2023 Festival

[Benj]

4 hours ago, gfa said:

I feel like any of the 1D people will sell tickets / please the same crowd. may as well just get a cheap one to plug the hole each year vs getting harry and wasting a headliner slot.

Similar logic ish to IOW getting liam then noel then liam again all in a row (covid gap too) - its just easy

Have you seen the demographic at Styles' shows

Not sure if they would go see him at Reading but if they did, it would be the end of the festival as its even known now

[WhoOdyssey]

I’d say there‘a quite a large crossover between Harry Styles fans and the likes of The 1975/Halsey.

[Benj]

1 hour ago, WhoOdyssey said:

I’d say there‘a quite a large crossover between Harry Styles fans and the likes of The 1975/Halsey.

Probably, reckon way more that crossover with Little Mix, Adele etc... 

 

[SleepingGiants]

6 hours ago, Benj said:

Probably, reckon way more that crossover with Little Mix, Adele etc... 

 

Have you seen a Styles gig or heard his music nowadays? My guess is probably not...

The difference in style between Styles and the 1975 is not huge

 

[FeverDream]

I really don’t think Harry Styles is too far from what the festival is willing to book. He’d be an immense ticket shifter, popular with the indie crowd and the school levers crowd. Only reason I can’t see it happening is because of Styles himself. I think he probably has stadiums and then Glastonbury, BST etc on his radar above R&L. Him getting booked is not going to kill the festival don’t be so dramatic now.

[gfa]

22 minutes ago, FeverDream said:

I really don’t think Harry Styles is too far from what the festival is willing to book. He’d be an immense ticket shifter, popular with the indie crowd and the school levers crowd. Only reason I can’t see it happening is because of Styles himself. I think he probably has stadiums and then Glastonbury, BST etc on his radar above R&L. Him getting booked is not going to kill the festival don’t be so dramatic now.

R&L will pay more than BST surely - extra like 40k tickets per show?

9 hours ago, Benj said:

Have you seen the demographic at Styles' shows

Not sure if they would go see him at Reading but if they did, it would be the end of the festival as its even known now

My point was why bother with paying millions for harry when you could get one of the shit ones and the 1d fans would be just as happy

[charlierc]

19 hours ago, stanh said:

I think if any 1D member ever does it, it'd be Niall Horan.

Interesting. I actually think that given Louis Tomlinson has spoken of a love of Oasis and booked festivals in Spain featuring acts like The Vaccines and Carl Barat, I would've thought his sonic reference points weren't a million miles away from a section of R&L's crowd.

[Benj]

3 hours ago, SleepingGiants said:

Have you seen a Styles gig or heard his music nowadays? My guess is probably not...

The difference in style between Styles and the 1975 is not huge

 

I’m not talking music, I’m talking fan base

I’m compeltley basing my comments on the core demographics of his crowd based on a single video that showed them all going in

I’m not saying he’s shit or that all these people would suddenly turn up at Reading and wait around only to see him, if they did though. Game over. 

[Benj]

2 hours ago, gfa said:

R&L will pay more than BST surely - extra like 40k tickets per show?

My point was why bother with paying millions for harry when you could get one of the shit ones and the 1d fans would be just as happy

It’s just sad that the festival would be booking acts for 1D fans. Basically offering a nostalgia trip for once teenaged girls as opposed to acts their on merit, not being lucky enough to have been picked on a reality TV show and then have the best writers/ producers in the world working for you

I mean it’s not sad for the once teenaged girls, they’ll love it and fair play to them…just sad for the smaller bands who’ve lost a slot at the festival

Guess they’re playing at 2000 Trees etc now

 

[K2SO]

1 hour ago, charlierc said:

Interesting. I actually think that given Louis Tomlinson has spoken of a love of Oasis and booked festivals in Spain featuring acts like The Vaccines and Carl Barat, I would've thought his sonic reference points weren't a million miles away from a section of R&L's crowd.

I think he also set up some sort of organisation to support grassroots bands. I don't remember the exact details of it, but I'm sure it's out there.

