Primavera Sound 2020

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, whos3000 said:

On a more positive note, which big bands/artists will be in Europe around the new dates that weren't bookable before? Any chance for Kendrick? 

If they a band pulls out, they will surely replace them with a Spanish or European band (at least if they have any sense).

Placebo, Pet Shop Boys, Kraftwerk, Thom Yorke etc would be 'safer' options.

[Hannah990]

1 hour ago, xxialac said:

I have no doubt that the US bands would LIKE to attend. 
Whether they CAN attend is a different matter.

Transatlantic flight cancellations and visa issues and lack of ability to drive to Europe and a high cost to the band if it subsequently gets cancelled (relative to band already in Europe)...it just sounds ambitious to me.

Take all the US names out of the lineup, replace them with the best European names you can find and you can still salvage something.

We'll be gagging for something like this by end of August and some of us will be perhaps a bit more tolerant of lower overall quality.

 

100%. I think we need more optimism here. This going ahead with a reduced lineup would be a blessing following months of hardship. 

[xxialac]

This was the lineup the last time it was a smaller, less ambitious site (no Mordor).

Is it as varied as the current lineup? No.

Could you still have a good time. Probably, especially with the fantastic weather and after six months of cultural deprivation.

 

[Hannah990]

8 minutes ago, xxialac said:

 

Is it as varied as the current lineup? No.

Could you still have a good time. Probably, especially with the fantastic weather and after six months of cultural deprivation.

spot on hahaha

Edited March 28, 2020 by Hannah990

[Ohjesus]

Well, my soft reserved hotel has DOUBLED in price now #smugface

[MagneticField85]

Regarding refunds, this is what the Spanish music industry requested to Government yesterday (translated with Google translate, bold is mine):

Quote

Apply the force majeure cause in the following cases:
- To allow the possibility of suspension or postponement of musical events whose celebration is scheduled in the period of six months from the declaration of the state of alarm.
- In the event of postponement, given the exceptional situation and as it has happened in other countries such as Italy, Belgium and Germany, establish that the organizers of musical events are not obliged to return the amount of the tickets if it is not for a duly cause justified or essential. The tickets purchased will be valid for the new date, which the organizer will have the obligation to communicate within a period of up to a maximum of thirty days from the end of the alarm state.
- For canceled musical events, establish a moratorium on the return of the amount of the tickets until December 31, 2020.

 

Feel free to connect the dots.

 

In any case, it is obvious to me the festival is buying time; I fully doubt they are in a position to refund tickets to all or to a high or medium % of attendees. That money is already in someone else hands.

[D-Low]

2 hours ago, jannybruck said:

Don't book anything for the next month or so, or if you must at least make it a refundable hotel. You can filter those on Booking.com.

Seems to be quite a few decent options at the moment. Just booked one now with no upfront payment just in case the situation improves following Glasto's cancellation. As much as I'd like to go again though I can't help but feel August is too optimistic.

Do we think the main music days will be Thurs, Fri and Sat? Or Weds, Thurs and Fri?

[diogozsz]

I'll be really mad if they don't offer refunds. I can't make it neither to the August postponement nor the 2021 edition. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by diogozsz

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, diogozsz said:

I'll be really mad if they don't offer refunds. I can't make it neither to the August postponement nor the 2021 edition. 

You can sell your ticket in the worst case.

But I think they will offer refunds if they can reassure themselves that enough people have signed up to roll theirs over. 

[neacaisa]

ok, just found out what the situation is. in my opinion this is pure bullshit. I doubt they can pull the festival off with at least 50% of the original line up or solid replacements instead. if they don't grant optional refunds, i will never attend primavera again. 

[diogozsz]

2 minutes ago, neacaisa said:

ok, just found out what the situation is. in my opinion this is pure bullshit. I doubt they can pull the festival off with at least 50% of the original line up or solid replacements instead. if they don't grant optional refunds, i will never attend primavera again. 

I second this. 

[xxialac]

9 minutes ago, neacaisa said:

ok, just found out what the situation is. in my opinion this is pure bullshit. I doubt they can pull the festival off with at least 50% of the original line up or solid replacements instead. if they don't grant optional refunds, i will never attend primavera again. 

Coachella has all of the original lineup (except 'a few' changes), so Verano Sound will surely initially have >50% of the original lineup.

Of course if the situation doesn't improve, that could well drop below 50% and they will try and book the best replacements they can. But at that point, it might be melting ice and will be need to be cancelled anyway. 

Might be fair to bash them for offering no refunds. But it's also fair to wait until that actually is the case (if it is).

Edited March 28, 2020 by xxialac

[diogozsz]

1 minute ago, xxialac said:

Coachella has all of the original lineup (except 'a few' changes), so Verano Sound will surely initially have >50% of the original lineup.

