Hop Farm 2012

[fairy_]

Well on the IOW forums John Giddings has said in relation to a hop farm question that the hop farm is still trying to get its headliners and if they don't get decent acts he doesn't think they will do it

[sisco]

do you have a link to that? would be interesting to read in context

[jimbo68]

do you have a link to that? would be interesting to read in context

[Paul ™]

We just want to reassure you all that the Hop Farm Music Festival is definitely still going ahead.

Yes, this year has been a little more difficult for us little independent festivals. With the big wigs wadding in there are less bands about, there’s the Olympics, then The Queen's Jubilee, the recession and the fact that the BBC are arranging free gigs doesn’t help us either but not to worry, we have a substantial bill and you will be wowed once again; Hop Farm is the only place to be at the end of June, you know that!

We will be announcing our line up soon, just sit tight, let us get everything organised and then we will unleash the Hop Farm beast, you will not be disappointed!

[fairy_]

they've obviously been reading that too, message on facebook:

Howdy Hop Farmers!!

We just want to reassure you all that the Hop Farm Music Festival is definitely still going ahead.

Yes, this year has been a little more difficult for us little independent festivals. With the big wigs wadding in there are less bands about, there’s the Olympics, then The Queen's Jubilee, the recession and the fact that the BBC are arranging free gigs doesn’t help us either but not to worry, we have a substantial bill and you will be wowed once again; Hop Farm is the only place to be at the end of June, you know that!

We will be announcing our line up soon, just sit tight, let us get everything organised and then we will unleash the Hop Farm beast, you will not be disappointed!

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

Very pleased about that, hopefully they'll announce something soon then.

[joe1990]

it says something that they should have to reassure anyone in the first place.

im all so not happy at them labelling them self as a "little festival" i think there far from "little" an with them saying that it just makes them sound slightly unsure and unconfident in there own festival

i think there hole thing this year has been a mess

[fairy_]

they've additionally said on the facebook page (in comments):

Hop Farm Music Festival Sorry to make you worry Lawrence Touchette, Oh and Fleetwood Mac aren't on the road this year dear.

[jimbo68]

they've obviously been reading that too, message on facebook:

Howdy Hop Farmers!!

We just want to reassure you all that the Hop Farm Music Festival is definitely still going ahead.

Yes, this year has been a little more difficult for us little independent festivals. With the big wigs wadding in there are less bands about, there’s the Olympics, then The Queen's Jubilee, the recession and the fact that the BBC are arranging free gigs doesn’t help us either but not to worry, we have a substantial bill and you will be wowed once again; Hop Farm is the only place to be at the end of June, you know that!

We will be announcing our line up soon, just sit tight, let us get everything organised and then we will unleash the Hop Farm beast, you will not be disappointed!

[swashbubbler]

I don't think the Olympics the Queens Jubilee or the BBC would have had a great impact on their festivals abroad.

I wonder how much the Stone Roses gigs have affected their planning.

We should have known from the farce of the delay in announcing the line up of the Prince day last year that communication is not their strong point.

[eFestivals]

These issues didn't stop them booking & announcing bands for their other festivals abroad so why does it affect HF?

cos the Jubilee and Olympics aren't abroad but here?

There definitely seems a big issue about having enough bands to go round for the bigger festivals this year. Whether that is solely down to those this-year-only factors or not I can't work out.

It might be the case that there's a bigger issue going on - festival overload in the UK. As it's by playing live that bands get to make their dosh nowadays rather than via selling records, it might be the case that they've started to see the amount of exposure they get at festivals as impacting on their ability to sell tickets for their own tours (which I presume they make more money on).

I'd personally say that, while it might effect some bands that way - because they don't put in a good festival performance - that for most bands it works the other way, and that people will want to go and see them at their own shows if they're worth seeing.

[eFestivals]

We should have known from the farce of the delay in announcing the line up of the Prince day last year that communication is not their strong point.

From what I know it sounds far more likely that had FAR more to do with Prince than Hop Farm Fest.

But it does seem to be the case that Vince Power has been squeezed out of being able to book acts this year, if what I heard about him failing to get bands for Phoenix, plus what someone posted above that Giddins is supposed to have said about Hop Farm.

While there seems to be an all-round shortage of big-draw acts available within the UK this year, it seems to have hit Vince harder than the other operators (mind you, most of the others all work together over some things, so probably scratch each other's backs). If that's the case it might be that LN etc are starting to see his new 'Music Festivals plc' company as a long-term threat to their own positions and so are trying to shut him out of the market.

[fairy_]

I haven't been worried about the lack of line-up announcements until today, and their message on facebook hasn't really done anything to offest that for me.

