Download 2023

[Andre91]

Nah, people need to stop making excuses. R&L are forward thinking, Download are pussies. 

[jump]

15 minutes ago, Spiral_Low said:

Reading and Leeds and are right of passage for younger people, many of whom with no real connection to the rock scene. Download is for the dedicated rock and metal fans. I'm not defending Download's booking strategy just saying it's much easier for R+L to sell tickets.

I'd argue it's easier for Download to sell tixs. There's no rawk fest really competing with it and has it's fanbase built now whilst R&L needs to keep being relevant and keep it's line ups fresh as teenagers stop going to R&L after a few years so it's always pressure to get the next lot of punters in.

[FeverDream]

17 hours ago, Andre91 said:

There’s the 65,000 ticket, sold out UK arena run to go off of. I’m quietly confident that Download will have BMTH headlining in 2023. It’s a no-brainier, especially after they smash R&L and the prospect of new music on the horizon (hehehe). 

I absolutely agree it’s a no brainer, and I’d love it if they did it in 2023, but we know what Copping is like!

[FeverDream]

14 hours ago, jump said:

I'd argue it's easier for Download to sell tixs. There's no rawk fest really competing with it and has it's fanbase built now whilst R&L needs to keep being relevant and keep it's line ups fresh as teenagers stop going to R&L after a few years so it's always pressure to get the next lot of punters in.

That’s my thinking too. Downloaders like what they like and seem loyal to the festival. Doesn’t make sense for Download to deviate too much from the same 10 headliners they book on repeat if it proves successful for them. But there has to be a time where they give newer bands who are popular with the younger generation the bump up like BMTH, ADTR, Architects etc.

[FeverDream]

14 hours ago, jump said:

I'd argue it's easier for Download to sell tixs.

Does Download even ever sell out? Seems like it should but I can recall being able to get tickets pretty close to the weekend.

[foolee]

58 minutes ago, FeverDream said:

I absolutely agree it’s a no brainer, and I’d love it if they did it in 2023, but we know what Copping is like!

Would be good to see BMTH do it but I wonder if it reduces there chances because of the bands likely to be touring next year e.g. Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, Rammstein, Slipknot & MCR. I’d imagine all of those are higher up Downloads list to book than BMTH. 

[Spiral_Low]

2 hours ago, FeverDream said:

Does Download even ever sell out? Seems like it should but I can recall being able to get tickets pretty close to the weekend.

Nope and R+L always sells out regardless of its line up. 😉

Edited January 6, 2022 by Spiral_Low

[jump]

6 minutes ago, Spiral_Low said:

Nope and R+L always sells out regardless of its line up. 😉

Nah, apart from this and last year R&L hasn't sold out both sites since the 00s, at one point they even tried offering free beer and burgers to entice folk to do go during the 10s as it was selling that badly. For the last few years day tickets were the ones to sell out.  

[FeverDream]

31 minutes ago, jump said:

Nah, apart from this and last year R&L hasn't sold out both sites since the 00s, at one point they even tried offering free beer and burgers to entice folk to do go during the 10s as it was selling that badly. For the last few years day tickets were the ones to sell out.  

Yeah Leeds never used to sell out. Surprised it sold out all weekend tickets before Reading this year. Guess that’s the Yorkshire effect having both AM and BMTH.

[FeverDream]

2 hours ago, foolee said:

Would be good to see BMTH do it but I wonder if it reduces there chances because of the bands likely to be touring next year e.g. Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, Rammstein, Slipknot & MCR. I’d imagine all of those are higher up Downloads list to book than BMTH. 

That’s what I’m thinking. I think 2023’s headliners are already pencilled in and probably will be any 3 of what you’ve mentioned plus throw Aerosmith and GNR into the mix (maybe even Muse given how heavy the song Matt teased was).

Edited January 6, 2022 by FeverDream

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

3 hours ago, FeverDream said:

Does Download even ever sell out? Seems like it should but I can recall being able to get tickets pretty close to the weekend.

They have the luxury of scaling to about 150,000 punters if needs be, so no they don’t tend to sell out. 

[FeverDream]

Just now, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

They have the luxury of scaling to about 150,000 punters if needs be, so no they don’t tend to sell out. 

Wow, didn’t realise the capacity was as big as that. One day I’ll go but there just isn’t much at all that entices me. I’ve more a problem with the undercard over the headliners - stick a few bands like Highly Suspect, Nothing But Thieves, Vukovi, The Amazons on the undercard etc and I’d probably consider it.

