Indie fests fear financial impact of severe weather
Organisers from Pohoda Festival (SK), Art Rock (FR) and InMusic (HR) have discussed the perils of maintaining independent festivals in the current climate.
“Unexpected things happen all the time,” Ivana Jelača, programming director for InMusic, told delegates at the recent SHIP conference in Croatia.
“No one predicted the pandemic. No one predicted a war in Europe in the 21st century. Organising a festival is a year-long job and things can dramatically change in that time. There are a lot of factors at play such as political factors, social factors, health and safety factors, weather factors and climate factors. There are a lot more dangers that have appeared in recent years.”
A primary danger for these organisers is inclement weather, as well as the resulting hike in insurance premiums.
Pohoda booking manager Barbora Bodnárová discussed the most recent edition of the three-day festival in July, which was curtailed after a thunderstorm caused a large tent stage to collapse and injure 29 people.
“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen”
“I have never experienced such a storm [as the one this year] and we have storms at the festival almost every year and ways to deal with them,” said Bodnárová. “But we were in a situation where you couldn’t do anything. The policy we have in place wasn’t applicable for 20 minutes because you just had to take care of yourself and the people around you.”
“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen. We just need to make sure we prepare ourselves the best we can in advance and assess it year by year.”
Though the Slovakian festival doesn’t have insurance for cancellation or inclement weather, it does have some cover.
“We have materials and structures insurance,” said Bodnárová. “Fortunately, we had a really good policy that was not that expensive… though I don’t think it’s going to be [that cheap] anymore.”
InMusic’s Jelača says she’s seen insurance fees for inclement weather “go through the roof” in recent years and points out that it’s a “security issue as well as a very big financial issue”.
“Insurance companies say that they will stop covering climate-related events because it’s becoming systematic and it’s not economically viable for them”
Carol Meyer, director of the French non-profit festival Art Rock, reiterates the point, adding that the cost of a severe weather event could end the long-running festival.
“Insurance is a huge issue in France,” she said. “Now, we hear from the insurance companies that they will stop covering climate-related events because it’s becoming systematic and it’s not economically viable for them. This is a real danger because if what happens at Pohoda happens and you’re not covered, you can kill a festival that is 42 years old.”
Bodnárová says that Pohoda is still weighing up the financial impact of the cancelled 2024 festival.
“It’s a slow process,” she said. “Many people are waiting for their money. We haven’t yet made a decision on whether to return a portion of the admission fee to those who would ask. We paid most of the artists their full fees, though some were able to settle for lower fees.”
Even without severe weather events and unaffordable insurance premiums, festivals are still struggling to balance the books.
“We are an independent festival and we’d like to stay independent”
“We almost never break even and we still need to find the ground after Covid,” says Bodnárová. “Finances are the number one concern for us as we are an independent festival and we’d like to stay independent. Plus, we need to attract younger generations so we can’t just keep raising the ticket prices.”
Meyer says that since Covid, Art Rock has to sell out to break even, and that finances are exacerbated by the concentration of major companies in France.
“Live Nation or AEG have relationships with the big artists and own the venues, the ticketing, and now they own festivals,” she said. “They can afford to lose money because the festival is a showcase.”
Croatia’s InMusic has also had its fair share of financial difficulties, some of which caused organisers to pull the plug on the 2023 edition.
Looking to the future, Jelača urged live music fans to support homegrown events and venues.
“Stick by your smaller events,” she said. “Stick by your local pubs. Stick by these grassroots movements because they do, in turn, give you bigger festivals or bigger events that will gather momentum.”
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Festivals update: Rock en Seine, Roskilde, Open’er
Some of Europe’s biggest festivals have added to their lineups as the 2024 summer season gets underway.
Notable events taking place across the continent this weekend include Best Kept Secret in the Netherlands, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park in Germany, Primavera Porto in Portugal, Sweden Rock Festival, Orange Warsaw Festival in Poland and Parklife in the UK.