His new album also has songs on it written alongside Rob Harvey from The Music/The Streets/Kasabian

[gfa]

57 minutes ago, Benj said:

It’s just sad that the festival would be booking acts for 1D fans. Basically offering a nostalgia trip for once teenaged girls as opposed to acts their on merit, not being lucky enough to have been picked on a reality TV show and then have the best writers/ producers in the world working for you

I mean it’s not sad for the once teenaged girls, they’ll love it and fair play to them…just sad for the smaller bands who’ve lost a slot at the festival

Guess they’re playing at 2000 Trees etc now

 

Novelty acts have played Reading for years

Theres never really been much room for small acts vs a lot of festivals  -they've always been shit for that and its not why most people go

[FeverDream]

4 hours ago, gfa said:

R&L will pay more than BST surely - extra like 40k tickets per show?

Not too sure how much BST pay out to be fair but I think the perception of doing BST is probably regarded higher than doing R&L and so that might push him to do that over R&L. Most likely I’m talking out my arse but that’s just what I think haha!

[WhoOdyssey]

3 hours ago, K2SO said:

His new album also has songs on it written alongside Rob Harvey from The Music/The Streets/Kasabian

Tbf Rob Harvey also writes for Joel Corry! 

Though there are also some co-written songs with members from Hurts, Courteeners and DMA'S on the album, 'Silver Tongues' in particular sounds just like something that Courteeners would release.

[Aech2ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, Benj said:

I’m not talking music, I’m talking fan base

I’m compeltley basing my comments on the core demographics of his crowd based on a single video that showed them all going in

I’m not saying he’s shit or that all these people would suddenly turn up at Reading and wait around only to see him, if they did though. Game over. 

Looks exactly the same as the 1975 crowd lmao

[stanh]

4 hours ago, charlierc said:

Interesting. I actually think that given Louis Tomlinson has spoken of a love of Oasis and booked festivals in Spain featuring acts like The Vaccines and Carl Barat, I would've thought his sonic reference points weren't a million miles away from a section of R&L's crowd.

Yeah tbf that's fair, plus Louis seems to like booking up and coming bands/artists slots to support him to give him a platform. Not very familiar with his music though. Definitely a lot more likely than Zayn or Liam Payne.

[Aech2ElectricBoogaloo]

 

6 hours ago, gfa said:

R&L will pay more than BST surely - extra like 40k tickets per show?

My point was why bother with paying millions for harry when you could get one of the shit ones and the 1d fans would be just as happy

Not a chance, BST has 65k capacity, the tickets on average are way more expensive with all the extras and the whole event is based on the headliner, not nearly as many acts in a day either. Target market is middle aged Londoners vs teenagers. Obvious enough by the size of the BST headliners vs R&L, Adele is getting more for a show than fucking Dave. 1D fans aren't even a thing anymore it's not 2012, they're Harry Styles fans now, we're not gonna be 1% as arsed if you bring out fucking Zayn Malik hence why the rest of them aren't selling out as many stadiums as they'd like globally.

[stanh]

1 minute ago, Aech2ElectricBoogaloo said:

1D fans aren't even a thing anymore it's not 2012, they're Harry Styles fans now

As much as a vast majority of the 1D fans are Harry fans now, and I'd argue Harry Styles alone is now bigger than One Direction, the 1D fans very much still exist... If 1D announced a multi-night run at Wembley, every single date will sell out within minutes with complete ease.

[gfa]

1 hour ago, Aech2ElectricBoogaloo said:

 

Not a chance, BST has 65k capacity, the tickets on average are way more expensive with all the extras and the whole event is based on the headliner, not nearly as many acts in a day either. Target market is middle aged Londoners vs teenagers. Obvious enough by the size of the BST headliners vs R&L, Adele is getting more for a show than fucking Dave. 1D fans aren't even a thing anymore it's not 2012, they're Harry Styles fans now, we're not gonna be 1% as arsed if you bring out fucking Zayn Malik hence why the rest of them aren't selling out as many stadiums as they'd like globally.

I mean it varies clearly - AM or Kendrick will have been paid more than most BST headliners. With the new format it dampens the image of what a R&L headliner is but its still very prestigious for MSE.

