Are Festivals still about the music?

[Skank]

Are festivals still about the music?

It’s a topic that has been bubbling up to a boil in the dance music community, are festivals still about the music? There are points to argue both sides of that topic but we’ve decided to engage and explore it following a recent study of festival-goers over in the UK conducted by the Association of Independent Festivals, which found that the answer was a rather emphatic ‘no’.

The data suggests that while festivals are more popular than ever amongst ticket buyers in the UK, music is playing an increasingly diminished role for punters at festivals. More than half of those surveyed said that they’re attracted to festivals for the “general atmosphere and overall vibe, quality and character of the event”. This goes up against the minority of festival-goers – 28.3% to be exact – who chose to attend festivals for “the music” alone. Ranking even further below, the study found that festival headliners only held sway over about 11% of punters and their decisions to buy tickets, which is a pretty startling figure.

So how does this relate to Australia and the dance music festival circuit here? Well obviously it’s a very different kettle of fish in Australia with less festivals and a smaller population to attend them, but as an editor of inthemix for the past year I’ve personally noted a rising concern directed towards the ballooning growth of festivals, with readers suggesting that the big music events are becoming overrun by those people unconcerned by the music or even which artists are playing, attending festivals for purely social reasons instead.

In our recent feature, What’s Gone Wrong With Our Clubs?, we spoke with industry players and punters alike about the state of the Australian club scene and festivals in 2010 and received some particularly illuminating responses. Many of those interviewed shared the sentiment that some overly superficial motives have washed over festival audiences.

“There seems to be some discontentment with festivals generally,” Rise resident Simon Barwood offered. “The bigger they get the more generic they become and so the less appealing they are to people interested in the music rather than the ‘event’.”

So what does this mean for festival experiences? Is that afore mentioned majority of festival-goers who can’t tell the difference between Carl Craig and Carl Cox and who are, broadly speaking, going to festivals to engage in a combination of getting fucked up/ picking up/being seen destroying whatever is left of an ‘authentic’ festival culture? It’s difficult to say, and I certainly can’t offer a definitive answer myself and I’m really writing this to foster discussion on an issue I think affects every reader of this site whether you’re orange or otherwise.

There can’t be any question that at any single dance music festival these days you’ll find swarms of punters seemingly more concerned with keeping their hair looking just right than having a dance to DJ that’s smashing it. But I don’t know if this is indeed the death knell that we’re hearing. I’d say that it’s worthwhile to consider that festival organisers can use this ‘atmosphere’ focused mentality to everyone’s benefit, even real music fans. Hear me out. By knowing that a bulk of tickets will presumably sell regardless of the music on offer and for that great ‘atmosphere’ alone, bookers can theoretically throw some bank around on up and coming acts to appeal to the chin-strokers out there. For the We Love Sounds / Winter Sound System partnership, promoters Sounds and Future Entertainment brought out underground favourites like The Revenge and Proxy leaving the main room crowds to Steve Aoki and Crookers. It’s a theory, anyway.

But indeed it would seem as though Australian festivals are adapting to the changing wills of crowds. Parklife organisers Fuzzy, perhaps sensing the not-guaranteed appeal of a big headliner – smartly spread the Parklife 2010 lineup with upcoming acts like Delorean, Classixx, Memory Tapes, Brodinski and Kele with a handful of higher-tier acts like Soulwax, Groove Armada and Missy Elliott. Arguably, that kind of lineup offers more to see and enjoy for the music fan whilst still providing that broad festival atmosphere.

Conversely, there are events on the Australian festival calendar where the lineup of artists purposely takes a back seat to the so termed “general atmosphere and overall vibe, quality and character of the event”. We need look no further than the initial announcement for the 2010 Subsonic festival, which despite boasting the names of Michael Mayer and Extrawelt prides itself on its secluded setting and atmosphere. Indeed, earlier in the month Australian punters saw the local arrival of beloved US bush-doof Burning Man, a festival renowned for its distinctly individual ‘experience’.

On the other side of the coin completely, we have already learned that this year’s Stereosonic festival, brought to us by the combined powers of Onelove and Hardware, will feature none other than Tiesto as the headliner. Locking in an international DJ that can sell out 20,000 capacity arenas by himself shows the festival promoters keen to buck the trend of declining headliner appeal and reassert the music and artists at the top of the festival experience.