Meanwhile, France’s Rock en Seine, which is set for 21-25 August at Domaine national de Saint-Cloud, outside Paris, has announced 38 new acts, joining headliners Lana Del Rey, Fred again.., LCD Soundsystem, Måneskin, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, The Offspring and The Smile.
Del Rey, who headlines the opening night, will top a 100% female line-up, supported by Rori, Towa Bird and Pomme. Other fresh additions include Kae Tempest, Venna, Sofie Royer, CVC, Joy (Anonymous), Loverman, New West, Rachel Chinouriri, Nell Mescal, BINA, Soft Launch, Monobloc, Vox Low and Yoa.
Also featuring are Durry, Emily Jeffri, Aili, Dynamite Shakers, Martha Da’ro, The Scratch, Astral Bakers, Merryn Jeann, Rallye, Dog Park, Madam, Nina Versyp, Clara Kimera, 135, Please, Geagea, Menades, Past Life Romeo, Bada-Bada, Lisa Ducasse and Joe la panic.
Elsewhere, there has been a change at the top at Denmark’s Roskilde, which runs from 29 June to 6 July, with Charli XCX stepping in to replace Kali Uchis on 5 July. SZA, Doja Cat, Foo Fighters, J Hus, PinkPantheress, 21 Savage and Skrillex are among this year’s headliners.
“Charli XCX sets new standards for hyperpop, and we are pleased to add an international name of such high calibre”
“Charli XCX sets new standards for hyperpop, and we are pleased to add an international name of such high calibre,” says Roskilde programme director Anders Wahrén.
Charli XCX has also joined the bill at Poland’s Open’er alongside Don Toliver and Hozier, who has been confirmed as the 3-6 July event’s final headliner. Foo Fighters, Dua Lipa and Doja Cat also top the lineup, with other acts including Måneskin, Disclosure, Ashnikko, 21 Savage, Ice Spice, Air, Loyle Carner, Michael Kiwanuka, Floating Points, Kim Gordon, Tom Morello, Sampha and Slowdive.
Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival InMusic, which was forced to cancel last year’s edition, has released the full lineup for its 2024 return from 24-26 June. The Zagreb event will be topped by The National, Hozier, Paolo Nutini and the Smashing Pumpkins. Also set to perform are Röyksopp, Gossip, Viagra Boys, Dogstar, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Gaslight Anthem, Squid and Sleaford Mods, among others.
The legendary Montreux Jazz Festival has unveiled the free programme for its 58th edition, which will take place on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland, between 5-20 July 2024.
With more than 500 activities on 15 stages, the free programme is largely dedicated to promoting emerging artists and represents more than 80% of the festival’s total offering. Highlight include Kenya Grace, Good Neighbours, Sid Sriram, Marcel Dettman, Jazzbois, Venna, Dargz, Elmiene and Black Coffee.
“After careful consideration and evaluation of various factors, we have decided that this is the right time to close this chapter”
In addition, daily workshops will include members of Deep Purple and Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason sharing their memories of Montreux in the 70s, as well as jazz artists such as Lakecia Benjamin, Faraj Suleiman and Roni Kaspi, while a workshop and four events will be dedicated to iconic French artist Serge Gainsbourg on 14 July.
The free events will run alongside the main festival lineup, which will star the likes of Raye, Sting, Massive Attack, Kraftwerk, Janelle Monáe, PJ Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins, Jungle, Duran Duran, Rag’n’Bone Man, Yussef Dayes, André 3000 and Alice Cooper.
Also in Switzerland, hip-hop festival Openair Frauenfield, scheduled for 11-13 July, will feature acts including Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Offset, Don Toliver, Apache 207, Gunna, Ice Spice, Skepta, Shirin David and D-Block Europe.
However, Weihern Openair has come to an end after 10 years. The Swiss festival traditionally took place in St Gallen in mid-September, after the main season.
“This decision was not easy for us, but after careful consideration and evaluation of various factors, we have decided that this is the right time to close this chapter,” says a statement.
