Hoping theres still tickets left in a month or so - should have the money then so may well get myself a day ticket at the least.

[Mega Ross]

Personally I think parents shouldn't support their kids at all after the age of 18, let them go out into the real world and fend for themselves man else what motivation do they have to do well and get a good job?

I could barely afford reading this year, student work is pretty scarce, made a bit here and there but it has been an overdraft kind of year (and I've been living on plain pasta/ rice for about a week now).

Praying they give me my old job back over easter when I head home.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Mega Ross

[pink_triangle]

I agree the demographics are different for reading/leeds and t in the park. However the majority of acts who play one festival could also feasibly play the other. All 4 reading/leeds headliners wouldnt look out of place at T, while 2 of the 3 t headliners wouldnt look out of place at reading/leeds. I think its only right that people going to reading/leeds look at the size of the headliners and subs at T and think even if they dont get all the same size bands and R&L then there should be bands of similar sizes, if the festival organisers think the punters should spend the same amount of money.

[5co77ie]

They actually interviewed me for this article, but I guess my answers didn't fit what they wanted to hear and so they weren't used.

[loscfestivals]

Ticketline abolishing their booking fee on Leeds tickets just a week into the onsales is a pretty ominous sign.

I would imagine Reading would sell out and very soon if the numbers See tickets said they had left were correct, but even last year after re-releases Leeds tickets were not hard to come by and there was a much bigger initial demand. With an increased capacity this year too then I think they could struggle. Sunday tickets for Leeds last year didn't sell out at all either.

Ticketline would not be abolishing the booking fee if they only had a few left.

[Vacant0]

Personally I think parents shouldn't support their kids at all after the age of 18, let them go out into the real world and fend for themselves man else what motivation do they have to do well and get a good job?

[she bangs the drums]

Ticketline abolishing their booking fee on Leeds tickets just a week into the onsales is a pretty ominous sign.

I would imagine Reading would sell out and very soon if the numbers See tickets said they had left were correct, but even last year after re-releases Leeds tickets were not hard to come by and there was a much bigger initial demand. With an increased capacity this year too then I think they could struggle. Sunday tickets for Leeds last year didn't sell out at all either.

Ticketline would not be abolishing the booking fee if they only had a few left.

[therefused]

offspring wouldnt clash with my chemical romance. they have the same fans.

[mrtourette]

I don't care how quickly TITP or V sold out because even with as many holes that the R&L line-up has it's still better than those two festivals. If it takes R&L longer to sell out because all of the idiots who want to see Arctic Monkeys again or who think that a R&L headliner only headlining the second stage at TITP means that TITP is a better festival are going elsewhere then good riddance quite frankly.

Edited March 28, 2011 by mrtourette

[nin18]

The funniest thing about all this is that there will be hundreds of touts that have bought up reading tickets in the hope of making a profit. There's over 200 listed on ebay as "reading weekend tickets" at the moment, with many of them for 2 or more tickets. Most of them have starting bids of £200 and fail to sell - the ones selling go for anywhere between £150 and £180. There will be plenty more people with unwanted tickets that are holding back in the hope prices go up once they sell out.

I actually really like the reading lineup this year, but I wasn't going to spend £200 when I'm already going to Glastonbury. It would be my first year not going since I started in 2006 (when the ticket face value was just £135!), but if the tout prices come down I may be tempted...

Edited March 28, 2011 by nin18

[mrtourette]

How is MCR+Strokes+Muse+Pulp any better than or even close to MCR, Pulp, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, Blink 182?

[Vacant0]

How is MCR+Strokes+Muse+Pulp any better than or even close to MCR, Pulp, Coldplay, Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters, Blink 182?

[pink_triangle]

Its not the names at the top of the line up that bothers me but the size of the bands. I assume the bigger bands cost more money to book, yet this isnt reflected in the price of r and l. I think the organisers play on the fact that there festival isnt mainstream and for real music fans to con people into thinking its ok to charge more for smaller bands. The only difference I see is that t and v fans know they are commercial festivals and dont care, while many reading and leeds fan think they are going to some alternative non commericial festival, when thats clearly false.

[RichieParf]

They actually interviewed me for this article, but I guess my answers didn't fit what they wanted to hear and so they weren't used.

[rexclark]

I don't care how quickly TITP or V sold out because even with as many holes that the R&L line-up has it's still better than those two festivals. If it takes R&L longer to sell out because all of the idiots who want to see Arctic Monkeys again or who think that a R&L headliner only headlining the second stage at TITP means that TITP is a better festival are going elsewhere then good riddance quite frankly.

[mrtourette]

Its not the names at the top of the line up that bothers me but the size of the bands. I assume the bigger bands cost more money to book, yet this isnt reflected in the price of r and l. I think the organisers play on the fact that there festival isnt mainstream and for real music fans to con people into thinking its ok to charge more for smaller bands. The only difference I see is that t and v fans know they are commercial festivals and dont care, while many reading and leeds fan think they are going to some alternative non commericial festival, when thats clearly false.