[jimbo68]

cos the Jubilee and Olympics aren't abroad but here?

[LondonTom]

it says something that they should have to reassure anyone in the first place.

im all so not happy at them labelling them self as a "little festival" i think there far from "little" an with them saying that it just makes them sound slightly unsure and unconfident in there own festival

i think there hole thing this year has been a mess

[eFestivals]

Yes i had sussed that one out but ok explain why the olympics that starts on 27th July & finishes on 12th august affects a festival that is nearly 4 weeks earlier

because there's - a perception if not the facts - a rip-off going on, of more expensive flights and accommodation.

, there must be other festivals on at same time as olympics at home and abroad that have got artists sorted and released part line ups.

yep, but if lots of acts are keeping clear of the UK this year (which seems to be the case) then there's too few acts to go around, at least with the easy and readily available ones of headliner status.

Once those 'easy' acts have been taken, things get far more difficult. It appears that not only Hop Farm have had this difficulty, Sonisphere seems to be another; from info I've had it seems to be the case that they've had to throw vast amounts of money at Kiss to be able to get themselves a 3rd headline act that wouldn't have had otherwise.

V, T, R/L, Download, Wireless, HRC, & the Olympics shows are all run by companies that collaborate with each other, meaning that (it's very likely) they've helped each other out with securing their acts. Soni and Hop Farm are out on their own, and are having to try and get what's left or tempt acts from doing deals with that big grouping by making much bigger financial offers.

No other festival has blamed olympics or Jubilee have they?

In the main no fest will want to fess-up to struggling for acts, it'll make them appear weak &/or minor players. It looks like Hop Farm have sort-of been forced into giving an excuse by what Giddins said.

[revs]

Ironically, I had a conversation with someone well-to-do within the festival market yesterday and hop farm popped up. As I mentioned before in an earlier post, a guy I work with is booked to play hop farm this year - not a big slot but down to play none the less so he's been privy to a bit of inside gossip - again nothing ground breaking but interesting none the less. And it does seem the there's been a real scramble for bands for festivals this year and that Hop Farm work very much independantly of the main players and bookers who, as mentioned in one of the posts above, look after each other a little bit - swapping and offering bands around as if they are stickers until they all get the line-ups that they are happy with.

Festivals are very much a staple for bands nowadays as to an extent they set the price and then have no great outgoings as it's festivals who foot the bill for marketing, promoting, demands etc. unlike a regular tour. And with the ever increasing number of festivals it's more tricky for festivals to get a decent full line up of desireable bands unless you've got a fair amount of money and influence behind you - something that Hop Farm doesn't really have. But that doesn't mean it can't get a good line up, it just has to be adopt a different tactic, be more creative, be more secretive, try to book outside the mainstreem and be more patient.

Having heard a few names yesterday of bands/artists that Hop Farm have tried for this year - it does seem that the policy for Hop Farm is to try and go 'off-track' from every other festival for the headliners. As with Prince last year the desire does seem to be about getting someone that probably won't appear anywhere else, or be touring to a great extent on their own anywhere else. Trouble with that again though is convincing the artist to play Hop and then trying to bend around their terms for what is a very lucrative gig for all concerned. With Prince last year it was apprently exactly that with him/his agents really squeezing everything that they could out of it, right up and till the last minute.

And this year is no different from what I was told yesterday. Hop Farm have apparently got/or are close to the headliner that they want but are still ironing out the fine points - something that has gone back and forth for an awful long time now. In the end the festival has to either bow to the demands of the artist/band to get the headliner that they want - or move on at this late stage and search elsewhere, something that with all the work and negotiations that they've already done, they are very reluctant to do.

I know of half a dozen names that they've approached and have been chasing and they appear to have aimed high again. If they do manage to nail one of those - then I think that the mass majority of people will be very happy.

Revs

[eFestivals]

Ironically, I had a conversation with someone well-to-do within the festival market yesterday and hop farm popped up. As I mentioned before in an earlier post, a guy I work with is booked to play hop farm this year - not a big slot but down to play none the less so he's been privy to a bit of inside gossip - again nothing ground breaking but interesting none the less. And it does seem the there's been a real scramble for bands for festivals this year and that Hop Farm work very much independantly of the main players and bookers who, as mentioned in one of the posts above, look after each other a little bit - swapping and offering bands around as if they are stickers until they all get the line-ups that they are happy with.