Of course if the situation doesn't improve, that could well drop below 50% and they will try and book the best replacements they can. But at that point, it might be melting ice and will be need to be cancelled anyway. 

Might be fair to bash them for offering no refunds. But it's also fair to wait until that actually is the case (if it is).

Until now only 42% of the artists on the original Coachella lineup have confirmed themselves for October.

[xxialac]

Just now, diogozsz said:

Until now only 42% of the artists on the original Coachella lineup have confirmed themselves for October.

Surely that's in fact very encouraging? If they have 42% already secured in March, it will be a high number by October.

[neacaisa]

the optimism on this forum still kills me.

imo there is almost zero chance that primavera august will be pulled off and i have very high doubts even about coachella. this situation will be going for months, you have to realize that. 

[xxialac]

12 minutes ago, neacaisa said:

the optimism on this forum still kills me.

imo there is almost zero chance that primavera august will be pulled off and i have very high doubts even about coachella. this situation will be going for months, you have to realize that. 

The event is in more than 5 months.

How can you be so sure it will be cancelled and what’s the trigger for things to restart? There’s no precedent for this....

[Ohjesus]

Also: nothing wrong with optimism 

[Joecool90]

So what primavera want us to do is lose money from flights / hotels from June. Pay for flights and hotel for August in the hope it goes ahead? When that inevitably gets cancelled primavera would be finished imo. 

I think they should just postpone it indefinitely (Id personally let them keep my ticket money even till next year) and see what the situation in Europe is. I’m really disappointed in the way that they are handling this. 

[daveje]

What else can they do?

Honestly, there's a bigger picture here, and maybe Ohjesus can say something given that he has connections. The summer festival circuit is a huge deal for a lot of bands, and for the music industry as a whole. If the entire summer just vanishes, along with the existing spring tours that have all been cancelled everywhere, then that rips an enormous amount of money out of the industry, and that hurts all levels.

The longer this situation goes on, the more financially difficult it becomes for some bands, venues and festivals to continue. This is not far away from being a fight for survival, and I have to say that it's upsetting to see people on here not giving Primavera the benefit of the doubt.

[Ohjesus]

i don’t know a great deal - mildly diverting/interesting though is that the fest my bro runs had to wait for a LONG time before they announced they were cancelling due to investors and sign off and other boring things. It wasn’t a case of them watching to see how the land lies or how the virus developed or anything like that.

The legal side was astonishingly complex I’m lead to believe, as you could imagine. 

[Memory Man]

They would never admit as much but i am thinking if there is no festival of any kind this calendar year ... could it financially cripple them for years to come? Do we “suffer” a reduced lineup for this year in order that primavera can continue?

i am sure that no one would want to see the entire thing killed off for good so you might have to suck this one up. Im sure if august is a go-er there will be people looking to buy spare tickets. Admittedly at a discount.

[FKA SOSOTWS]

A reduced lineup could still be worth it as long as the bookings and timetable are on point.

[puckno]

42 minutes ago, Memory Man said:

could it financially cripple them for years to come?

No, because the Primavera tickets has a force majeure clause: "... Bad weather, natural disasters, Spanish airspace closure or any other force majeure will not lead to ticket refunds. ... " They will rather do a partial refund, postpone tickets to next year, increase price on beer, and other creative solutions rather than opt into financial trouble with full refund to everyone. 

Also notice how they specifically refer to the force majeure in todays announcement: "...  in coordination with the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Barcelona City Council and the Sant Adrià de Besòs City Council, we are forced to postpone the upcoming edition of Primavera Sound Barcelona for reasons of force majeure known to us all.  ... " This is written in bold and so specific with reference to all kind of legal obligations they might have.

Edited March 28, 2020 by puckno

[Andrej]

This whole industry will suffer for years to come. Most indie promoters will sell to LN, cause no one will be financially able to survive. In US i think Primavera is already in bed with LN, while in Spain / Portugal they operate by themselves. Or there will be more and more investors fonds buying music festivals. I think smaller or indie fests that are not part of a large corporate groups simply can not survive this year.

[xxialac]

32 minutes ago, Andrej said:

This whole industry will suffer for years to come. Most indie promoters will sell to LN, cause no one will be financially able to survive. In US i think Primavera is already in bed with LN, while in Spain / Portugal they operate by themselves. Or there will be more and more investors fonds buying music festivals. I think smaller or indie fests that are not part of a large corporate groups simply can not survive this year.

This thought makes me very sad. The music scene needs a diversity of players.

@Daveje said it best. Would be good to give Primavera the benefit of the doubt for now, in the absence of any evidence that they are trying to screw their customers.