Go on twitter and you will see 1d fans still exist - all of them have a loyal following

[Chad888]

Harry Styles is the same as:

 

George Michael when he left Wham.

Robbie Williams when he left Take That.

Justin Timberlake when he left N*Sync.

 

He is pop music and if he is booked for the festival, it will signal the actual V-Fest decline. The crowd will be filled with little girls on their dad's shoulders, and the 'needs to grow up' aunts fresh from spring cleaning.

 

They can book Justin Bieber, Olly Murs, Adele, Rihanna and all the other artists who will feature at your kids year 2 school disco.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Chad888

[stanh]

1 hour ago, Chad888 said:

Harry Styles is the same as:

 

George Michael when he left Wham.

Robbie Williams when he left Take That.

Justin Timberlake when he left N*Sync.

 

He is pop music and if he is booked for the festival, it will signal the actual V-Fest decline. The crowd will be filled with little girls on their dad's shoulders, and the 'needs to grow up' aunts fresh from spring cleaning.

 

They can book Justin Bieber, Olly Murs, Adele, Rihanna and all the other artists who will feature at your kids year 2 school disco.

He really isn't, despite his music being very poppy and radio friendly, he does have a few indie/rock influences in his music, especially in HS1. Not just 'little girls' listen to him either, he's a no different booking to pop artists such as Halsey, and would go down much better. You also named Rihanna... That'd be no different to an R&B/Pop girl being booked such as SZA which has been mentioned quite a few times. Both artists would be very strong bookings for the festival, and sell very very well indeed.

[Benj]

9 hours ago, gfa said:

Novelty acts have played Reading for years

Theres never really been much room for small acts vs a lot of festivals  -they've always been shit for that and its not why most people go

They’re not novelty acts. They’re decent pop acts

And they haven’t always been shit for small acts at all. What year did you first go?

Not pre 2019 I’m guessing

[Chad888]

1 hour ago, stanh said:

He really isn't, despite his music being very poppy and radio friendly, he does have a few indie/rock influences in his music, especially in HS1. Not just 'little girls' listen to him either, he's a no different booking to pop artists such as Halsey, and would go down much better. You also named Rihanna... That'd be no different to an R&B/Pop girl being booked such as SZA which has been mentioned quite a few times. Both artists would be very strong bookings for the festival, and sell very very well indeed.

People said the same about Timberlake in the naughties, Williams in the 90s and George in the 80s. 

Every group of young people is sure there one is different. 

Harry Styles is the British Justin Bieber. They're best sticking to Radio 1s big weekend.

Rihannas booking was literally the death of V-festival. It was her headline booking that killed its reputation.

To many people here conflate what they like with what fits.

 

 

[Benj]

3 minutes ago, Chad888 said:

People said the same about Timberlake in the naughties, Williams in the 90s and George in the 80s. 

Every group of young people is sure there one is different. 

Harry Styles is the British Justin Bieber. They're best sticking to Radio 1s big weekend.

Rihannas booking was literally the death of V-festival. It was her headline booking that killed its reputation.

To many people here conflate what they like with what fits.

Exactly. Robbie Williams has Indie influencers etc, he even appeared on stage with Oasis at Glastonbury

He’s even back at IoW this year for godsake!  The exact same thing

[Benj]

Just now, Benj said:

Exactly. Robbie Williams has Indie influencers etc, he even appeared on stage with Oasis at Glastonbury

He’s even back at IoW this year for godsake!  The exact same thing

Basically the question for the festival is have times now changed. 

There is no real alternative scene any more. Does the festival need to protect its reputation and legacy for future sales?

I think Reading is a much strong brand than V and it is a very mainstream festivals and has been for a decade plus now, so it probably could survive a couple of dips pop that quickly becomes super uncool.

On the otherside though if there is a sudden shift in youth culture back to us and then type of thing, Reading will be quickly disgarded

[Matt42]

3 hours ago, Chad888 said:

They can book Justin Bieber, Olly Murs, Adele, Rihanna and all the other artists who will feature at your kids year 2 school disco.

Fear you’re thinking of school discos from 10 years ago