Primavera Sound 2021

[Createur]

8 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Trouble is those names with the exception of MA and Gorillaz are all outside Europe.

Apart from arguably Pavement, they would need a tour to come to Europe and will there be enough dates for them? Probably not worth the risk/lower financial return.

I think it's likely that Primavera will be re-booted to Sep with more European names.

At the very least they will do a smaller Summer festival event under a different name. The pace of vaccination still points to some modest-sized events being allowed by the end of the Summer, Spain has a long Summer and there's still a tonne of pent up demand and bands desperate to play.

This is not sustainable. They would have to refund 50-70% of punters. They would take big losses.

Edited March 1, 2021 by Createur

[xxialac]

2 minutes ago, Createur said:

This is not sustainable. They would have to refund 50-70% of punters. They would take big losses.

I don't understand the situation - sure someone on here does.

Let's pretend they have E10m in the bank.

And that booking the bands costs E9m. This cost needs to be met whether this year or next year.

If they have to refund 70% of punters (seems very excessive) it will only because they are confident it will be made up by new ticket sales - clearly the plan relies on selling new tickets to a festival-deprived public.  It's at worst a short term cash flow problem.

And what happened last year?  Presumably they pulled the plug just before advances were to be paid. Let's pretend 3 months before.

So if they book for September, they could do the same again in June and with minimal financial outlay.

 

[Quadrophobia]

4 minutes ago, xxialac said:

I don't understand the situation - sure someone on here does.

Let's pretend they have E10m in the bank.

And that booking the bands costs E9m. This cost needs to be met whether this year or next year.

If they have to refund 70% of punters (seems very excessive) it will only because they are confident it will be made up by new ticket sales - clearly the plan relies on selling new tickets to a festival-deprived public.  It's at worst a short term cash flow problem.

And what happened last year?  Presumably they pulled the plug just before advances were to be paid. Let's pretend 3 months before.

So if they book for September, they could do the same again in June and with minimal financial outlay.

 

The adavances are contracted for June already, it doesn't matter when the festival is actually taking place. Last year the novelty of the situation might have made renegotiating with bands possible, but they won't do that this year (because, well they know its not gonna happen).

50-70% is by no means excessive, but very realistic. People need to plan ahead and there is no planning security foreseeable. Basically almost all internationals would cancel, because arranging time off work, accomodation, flights and so on with either no security or on very short notice is not an option for most. Also they would sell hardly any tickets at this point, because everyone knows that festivals in 2021 are far from realistic.

Edited March 1, 2021 by Quadrophobia

[xxialac]

1 minute ago, Quadrophobia said:

The adavances are contracted already, it doesn't matter when the festival is actually taking place. Last year the novelty of the situation might have made renegotiating with bands possible, but they won't do that this year (because, well they know its not gonna happen).

50-70% is by no means excessive, but very realistic. Also they would sell hardly any tickets at this point, because everyone knows that festivals in 2021 are far from realistic.

Helpful clarification, thanks.

[Ohjesus]

every day’s a school day on this board. 
 

I do just dearly want to be drinking Aperol Spritz in Barcelona though. 

[Homer]

F@ck sake! Have been to the Porto one, but the timed I wanted to go to the Barca one (Underworld, Belle and Sebastian year), my mate selfishly got married the same weekend, and this time this! Hope they keep the bulk of the line-up as it looks v strong and the wife seems to agree too!

[whos3000]

Game over imo. If 2022 goes ahead i hope it won't be too commercial names to get the money back. This edition sold out mainly because of The Strokes, Tyler the creator, Bad Bunny and Tame Impala so I guess they will try to have them back. No problem with postponing Pavement Massive Attack or the National either... On the other hand, I think that they can't be too detached from the current big releases of the year. If Portishead release an album, what does Ps do? Furthermore, will every big act postpone releasing a new album waiting for the festivals to catch up? I don't think so

[xxialac]

https://www.metropoliabierta.com/el-pulso-de-la-ciudad/govern-relajar-restricciones-bares-restaurantes-lunes_36988_102.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1614614425

The Secretary of Public Health for Catalonia predicts Summer Festivals (in September seemingly)

 

[xxialac]

51 minutes ago, xxialac said:

https://www.metropoliabierta.com/el-pulso-de-la-ciudad/govern-relajar-restricciones-bares-restaurantes-lunes_36988_102.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1614614425

The Secretary of Public Health for Catalonia predicts Summer Festivals (in September seemingly)

 

Edit: in separate article although he doesn't mention possibility of testing, he also says that football wouldn't have 100% full stadiums by September.

That does seem extremely negative for any hopes.

 

[gigi21]

3 hours ago, Ohjesus said:

every day’s a school day on this board. 
 

I do just dearly want to be drinking Aperol Spritz in Barcelona though. 

Some free drinks in exchange for the ticket confirmation for a PS in September with mostly European names.
Where do we have to sign for that? 😄

[mln]

10 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Edit: in separate article although he doesn't mention possibility of testing, he also says that football wouldn't have 100% full stadiums by September.

That does seem extremely negative for any hopes.

 

So what does he mean by 'a better summer with music festivals'? Quite confusing....

[xxialac]

14 minutes ago, gigi21 said:

Some free drinks in exchange for the ticket confirmation for a PS in September with mostly European names.
Where do we have to sign for that? 😄

Yeah, I was thinking they could have gone for a '75 strategy'.

Sell 75% of the tickets, spend 75% of their normal budget and refund people 25% of their ticket cost as free drinks, offer full refunds to anyone that wants one and then try and on-sell those tickets to locals.

Would have put less pressure on them selling out, less pressure to book the most expensive bands and more space which might please the local authorities plus the hardcore element is happy with the offer of the drinks.

