IQ 122 out now: Stephan Thanscheidt, Sziget and more
IQ 122, the latest issue of the international live music industry’s favourite magazine, is available to read online now.
The September edition charts Stephan Thanscheidt’s journey from playing in punk bands to the CEO of FKP Scorpio, and analyses the lineups of 50 top European festivals, in collaboration with ROSTR.
Meanwhile, Mark Beaumont visits Sziget as the event celebrates 30 years and Adam Woods gives us the low down on the lowlands for this issue’s Netherlands market focus.
Elsewhere James Hanley shines a light on ten of Europe’s brightest indie festivals and finds out what makes them so special and, IQ reveals the Green Guardians 2023, our annual guide to the eco-warriors and innovators striving to make our venues and events more sustainable.
Plus, leading production managers weigh in while we profile several innovations new for the 2023 season.
For this edition’s columns and comments, Shain Shapiro discusses how we should be leading the change when it comes to supporting our local venues, and Michael Kümmerle explains how TikTok wants to expand promoters’ horizons.
As always, the majority of the magazine’s content will appear online in some form in the next four weeks.
However, if you can’t wait for your fix of essential live music industry features, opinion and analysis, click here to subscribe to IQ from just £8 a month – or check out what you’re missing out on with the limited preview below:
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AIF launches APPG for independent festivals
The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has set up an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for independent festivals.
The APPG says it will look at the unique value independent festivals bring, as well as the pressures that they face. It will include conversations with the suppliers who work with the festival sector, plus the landowners who support festivals across the UK.
During its first year, the APPG will reflect on the challenges faced by the sector in 2023, and look into prevalent topics including environmental impacts and solutions, women’s safety, crime and drug use, and touring visas for musicians.
“It’s been a very busy summer this year and I’ve met with a number of MPs as I’ve visited festivals across the UK,” says John Rostron, CEO, AIF.
“Whether they are attending and supporting festivals in their constituency, speaking at events, or enjoying festivals for fun, we’ve had some great conversations about the importance and vibrancy of the independent festival sector, as well as the challenges that festivals are currently facing. The Festivals APPG will enable us to carry these conversations into Westminster and enable dialogue between MPs and festivals all year round.”
“The APPG will enable us to carry conversations into Westminster and enable dialogue between MPs and festivals”
The initial APPG members include chair Giles Watling MP (Conservative) and vice chairs Kevin Brennan MP (Labour), Alex Davies Jones MP (Labour), Pete Wishart MP (SNP), Rt Hon Damian Green MP (Conservative), Rt Hon Karen Bradley MP (Conservative), and Mark Fletcher MP (Conservative).
Watling adds: “I am delighted and honoured to be elected as chairman of the APPG for Festivals. Globally, Britain leads the way in celebrating humanity through festivals, as people come together to enjoy their passions. This APPG will be open to any and all forms of festival, from rock and pop to classical to literary. There are wellness festivals, food festivals, and so many more – it will be a privilege to represent all of them and highlight their importance to Britain’s cultural offer.”
Secretariat services will be provided by political consultancy Pepper Shackleton Wellard (PSW), which will organise the APPG events, and co-ordinate with supporters and officers.
AIF is also in conversation with the British Arts Festivals Association (BAFA), the leading network and development agency for UK arts festivals and AFO (Association of Festival Organisers) to support the APPG.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AIF targets festival first-timers with new scheme
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has launched a new campaign and fund aimed at increasing access to festivals for people aged 18+ across the UK.
The First Festival Campaign is based on the fact that many people who turned 18 during the Covid pandemic missed out on their first festival experience due to lockdown.
Anyone in the UK who was/is 18 years of age between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2023 can register interest in attending one of AIF’s member festivals via the First Festival website. Individuals and organisations are able to make donations to this campaign here.
Tickets will be released as funding targets are met, with eligible 18-year-olds on the waiting list able to buy a ticket for their chosen festival for just £18. Shambala, Kendal Calling, BlueDot, Nozstock: The Hidden Valley, End Of The Road and British Country Music Festival are among the initial sign ups.
“Everyone should have a first festival experience, and it should be a thrilling and vital part of every person’s journey into adulthood”
“I was speaking to some students recently who are set to graduate this year, and it became apparent that none of them had ever attended a festival,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “It really hit me just what an impact Covid had on their lives. So we decided to do something about it. Everyone should have a first festival experience, and it should be a thrilling and vital part of every person’s journey into adulthood.
“So many of us have wonderful festival memories to share, and brilliant festival stories to tell. We’re hoping that there’ll be individuals and organisations who are able to spare some money to put into the fund to help people attend their first festivals this year.”
In launching the campaign, AIF has taken inspiration from European countries such as Germany, France, Spain and Italy where those turning 18 are given a voucher worth between €200 and €500 by their government to be spent on cultural events and activities.
The full list of festivals to have signed up includes 110 Above Presents: OTHR Festival; Above & Beyond Brighton Beach; Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival; BlueDot Festival; British Country Music Festival; Camp Wildfire Festival; Chase & Status Brighton Beach; Deva Fest; El Dorado; End of The Road Festival; Green Belt; Green Gathering; Kendal Calling; NASS Festival; Noisily; Nozstock: The Hidden Valley; PennFest; Readipop Festival; Rock Oyster; Shambala; Takedown Festival; UK Tech-Fest; Underneath The Stars Festival; Valley Fest; and We Out Here.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.
AIF festivals to attract 3.3m fans in 2023
The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has revealed its events are on course to attract a total audience of 3.3 million in 2023.
The trade body represents the interests of 105 UK music festivals, ranging from 500 to 80,000 capacity, including the likes of GreenBelt, El Dorado, Deershed, Valley Fest, End of The Road, Pitchfork London, Field Maneuvers and We Out Here.
Based on a survey of members carried out in April 2023, AIF festivals are heading for a collective gross revenue of £195 million this year, with a gross expenditure of £177m, while members will spend £36m on music talent.
The findings have been published in the organisation’s first ever Festival Forecast report, which provides economic forecasts for its membership, as well as detailing issues facing the sector and potential solutions, and will become a regular fixture in the music industry calendar.
“We wanted to better understand the collective impact and the collective issues that our festivals share”
“As the number of festivals joining AIF grows, we wanted to better understand the collective impact and the collective issues that our festivals share,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “The AIF Festival Forecast is an important snapshot of where we are as an association of events at this time. It will inform our work over the coming months, and support policy makers and the wider sector in better understanding the vital role AIF festivals play in the music ecosystem.”
The AIF membership will stage 11,853 performances collectively this summer, with 74% of members featuring female headliners on their bill, and 15% having a 50/50 male/female headline split.
The report also identifies a number of key issues facing member festivals in 2023, along with concrete solutions that will be spearheaded by AIF. These include continued lobbying for a VAT reduction from 20% to 5% for festivals in the face of rising supply chain costs; and public facing campaigns for government support for young audiences affected by the cost of living crisis and Covid closures.
The 2023 edition of the Festival Forecast report can be found here.
Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.