Glastonbury has dropped its full 2024 lineup, complete with stage times
The association behind the event had reportedly run into deficits over the past two years due to declining visitor numbers.
“One of the main reasons is that at the end of the festival season we were unable to motivate enough people or visitors to come to the Weihern to enjoy music,” says Kajo Bischof, organising committee member of the Weihern Openair Association, as per FM1 Today. “We noticed that the demand to go to festivals at this time of year has dropped significantly.”
Plus, the UK’s Glastonbury festival has dropped its full 2024 lineup, complete with stage times. Late additions to the 26-30 June programme include James, Tems, Femi Kuti, Seasick Steve, Jamie Webster, the Staves, the Skatalites, Jalen Ngonda, the Vaccines, Johnny Flynn, Soft Play, Rachel Chinouriri, The Zutons and the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA are this year’s Pyramid Stage headliners.
Lastly, London concert series BST Hyde Park has fleshed out this year’s supporting cast, with Hans Zimmer, Seal, Zucchero, Katherine Jenkins and Matteo Bocelli joining headliner Andrea Bocelli on 5 July.
In addition, Gary Clark Jr, Cannons, Somebody’s Child, Red Rum Club, Keo, The Meffs, Daydreamers and Nieve Ella bolster Kings of Leon’s 30 June show with previously announced special guests Paolo Nutini and The Vaccines. Plus, MARINA, Anitta and ALTÉGO will perform before Kylie Minogue’s headline set on 13 July, and Maisie Peters, Alec Benjamin, NMIXX, and KIRE will support Stray Kids on 14 July.
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Croatia’s INmusic pulls 2023 edition due to inflation
INmusic, Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival, has pulled the plug on its 2023 edition due to a myriad of financial challenges.
“The ongoing repercussions of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, inflation, and general sense of insecurity many of us feel in our everyday lives, have resulted in conditions which do not allow for a fully independent festival such as INmusic to take place,” reads a statement from the organisers.
“In the current circumstances, it is not possible to deliver the best possible international live music programme for a ticket price set in accordance to the local audience’s financial limitations,” it continues.
“[These] conditions do not allow for a fully independent festival such as INmusic to take place”
“Unwilling to give up either one of those principles which make INmusic festival what it is, and honouring your support since 2006 and attendance which enabled the festival to grow and develop with each edition, we have concluded it is best to focus our activities on securing the necessary preconditions for a stable continuity of INmusic festival in the future.”
The annual festival typically takes place across three days in June in the Croatian capital of Zagreb with an international-heavy lineup.
Last year marked INmusic’s 15th edition which was extended from three days to four and featured artists including The Killers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Deftones, Royal Blood, IDLES and Kasabian. Details had not been announced for the 2023 instalment.
The organisers say they are hoping to hold the 16th edition in 2024 and share dates with fans in the following months.
— INmusic festival (@INmusicfestival) February 13, 2023
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Long hot summer: Festivals expand for 2022
Wireless is the latest festival to announce an expanded format, ahead of what looks to be a bumper 2022 festival season.
This year, Europe’s biggest celebration of contemporary Black music will take place at three of its former sites over two weekends in July.
The Festival Republic-promoted festival will kick off on 1–3 July at London’s Crystal Palace Park, where it took place in 2021 for the first time in history.
The following weekend (8–11 July), Wireless will simultaneously take place at its traditional home of Finsbury Park in London and Birmingham’s NEC – where it last took place in 2014.
Festival Republic today announced blockbuster headliners including A$AP Rocky (UK exclusive), J. Cole (UK exclusive), Tyler, The Creator (London exclusive), Cardi B (UK exclusive), Nicki Minaj (EU exclusive), Dave and SZA (EU exclusive).
Wireless is the latest in a long line of festivals to expand after two relatively festival-free summers.
“Adding the fourth festival day as inclusive for all previously bought three-day tickets was our way of saying thank you”
Tomorrowland (Belgium), Primavera (Spain), Mad Cool (Spain), Standon Calling (UK), InMusic (Croatia) and Summer Breeze (Germany), Rock en Seine (France), Splendour (UK) and Wonderbus Columbus (US) are among the existing festivals that have been extended for 2022.
