Not sold out, why?

[SERRIDGER]

I haven't been to V for a year or two but my recollection of the day tickets went on sale was they pretty much sold out within hours, why not this year?

Is it the thought of seeing The Killers again, prices doubling in a decade, or the metamorphosis of the festival from a rock/indie festival to something resembling Channel 4's party on the beach?

[thetime]

All festivals are struggling at the minute apart from Glastonbury.

Reading/Leeds, TITP, IOW and V used to sell out in hours. It's better if you ask me though, you can take a more measured choice which festivals you go to.

Why? Multiple of reasons I would say. Certainly the price is an issue, over a hundred quid for a day ticket is a disgrace. Then you have other factors like perceived weaker lineups, weather, other things to do etc etc.

If I was starting to go to festivals as a newbie before I got the bug, I would think twice due to the price. Once you get your ticket, travel, spending money even if you did it on the cheap you are looking at 500 quid.

[SERRIDGER]

I think that's a very valid point , it seems the peak years were 2006-11 then things began to tail off. I decided to go to Optimus Alive in Lisbon in 2012, the 3 day festival ticket with camping was £80 and the flight £85. it was therefore cheaper to go there than 2 days in Stafford. The headliners were The Stones Roses, Radiohead and The Cure. 3 days in sunny Lisbon v 2 in muddy Stafford. No brainier really.

[oneeye]

£200 for 2 days, that's why. Greedy corporate b'stards, and the fact you have to queue for beer tokens, then beer etc etc etc...... Just not worth it, though the line up this year is surprising strong.

Make it a full 3 days with fewer restrictions then maybe more people will consider it.

[atomised]

I've not been back to V for some time. Part of that is line up, part the fact that it's the same price as a3 day fest for 2

[Jamiet1000]

2nd year of not going after going since 2005. Think you're about right with why it's not sold out... The line up just seems a bit boring. To be fair there are some decent bands on but how many times can you pull the killers out??

Plus it's £20 just to park, I blame the Tories

[phil the shrew]

Posted on another thread about the cost. When you start hitting the £200 mark for a ticket it is quite steep especially now there are so many festivals in UK and Europe

When V first started it was quite unique, and certainly in the case of Weston Park there wasn't another festival of its type around in that area. Now there are quite a few

Line up does suggest some mixed markets too. If your a youngster heading to first festival the older acts might put you off, and on the flip side the newer acts might not appeal to the oldies like me so much

[sisco]

IMO its Quite clearly not really worth the money.

T, R&L, IOW all are 3 days and are the same price as V. How on earth V have managed to get massive sales year after year amazes me. But hey all the time people pay it there is no reason to change it.

Add Glasto where u basically get 4/5 days for the same price plus being able to take your own alcohol to drink....... well kmow what 1 i would want to go to

[Pothuthic]

For me V is very local so isn't too much to go to, I don't camp and go every day, so being 20 minutes away aint bad.

I think this years line up is more mature than the last two, so that's why I think it hasn't sold out.

[Mr Nasty]

I'm glad to see V not selling out, and rightly so. I said on another thread they've been taking the piss. Maybes now they'll have a rethink. Take a look at Benicassims like up. Miles better and a hell of a lot cheaper. People say (and V's fb) if u don't like it don't go.well I probably won't but I am pissed off coz overall I do have a good weekend with my mates years after year at V. All good things come to an end hey?

The festival bubble is bursting. I used to say FeVer but its oVer. Fuck you V fest.

[Mr Nasty]

P.s. any negative comments on the official v fest fb page just get deleted. I got blocked for having an opinion they didn't agree with. Shit that.

[SERRIDGER]

I think the mixed markets idea is interesting, I'm not too sure what market V is aiming for anymore? Ageing Indie and New Wave fans v pop fans. Whilst it remains a hybrid of both I think it will struggle plus when did the marketing team at V decide it was a good idea not to announce what bands are playing on what day, I can't think of any other festival that does this and fail too see what the benefit of it is , other than to put off people buying day tickets.

