The Future of Glastonbury

[Neil]

20 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

Nobody I know who regularly attends have ever made their decision on whether to go or not dependent on the line up.

i agree with you about that, but the line-up does  give something to measure value for money against.

 

i've never been bothered by the line-up, but i have liked how its felt special and not available at other festivals, headliners like reading makes Glastonbury as special as reading.

[Skip997]

2 minutes ago, balti-pie said:

 we need to fish in our replacements! (though i'll be going for as long as i have the physical capability to do so, which should be a few years yet, legs permitting)

Same here.

We also need to train our replacements, which i think is happening in the SE corner with the old school crew.

[JayDiesel]

22 minutes ago, goonerben said:

I think with a combination of less choice at the top end of the market, plus people like Beyonce and Taylor Swift finding that they can make MUCH more money doing their own stadium shows, there is a problem in store.

To an extent, yes, but Beyonce and Taylor still signed up to headline - if they can pass on the fee, surely literally anyone else can?  Taylor is the Capitalist Queen, she's obsessed with $$$, but she was due a slot in 2020 and looks prettylikely for next year.

I also think, as shit a headliner GnR are, they're also incedibly money oriented. These bands are still playing Glasto for a fee much less than they would otherwise get at their own shows, I can't see that stopping overnight.

Edited April 20, 2023 by JayDiesel

[Crazyfool01]

If you’ve been before lineup might not make a massive difference … in terms of selling to new people ( which it has to ) it definitely sells the tickets 

[koj]

I've been involved with the Great Dorset Steam Fair and been every year since 1992.

There are similarities between the two events and I know both sets of organisers have liaised in the past.

2022 appeared to be a reasonable year for the Great Dorset, but the news came later the show would not happen this year and I have it on good authority that it will not return.

I hope Glastonbury lasts for ever but it won't. As punters we need to make the most of each one.

[stuie]

I'm not totally sure that you need massive headliners to attract new blood, but Glasto don't have a problem with getting massive headliners anyway.  This is basically just another thread about GnR.  Massive contemporary headliners in 2019, 2 in 2022 and big names this year.

I know a group of lads from the gym and they are going this year for the first time because they've heard about/seen videos of IICON and The Temple etc and are excited for that side of the festival, probably won't go to Pyramid.

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by stuie

[Skip997]

2 minutes ago, stuie said:

I'm not totally sure that you need massive headliners to attract new blood, but Glasto don't have a problem with getting massive headliners anyway.  This is basically just another thread about GnR.  Massive contemporary headliners in 2019, 2 in 2022 and big names this year so this is basically just another thread about GnR.

I know a group of lads from the gym and they are going this year for the first time because they've heard about/seen videos of IICON and The Temple etc and are excited for that side of the festival, probably won't go to Pyramid.

 

 

 

Good post

Am out of reactions

[DeanoL]

7 minutes ago, stuie said:

I'm not totally sure that you need massive headliners to attract new blood, but Glasto don't have a problem with getting massive headliners anyway.  This is basically just another thread about GnR.  Massive contemporary headliners in 2019, 2 in 2022 and big names this year.

I don't think GnR are a mis-step in terms of large headliners but I do think Neil has a good point in general that the expectation for headliners has been set very high over the past few festivals, far higher than it was five festivals ago. Now the festival sold out fine five years ago, so it should still be fine, but there's a question around when you raise expectations that high, what happens if on one year you can't meet them.

[Crazyfool01]

10 minutes ago, stuie said:

I'm not totally sure that you need massive headliners to attract new blood, but Glasto don't have a problem with getting massive headliners anyway.  This is basically just another thread about GnR.  Massive contemporary headliners in 2019, 2 in 2022 and big names this year.

I know a group of lads from the gym and they are going this year for the first time because they've heard about/seen videos of IICON and The Temple etc and are excited for that side of the festival, probably won't go to Pyramid.

 

 

 

The difference being that those acts in icon aren’t the ones that create the news story’s …. It’s the headliners 

[LeeHC]

12 hours ago, Ommadawn said:

I don't think Michael has much interest in the festival now, particularly after his recent illness. I'm also not sure about Emily's long term commitment. The festival is important to the local community (£57 million a year I think I read) but not to the UK as a whole. I would say the sizeable number of punters are solely there just to say they've 'done Glasto' and a few years of average headliners could well see numbers drop.  I could see it not existing in 10 years time. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

What makes you think Emily doesn't have commitment? It's been her festival for quite a while now- I doubt Michael has done much actual running of the festival for a long time....