Festivals are very much a staple for bands nowadays as to an extent they set the price and then have no great outgoings as it's festivals who foot the bill for marketing, promoting, demands etc. unlike a regular tour. And with the ever increasing number of festivals it's more tricky for festivals to get a decent full line up of desireable bands unless you've got a fair amount of money and influence behind you - something that Hop Farm doesn't really have. But that doesn't mean it can't get a good line up, it just has to be adopt a different tactic, be more creative, be more secretive, try to book outside the mainstreem and be more patient.

great post - you've said there the sort of thing I was aiming at, but you've said it much better.

[jimbo68]

because there's - a perception if not the facts - a rip-off going on, of more expensive flights and accommodation.

yep, but if lots of acts are keeping clear of the UK this year (which seems to be the case) then there's too few acts to go around, at least with the easy and readily available ones of headliner status.

Once those 'easy' acts have been taken, things get far more difficult. It appears that not only Hop Farm have had this difficulty, Sonisphere seems to be another; from info I've had it seems to be the case that they've had to throw vast amounts of money at Kiss to be able to get themselves a 3rd headline act that wouldn't have had otherwise.

V, T, R/L, Download, Wireless, HRC, & the Olympics shows are all run by companies that collaborate with each other, meaning that (it's very likely) they've helped each other out with securing their acts. Soni and Hop Farm are out on their own, and are having to try and get what's left or tempt acts from doing deals with that big grouping by making much bigger financial offers.

In the main no fest will want to fess-up to struggling for acts, it'll make them appear weak &/or minor players. It looks like Hop Farm have sort-of been forced into giving an excuse by what Giddins said.

[revs]

I think that as long as Hop Farm continue to work by the same methods that they've used in previous years regarding the booking of acts then the festival will always remain strong. If it strays from these and attempts to become a so called 'big' festival then it will just become another identik festival peddling the same bands year after year.

If you look at the line-up for Hop over the past few years it's always managed to surprise and impress in someway or another, whilst remaining a real feel good, low key festival. They've always grabbed an act that no one expected or even thought of and that has really appealed to his key demographic - ie. the hardcore regular Hop fans.

Again this year by working outside of the regular festival band list, I believe that it's trying to do the same, continue it's tradition and offer something different.

The only downside of this method of booking is that it takes longer, requires fans to be patient and leads to the line-up not being announced until later than some of the other festivals. A small price to pay I think, if you get that unique headliner.

They could of course release the names of twenty bands who they've already booked but why have fans think 'is that it?... that's a bit disappointing' instead of waiting till you've nailed your big draw and then saying 'there you go, what d'ya think of that then!'...

...although saying that Prince last year was a late addition and in some ways a bit of a bonus. I say trust in Hop Farm and be patient - it'll be great... it always is

[zahidf]

They always must have had that proble with headliners: Van Morrison and Fratelli's headlining for example!

[LondonTom]

They always must have had that proble with headliners: Van Morrison and Fratelli's headlining for example!

[Jenny Knight]

I agree with all the posts above and more. A big London agent of my aquaintance tells me that the lack of Glastonbury and the belief that a lot of festivals will go belly-up this year threatens to reduce thier (the agents) incomes. Now that live has replaced recording as an act's main source of income, these guys are used to earning lots and lots of money (many are now millionaires) and they want to make more.

So, they've formulated ways to protect their profits. They've done deals with the big players (such as Festival Nation, MAMA Group, Live Nation and so on) for their acts to play at the big corporate festivals and they've hiked up the prices for everyone else. I know of one band (fairly big around a decade ago) who I can't name who have been offered to independent festivals this year for £30,000. Their usual price for a concert is around £5,000 and they played at Latitude not so long ago for nowhere near £30,000.

Apparently Vince Power is not a popular man with the agents becuase he has a history of trying to bypass them and going direct, either to the artist or straight to their US agents. This, I am led to believe, is what we are seeing now, with the delayed announcements. If he does manage to find headliners, I am told he will be paying well over the odds for them. And of course it's the festival-goer who pays in the end.

[MaxMaz]

The Isle of Wight forum continues to be a better source of news that anything officially Hop Farm related! Solo (or John Giddings) on there has spoken to Vince Power this morning and says Hop Farm is going ahead (so he says on the forum).

Also mentions it's risky without sponsors. Very true but I think the risk is losing your customers to other festivals by announcing last. Got my early bird ticket though, just hope they my faith is worth it!

[eFestivals]

The Isle of Wight forum continues to be a better source of news that anything officially Hop Farm related! Solo (or John Giddings) on there has spoken to Vince Power this morning and says Hop Farm is going ahead (so he says on the forum).

I suspect Giddins has done that as a way of redressing his suggestion that it's not going ahead - which was a bit foolish of him in the first place. Good on him for doing it, all the same.