[thetime]

I think the mixed markets idea is interesting, I'm not too sure what market V is aiming for anymore? Ageing Indie and New Wave fans v pop fans. Whilst it remains a hybrid of both I think it will struggle plus when did the marketing team at V decide it was a good idea not to announce what bands are playing on what day, I can't think of any other festival that does this and fail too see what the benefit of it is , other than to put off people buying day tickets.

The market V is after is spot on and they do it very well, that's why they sell so many tickets. Like I've said previously festivals just don't sell out anymore and won't in the near future.

V has got themselfs a great niche in what they are offering, for example people I work with will be at v and they wouldn't go anywhere near any other festival. There is no other festival in England do what they are offering, why would they change when other festivals struggle to sell out?

Not everyone wants to sit in a field for 5 days like Glastonbury, or want new music like reading offers, or cutting edge dance music like global gathering offers, or heavy rock like download offers.

The v crowd in a lot of ways are after the chart fan and also want to draw the 30+ fan who gave more disposable income than your average 16-18 year old.

In that respect they are doing very well.

Edited March 8, 2014 by thetime

[efcfanwirral]

For me V is very local so isn't too much to go to, I don't camp and go every day, so being 20 minutes away aint bad.

I think this years line up is more mature than the last two, so that's why I think it hasn't sold out.

I agree. All this 'it's shit' stuff didn't stop it selling out every year with pop lineups and everything else wrong with it at a similar price.

It's simply because as Neil said they wanted to be seen as more credible, have cracked out a lineup that basically sits in the middle of the two target audiences without really ensnaring either.

Timberlake in my opinion isn't THAT big and has other gigs on, while killers have played so often. If it was Coldplay or muse and jay z or rihanna I think it'd be selling better.

A little guidance on what you'll see for your day tickets would help also, as would a slight split of days even just for the top few acts, so you know at least the headliner time clashes. Neil saying elbow are headlining the second stage has made me much more likely to go for example.

[efcfanwirral]

Oh and paolo nutini, kaiser chiefs and lily Allen in top spots despite doing very little of note in years I don't think helps either. Nutini's new album must be an absolute cracker (as the organisers of this and t would have had a listen in advance) as when he was last around I don't remember him getting big slots. Lily Allen has two albums so far and is again getting bigger slots than when she went away. And kaiser chiefs were on the decline and are genuinely only getting good slots outside of Leeds festival because of their singer somehow being a vocal coach on a prime time tv show.

I think they've just overestimated the popularity of the acts they've booked

[daniel.k]

Oh and paolo nutini, kaiser chiefs and lily Allen in top spots despite doing very little of note in years I don't think helps either. Nutini's new album must be an absolute cracker (as the organisers of this and t would have had a listen in advance) as when he was last around I don't remember him getting big slots. Lily Allen has two albums so far and is again getting bigger slots than when she went away. And kaiser chiefs were on the decline and are genuinely only getting good slots outside of Leeds festival because of their singer somehow being a vocal coach on a prime time tv show.

I think they've just overestimated the popularity of the acts they've booked

Agreed, the three you mentioned are getting decent slots because of a comeback hype im guessing, or they will all be deserving of their positions by August. Paolo and Lily will have released their albums, as will Ed and Example, so presuming they all release at different times we could be looking at 4 number 1 albums at some point with a few high singles thrown in there as well. They have either over estimated or thinking of the potential of the summer.

V also underestimated size last year, such as 5ive and Rudimental

[Pothuthic]

5ive <3 wish they'd come back

[mcalli2008]

None of the festivals seem to sell out quickly anymore, with the exception of Glastonbury.

I think the lineup this year has put people off V too. This would have been my 8th year and the 4th time the Killers have headlined in this time. I just can't see the point in this. They are ok I suppose, but there are lots of other bands out there worthy of headlining. The rest of the lineup is ok, but mostly not to my taste unfortunately.

Also, being a 2 day festival may appeal to some people, but if you want your moneys worth you're going to go to one of the 3/4 day ones.