[stuie]

18 minutes ago, Crazyfool01 said:

The difference being that those acts in icon aren’t the ones that create the news story’s …. It’s the headliners 

Should be no shortage of news stories this year with EJ! 

[stuie]

20 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

I don't think GnR are a mis-step in terms of large headliners but I do think Neil has a good point in general that the expectation for headliners has been set very high over the past few festivals, far higher than it was five festivals ago. Now the festival sold out fine five years ago, so it should still be fine, but there's a question around when you raise expectations that high, what happens if on one year you can't meet them.

I don’t see that risk and if it happens to glasto it also happens to r&l and the whole scene is buggered anyway! 

[DeanoL]

I think R&L probably are buggered to be honest.

Them and Glasto are the two "big headliners" festivals left in the UK. Glasto is unique and could still navigate its way but it'll be along its own unique path.

[Xeph1995]

The festival will be absolutely fine going forward, it will only stop being a thing when tickets don't sell and we all know that isn't an issue. 

[LeeHC]

7 minutes ago, DeanoL said:

I think R&L probably are buggered to be honest.

Them and Glasto are the two "big headliners" festivals left in the UK. Glasto is unique and could still navigate its way but it'll be along its own unique path.

R&L had a shitty reputation even when I was young enough to go to them..

Nothing to do in the evening and rampaging gangs burning tents (was the reputation), no thanks!!

[maelzoid]

I have every confidence that the festival will be viable for the next decade. 

Beyond that, I think its a broader cultural question of whether live music and festivals in general are still something that people want to participate in. With the shifting tides of modern culture, not something I think anyone can predict with any amount of accuracy.

[Skip997]

1 minute ago, LeeHC said:

R&L had a shitty reputation even when I was young enough to go to them..

Nothing to do in the evening and rampaging gangs burning tents (was the reputation), no thanks!!

I've been to Leeds festival once, for work, hell on Earth.

[ghostdancer1]

It hasn't evolved a huge amount in the last 10 years, and don't see it evolving much in the next 10.

A few things freshened up here and there, but as long as it keeps its main core the same, then I think it will be fine.

 

If it starts trying to actively change things, then it could ruin what makes it popular

Eg. trying to actively court a much younger demographic, when its core at present, and for a long time has been 30-50 year olds, and risks alienating that core customer base, while rapidly changing the demographics attending, which may continue sell-outs in the short-term, but puts it in a precarious position if it's basically relying on a "hot" lineup every year to sell out, to a customer base that is least likely to have large amounts of disposable income and more adversely affected by broader economic shifts.

[ahoykatie]

don't think you need to worry much about which acts are making headlines as i'm not even sure how many people my age and below are reading the news actively haha

glasto should start putting more energy into creating good social media content for platforms like tiktok - look at the 1975 which blew up over the year from user generated tiktok content - and glasto's social media is really bad... it's so boring lol 

[Ayrshire Chris]

I’ve never came away from glastonbury disappointed, only sad that it’s over and the ticket scramble for the following year is getting nearer. I certainly can’t say that about other festivals. I would have any worries about the future. 

[JayDiesel]

This is such a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but I hope they look at upgrading the screens at the Pyramid. They're not exactly small at the moment, but look at the size of that field, and then compare the screens to that of Reading (yuck) and Coachella. I'm not sure they would match the 'vibe' per se, but standing towards the back of the Pyramid field is utterly pointless at the moment

[squareheadz]

38 minutes ago, ahoykatie said:

look at the 1975 which blew up over the year from user generated tiktok content - and glasto's social media is really bad... it's so boring lol 

The 1975 “blew up” like ten years ago…

[Crazyfool01]

19 minutes ago, JayDiesel said:

This is such a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but I hope they look at upgrading the screens at the Pyramid. They're not exactly small at the moment, but look at the size of that field, and then compare the screens to that of Reading (yuck) and Coachella. I'm not sure they would match the 'vibe' per se, but standing towards the back of the Pyramid field is utterly pointless at the moment

last year was a definite improvement . not sure we will ever get to the size of reading though 

[BlackZeppelin]

I've been to lots of festivals, and something special occurs at Glastonbury that is utterly different to elsewhere. 

Maybe its the Ley lines and the Stone Circle?

I think as long as the leadership don't succumb to sponsorship and radical commercial interest, the festival will continue to be the greatest of its ilk in the world.

[ahoykatie]

1 hour ago, squareheadz said:

The 1975 “blew up” like ten years ago…

ok fine a resurgence then😂