Edited March 1, 2021 by xxialac

[xxialac]

Interesting testing option for the unvaccinated.

 

[jannybruck]

12 minutes ago, xxialac said:

Interesting testing option for the unvaccinated.

 

It's a nice idea in theory, but knowing how difficult it's been for the public to access doctors over the past year, this will never happen. They have backlogs of stuff to get through without watching hundreds of teenagers take PCR tests on Zoom.

[Declan]

How do you prove you've been vaccinated?

[jannybruck]

1 minute ago, Declan said:

How do you prove you've been vaccinated?

Most governments are exploring options at the moment, but all roads probably lead to some sort of QR code.

[xxialac]

3 minutes ago, jannybruck said:

It's a nice idea in theory, but knowing how difficult it's been for the public to access doctors over the past year, this will never happen. They have backlogs of stuff to get through without watching hundreds of teenagers take PCR tests on Zoom.

Will be private doctors contracted to the festival, not NHS ones.

I visited a private doctor for £30 last year and has no impact on the NHS.

Edited March 1, 2021 by xxialac

[jannybruck]

Just now, xxialac said:

Will be private doctors contracted to the festival, not NHS ones.

I visited a private doctor for a 15 min session last year and has no impact on the NHS.

Yeah, I just can't see it happening either way. The sheer scale of processing so many people, and teenagers having to get Zoom working and take a test within a three minute window, is just plagued with problems. It's pie in the sky stuff.

I think more likely it'll have to be the "visit Boots if you're not already vaccinated and you'll get a code" type of thing.

[xxialac]

2 minutes ago, jannybruck said:

Yeah, I just can't see it happening either way. The sheer scale of processing so many people, and teenagers having to get Zoom working and take a test within a three minute window, is just plagued with problems. It's pie in the sky stuff.

I think more likely it'll have to be the "visit Boots if you're not already vaccinated and you'll get a code" type of thing.

Fair play, could be well be.

On the other hand it's a system designed not to have to do vast numbers as by the time of the festival it relies on most people having already been already vaccinated. 

And I do think if there's one thing young people can do quite well though it's make technology work! And they'll be motivated - think how obsessive people are at getting Glastonbury tickets...

[MagneticField85]

On advanced payments to artists, I would say this is the only solid piece of reliable and recent information you will get in all Internet (and does not disclouse much): https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/live-nation-memo-pay-cuts-covid-1016989/

Having said that, get this with with the pinch of salt you prefer: regarding guarantees, there's no one size fit alls. In fact, it can be said every artist on a festival (or every agent or agency) gets a different deal. Everything is on the table to be agreed when hiring a band. Some artist might decrease the standard payment for a better slot or if a friend's band is added to the line up. Having worked with artists makes things easier as well: if a festival has shown it pays the bills on time in the past, why bother requesting high advances? 

In fact, in tours bands not always get the fee agreed beforehand. If a show sells poorly, promoter and artist might agree to split the losses. Or, better said, the artist cuts its earnings so the promoter can break even. Music industry is a dog eat dog world, but indoors and when money is involved, tipically, all actors involved prefer to not get harmed. It is very likely they will need each other in a near future.

As far as I know, when guarentees are paid it's also not equal to all bands. But, I would say typically these are paid right before the tour is announced (or the band appears in the line up). And they can be up to 75% of the agreed fee. This way the band gets the money ASAP (something really appealling for any band, particularly if you would like to invest in production) and organizers can get their money back via ticket sales strait away. So, I would say the bulk of PS 2020 guarantees were paid in late 2019. That's the reason some festivals struggled with refunds: artists already got the money and spend it when Corona exploded, thus being unable to refund the festival, and the festival not having cash to refund customers. 

It was a mess and, indeed, it still is a big mess.

[swelsbyuk]

I'm struggling to follow this method to completion. Are they saying that test results will appear within a two-three minute window and once the doctor has seen the test administered and witnessed the result then she will issue a QR code? That sounds like a lot of activity in under three minutes!

[xxialac]

23 minutes ago, swelsbyuk said:

I'm struggling to follow this method to completion. Are they saying that test results will appear within a two-three minute window and once the doctor has seen the test administered and witnessed the result then she will issue a QR code? That sounds like a lot of activity in under three minutes!

These presumably are the rapid lateral flow tests the UK Is already using and that can be done at home - or better under supervision from a doctor to make sure you don't mess it up.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rapid-lateral-flow-testing-for-households-and-bubbles-of-school-pupils-and-staff

You could do the test in 3 minutes certainly But your scepticism is spot on. As of now you have to wait 15-30 minutes for the result.

That said it's not unreasonable to think that by the end of August there might be tests that take much less time (and are more reliable) but 3 minutes is surely too ambitious.

 

[Fnmentaluk]

Just had a look on booking.com. The princess hotel is available for every weekend in September and the first weekend in October. . If they had a plan for a September date . Surely one of the weekends would be unavailable or really more expensive than the other ones . Only noticed a 10 or 20 per night difference on any weekend.

[xxialac]

7 minutes ago, Fnmentaluk said:

Just had a look on booking.com. The princess hotel is available for every weekend in September and the first weekend in October. . If they had a plan for a September date . Surely one of the weekends would be unavailable or really more expensive than the other ones . Only noticed a 10 or 20 per night difference on any weekend.

That's not right.

It's far more expensive on weekend of 11 September than the other weekends.

[Fnmentaluk]

18 minutes ago, xxialac said:

That's not right.

It's far more expensive on weekend of 11 September than the other weekends.

Yeah not sure what I did first time . Nearly double the price for that weekend.