So what do you think? Are Australian festivals still about the music? Or are the hordes of people going to the festivals just for the sake of, well, going and not for the music on offer ruining your experiences and the festivals themselves? How bad is it? Whatever your take on the state of festivals, we can probably all agree that we don’t want the Australian scene to head down a similar path of the gruesome Electric Daisy Carnival in LA.

Features by daverh

[CBG]

well put it this way. I know a lot of ppl that go to festivals JUST because of the name ie. Parklife this year, line up doesnt impress me in anyway, but it will still sell out.

I go when I see a big name like Deadmau5, Prodigy, Tiesto. That really sells me. You rarely get to see these guys.

[Skank]

yer im the same i think for me its a toss up between how many friends are going and whos on show i went to fieldday 2 years ago just to see switch

[FabDJ]

Great article Shank.

Havent been to a festival for decades.

My 20yo kids go often

Boys -for the artists 80%

Girls-is Paris going to be there?

tan, wax,hair,nails,makeup,dress to impress.

[Cupe]

lol ^

Lets not forget the drugs

[FabDJ]

Its probably like the Melbourne Cup

Who gives a shit about the race.

[djarmed]

Even ANZAC day is getting that way. people just using the day as an excuse to go to r.s.l's and get pissed.........disgusting espescially on ANZAC day

[Jaz]

i go for the music for sure, ive got a gf so i dont need to go and try get a root like me mates do LOL

stereosonic 09 - front row for deadmau5,crookers,bloody beetroots,axwell, fedde le grand

1 of the best days of my life!

[ChevChelios]

They are obviously all about getting fucked up in the sun and taking your shirt off, fuckin stupid, not a fan and their systems are always lacking. Although london parklife is pretty much the most awesome looking line up ever, and.............. no sun

[Skank]

link me to the line up dude i cant find it

[ChevChelios]

My mistake, its in manchester.

http://www.parklife.uk.com/line_ups.php

Absolutely ridiculous, would be living in the lost in bass arenas, bar a few artists I would venture out for (four tet, errol etc.) but seriously what the hell, and to top it all off it only cost about 25 pounds I think, sold out now though. That is a festival all about the music

[troyboy]

i go for the music for sure, ive got a gf so i dont need to go and try get a root like me mates do LOL

stereosonic 09 - front row for deadmau5,crookers,bloody beetroots,axwell, fedde le grand

1 of the best days of my life!

yea agree but u missed john dahlback?, daft punk at myer music bowl was orgasmic aswell, if your not their for the music then GET OUT.

[Jaz]

no didnt get a chance to see him, didnt know much of him then, knew nothing about DJ'ing then either LOL

[CBG]

not to mention laurent garnier! god that lineup was huge

[Tomy]

yeah its about the music mostly i reckon. i dont offten see to many poeple in white face paint and a slipknot shirt at parklife or summerfieldays or stereosonic or winter sound system or BBQ beats or future music or creamfields........

flooded market much.

[Cupe]

can anyone else see a fake boob in that pic?

[ruggs]

ha ha yep under the guys arm pit?

[Cupe]

lawl yea

i only just noticed it today

[chrismak]

I don't attend music festivals too much these days. I'm not a fan of the huge lines and inflated prices.

[Gandy]

i go for big names i havnt seen live before, and thats always a good excuse to go an all out theme with a group of mates and get fucked up, so you could say im a little from column a, a little from column b and a little from column c.

[tubby]

festivals have never been eth best place to enjoy music. dodgy sound, dodgy crowds. but they are fun places to hang out with friends and have a good, none too serious time.

[LabRat]

festivals are shit. i went to Future Music and you can see who's there for the music and who's not. i want to go see CASPA at stereos but it's probably going to be the same shit different acts

[CBG]

Strereo is an amazing festival dude and tbh, so is future. imo Parklife and Summadayze are the shit ones

[LabRat]

i wanted to enjoy futures but it was really hard to get into. i had a better time as i was leaving. i was watching Above and Beyond while waiting for a mate to come get me and that was the best environment to be in. everyone was there for the music. never been to a stereo festival so might give the festival world one more shot before i turn it down completely (in aus im talkin about)

[Jaz]

have to agree with CBG, have been to stereo and it was epic, have to parklife and it was a joke, big day out was allright but the silent disco was about as close to DJing you got, alot of it was powderfinger etc, they were great