[Spiral_Low]

2 hours ago, jump said:

Nah, apart from this and last year R&L hasn't sold out both sites since the 00s, at one point they even tried offering free beer and burgers to entice folk to do go during the 10s as it was selling that badly. For the last few years day tickets were the ones to sell out.  

Hmmmm maybe not Leeds then but Reading I know has been selling out for sure. Just googled and found results for Reading selling out in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015. 

[jump]

12 minutes ago, Spiral_Low said:

Hmmmm maybe not Leeds then but Reading I know has been selling out for sure. Just googled and found results for Reading selling out in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015. 

Yep, but in the 00s it would sell out on the day of release however during the 10s it would sell out the week of the fest which happened to be the same time Viagogo would suddenly be flooded with cheap tixs until FR got caught out dong it. lol

There was a rebuilding phase to R&L where they got a new booker in and added some extra stages in a few years after The Cure and My Chemical Romance headlined as it started to struggle with sales. It's that sort of freshen up that has happened with R&L which has kept it in demand with all the competition, if they didn't it could have ended up like V, Bestival and all the other fests that died off during the 10s. Whilst Download has less competition now that R&L is less rock based and Sonisphere is gone but seem to be doubling down more on the safe repeated booking every year anyway.

[Spiral_Low]

1 hour ago, jump said:

Yep, but in the 00s it would sell out on the day of release however during the 10s it would sell out the week of the fest which happened to be the same time Viagogo would suddenly be flooded with cheap tixs until FR got caught out dong it. lol

There was a rebuilding phase to R&L where they got a new booker in and added some extra stages in a few years after The Cure and My Chemical Romance headlined as it started to struggle with sales. It's that sort of freshen up that has happened with R&L which has kept it in demand with all the competition, if they didn't it could have ended up like V, Bestival and all the other fests that died off during the 10s. Whilst Download has less competition now that R&L is less rock based and Sonisphere is gone but seem to be doubling down more on the safe repeated booking every year anyway.

Like I said I'm not defending Download's booking policy. But surely you must agree R+L has a much wider pool of artists to book as headliners? 

[jump]

1 minute ago, Spiral_Low said:

Like I said I'm not defending Download's booking policy. But surely you must agree R+L has a much wider pool of artists to book as headliners? 

I never said they didn't have a wider pool to book from, I said they make riskier bookings. If anything having a wider genre and therefore more acts to book from is less of a reason for them to bump up acts as often as they do.

[Alex Winstone]

Royal Blood?

[BenG92]

13 hours ago, Alex Winstone said:

Royal Blood?

Nah, they're a Leeds + Reading booking, don't really fit in at DL

[jump]

13 minutes ago, BenG92 said:

Nah, they're a Leeds + Reading booking, don't really fit in at DL

Yeah, Download will wait to book them in 20 years time when they are past it like their other headliners 😜 

[FeverDream]

4 hours ago, jump said:

Yeah, Download will wait to book them in 20 years time when they are past it like their other headliners 😜 

Judging by their latest album I think they’re already past it 😉

[Matt42]

SOAD

Slipknot

Metallica 

[Andre91]

2 hours ago, Matt42 said:

SOAD

Slipknot

Metallica 

I can’t see them getting those three in one year. They’re three of the biggest hitters available to them.
 

Metallica will do R&L again before they do DL, I reckon. 
 

Also, fuck this festival is they don’t bump a new headliner up in 2023. 

[BenG92]

Knocked this out on my lunch for a laugh. Completely forgot about RATM, let's just go with this. Rate/hate. 

Satisfies the criteria for one bump-up, one fossil, one safe bet. 

[Frankly Mr Shankly]

1 hour ago, BenG92 said:

Knocked this out on my lunch for a laugh. Completely forgot about RATM, let's just go with this. Rate/hate. 

Satisfies the criteria for one bump-up, one fossil, one safe bet. 

I’d go. Some odd placings though assuming that’s the MainStage? 

Why have Mastodon suddenly jumped from subbing second this year to subbing main? sandwiched between BMTH & Architects is an odd place to put them too. Architects should sub next time they play, Powerwolf and Meshuggah are a few slots too high. 

[BenG92]

6 minutes ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

I’d go. Some odd placings though assuming that’s the MainStage? 

Why have Mastodon suddenly jumped from subbing second this year to subbing main? sandwiched between BMTH & Architects is an odd place to put them too. Architects should sub next time they play, Powerwolf and Meshuggah are a few slots too high. 

Only had half an hour to throw it together so some things are definitely off. 

Mastodon deserve that slot IMO after one of the best metal albums of 2021. Agree that the placement is weird though and I can see Architects subbing too. Agree on the others, couldn't think of good 3rd slot fits that were interesting, only bands like Trivium came to mind.