Festival organisers have cited a number of reasons for extending their usual format including meeting pent-up demand, recouping losses, celebrating anniversaries and rewarding fan loyalty.
InMusic, Croatia’s biggest open-air music festival, added a fourth day as an all-inclusive for fans who had held onto their three-day ticket.
“Adding the fourth festival day as inclusive for all previously bought three-day tickets was our way of saying thank you for all the love and support,” says Ivana Jelaca from InMusic.
“We were moved by the messages of support we received after the pandemic hit and we were trying to figure out the best way to thank everyone for their understanding and patience.
“We choose to focus on the audiences that have been supportive and active in the years prior to the pandemic, as the two-year loss of live music content has had a huge impact on the quality of their lives.”
“People are hungry for live music and in need of a carefree festival weekend among friends”
Jelaca says that the festival’s 15th anniversary, which is delayed two years due to pandemic-related cancellations, is also cause for an extended celebration.
Alex Härtel from Silverdust, which promotes Summer Breeze in Germany, says the promoter has similar reasons for extending the festival.
“The reason is our 25th anniversary! Summer Breeze has been around since 1997 and despite three cancellations (two due to covid) we want to celebrate 25 years of existence with our loyal fans and many friends and bands from all over the world,” says Härtel.
Moreover, Härtel says the festival is capitalising on pent-up demand for live music: “People are hungry for live music and in need of a carefree festival weekend among friends,” he adds.
While each of the organisers says that their extended edition will benefit vendors, hotel properties and other entities who typically profit from the event, the added day won’t make a dent in the losses the festivals have suffered from the pandemic.
“Fans will expect more in 2022 than they accepted in 2021”
“If anything, an additional festival day generates greater expenses – programming and production-wise – and as an independent mid-sized festival with a limited capacity there are only so many tickets on sale,” explains InMusic’s Jenca.
Silverdust’s Härtel echoes that sentiment, adding: “The extended programme on the first day wouldn’t justify a big enough increase in ticket price to recoup what two years of covid did to the festival. We are doing this to create something special for the fans, the crew and everyone involved with Summer Breeze.”
It isn’t just increased demand festivals will have to meet this year but also increased expectations said AEG Presents CEO of European Festivals Jim King.
“The emergence from multiple lockdowns created a unique demand that is unlikely to repeat in the same way,” he explains.
“Fans will expect more in 2022 than they accepted in 2021. We will see an increasing upturn in expectation from fans as the year plays out and they have been to more and more shows and there will be a need for the industry to up its game to keep fans attending and buying more tickets in the later part of the year.”
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InMusic to honour Tesla, Bowie with 100ft tower
InMusic, Croatia’s largest open-air music festival, will this year dedicate its main stage to both David Bowie and inventor Nikola Tesla with the construction of a 100-foot replica of Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower.
The original tower, also known as ‘Tesla Tower’, was one of the world’s first wireless transmitters and stood in Long Island, New York, from 1901 to 1917.
InMusic promoter Vibro limes explains that “in a year that marks the 160th anniversary of the birth of one of the most important scientists [in history], Nikola Tesla, and when contemporary culture lost one of the most creative and influential artists of our time, David Bowie, the organisers of the largest Croatian festival of contemporary music decided to pay a special tribute to these great artists”.
Both Bowie and Tesla shared a “fascination with the universe” and “shaped the modern world as we know it”
The festival will present a “unique 360° audiovisual projection” celebrating the life of both men, who it says have “shaped the modern world as we know it”.
Bowie played Tesla in the 2006 Christopher Nolan film The Prestige, and Vibro limes states that the two shared a “fascination with the universe”. In his autobiography, My Inventions, Tesla discusses his dream of establishing a “‘World-System’ of [wireless] musical distribution”.
Florence + the Machine and PJ Harvey will headline this year’s InMusic, held on Youth Island in Zagreb from 20 to 22 June.