I'll miss V this year, but I think the Reading lineup is much more to my taste this time around!

Anyway, enjoy people

[The Placid Casual]

I have no idea when it comes to V fest, is it likely to sell out, and if it is, how close to the festival?

(If anyone has an idea)

[DarthSaul]

I have no idea when it comes to V fest, is it likely to sell out, and if it is, how close to the festival?

(If anyone has an idea)

A few years ago it would sell out weekend tickets on the day they were released, now it probably won't sell out until a few weeks before

[Prat.]

I have no idea when it comes to V fest, is it likely to sell out, and if it is, how close to the festival?

(If anyone has an idea)

didnt sell out last year with a very very mainstream bill so cant see it this year either

though then again that absolutely pathetic excuse of a lineup for leeds might help V..

[Andy0808 v3.0]

Lineups are getting worse.

Not enough (good)variety on the bill, I know there's pop, indie, and dance acts; but honestly, how much of it is shite?

Prices go up ever so slightly every year without offering anything new or worth that money.

Why would people pay for V when they could go to a festival with an extremely similar lineup with an extra day?

This is pretty much my view on most festivals. The V lineup is pretty bad IMO, Killers are just a terrible booking and i'm expecting it to be Kasabian next year, followed by KOL, followed by Killers, etc.

Reading lineup is god awful, I saw the leaked poster before the announcement and thought it was so bad that it must have been a fake, as did a few people I know but have somehow tricked themselves into forgetting they thought that and now want to go.

If lineups carry on going this way and people like Jake Bugg manage to wrangle sub headline spots and the same acts get recycled year in year out without releasing new material the market is just going to become exhausted.

Rant/

[daniel.k]

Lineups are getting worse.

Not enough (good)variety on the bill, I know there's pop, indie, and dance acts; but honestly, how much of it is shite?

Prices go up ever so slightly every year without offering anything new or worth that money.

Why would people pay for V when they could go to a festival with an extremely similar lineup with an extra day?

This is pretty much my view on most festivals. The V lineup is pretty bad IMO, Killers are just a terrible booking and i'm expecting it to be Kasabian next year, followed by KOL, followed by Killers, etc.

Reading lineup is god awful, I saw the leaked poster before the announcement and thought it was so bad that it must have been a fake, as did a few people I know but have somehow tricked themselves into forgetting they thought that and now want to go.

If lineups carry on going this way and people like Jake Bugg manage to wrangle sub headline spots and the same acts get recycled year in year out without releasing new material the market is just going to become exhausted.

Rant/

Some line ups are getting worse, guess we will see how many current acts Glasto has. If it doesnt have many, that will show the talent pool is alot smaller now and so other festivals will probably have weaker line ups too. Every line up will have some shiet on it, but I think V's isnt too bad (of course ill think that).

Im guessing you mean T in the park as the very similar festival for a little bit more money. For alot of people its too far to go, so they choose V. T have shown that they can keep the ticket prices the same and have a full friday line up, and it still doesnt sell out even with a fairly okay line up.

Must agree with the KOL Killers Kasabian triangle that will probably be completed next year.

Yeah R&L looks awful, maybe people will see V isnt that bad with the bigger names and the undercard compared to there. I doubt Jake Bugg would sub this year at V, especially if Chic and the other 4 on the 2nd line of the poster were there. Im surprised you chose Jake Bugg and not Macklemore to show your point.

All in all your rant is pretty spot on, but the V line up isnt too bad for the people its trying to aim for

[daniel.k]

didnt sell out last year with a very very mainstream bill so cant see it this year either

though then again that absolutely pathetic excuse of a lineup for leeds might help V..

I dont like most of the acts at R&L, but it looks weaker than last year and some of the slots are higher than I would have thought. Only way for the subs to go back there is headline...and that wouldnt be pretty

[Andy0808 v3.0]

I didn't choose Macklemore because (although I think he's terrible), he appeals to a wide/r audience than Jake Bugg and is pretty big