less shares, more Power?

It's been reported that the Mean Fiddler Group are close to selling a 16% stake to Irish company MCD.

MCD are a large promoter, owning five venues in Dublin, as well as running the Witnness Festival. In the UK, they have an interest in both T in the Park (with DF Concerts) and V Festivals (with SJM & Metropolis).

Mean Fiddler is headed by Irishman Vince Power, and runs Homelands, NASS, the Reading and Leeds festivals, has an involvement in Glastonbury, as well as running many other events. It also owns venues in London, as well as staging tours.

eFestivals Comment
This will surely mean a closer working relationship between these organisations. So is such a tie-up a good thing?

The other main festivals organisation (apart from those mentioned above) in the UK is Clear Channel Entertainments, who run the Download Festival, and have involvement in the Isle of Wight Rock Festival through agency/promoter Solo. We're also aware of a new event being planned for 2004 with Solo's involvement. CCE have moved into the UK in a big way over the last few years, buying promoters and agencies.

Clear Channel Worldwide (CCE's parent company) are a collection of media and entertainment companies - they are the very big boys. In the USA, they own around 10% of radio stations, and run an awful lot of the major tours.

The influence of Clear Channel can perhaps best be shown by their ability to bring Metallica for an unannounced appearance at Download in the summer, despite them long having been announced as making their only UK festival appearances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals.

There are many rumours and allegations about Clear Channel's operating policies - so much so that they have a "Know the Facts" section on their website to refute them. The allegations - all of which are denied - include issuing corporate mandates, restricting playlists, banning The Dixie Chicks (for their non-support of the Iraq war), organising pro-war rallies, and denying airplay to artists who refuse to tour with Clear Channel Entertainment and/or perform at the company's venues.

Clear Channel say that each of their radio station local managers make such decisions at the urging of their listeners. Some managers did ban The Dixie Chicks and suspended DJs who defied the ban (according to "Weapons of Mass Deception" by Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber), and did participate in "pro-troop" rallies.

Of course, promoters want to make maximum advantage of their relationships with bands - we presume that the potential tie-up between Mean Fiddler and MCD is to do just that. eFestivals is pleased to see British and Irish-based companies in a position to properly compete, as this should mean that the UK music scene shouldn't become dominated by just one company, which would only be a bad thing.

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