Music
UK music fans subsidise European festivals, says Melvin Benn
Published Thursday, Nov 24 2011, 12:34 GMT | By Mayer Nissim | Add comment
UK music fans subsidise European festivals with the price of their event tickets, Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn has claimed.
Speaking at a conference for the UK festival industry at London's Roundhouse venue, Benn said that the sums paid by British festivalgoers helps keep the prices lower abroad.
"The fees that bands get on mainland Europe is significantly less than they get here in the UK," Billboard quotes Benn as saying.
"Therefore, when a mainland Europe festival goes on sale the price often is significantly cheaper that here and that's actually because the UK is subsidising the European tour of these particular headliners."
He also suggested that the increased ease of travelling to mainland Europe will lead festivals to insist on continent-wide exclusivity deals in future.
"I don't think it's going to become prevalent but I think there are going to be some acts that do it," he said.
"The bands are resisting it, as you would imagine, and will only accept a UK or a European exclusivity on the basis of a big fee, but I do think that's slightly unfair."
Benn rejected claims that the UK festival industry is "in trouble", explaining that "people are still going to want to go out and have a period of separation from normality".
The festival boss also suggested that festivals will start introducing better toilets and washing machine facilities as revellers get older.
Festival Republic runs a number of annual events, including Reading and Leeds, The Big Chill and Latitude.
Benn is also the licence holder for Glastonbury and has operational responsibility for the Worthy Farm event.
> Reading Festival 2012 has "exciting" headline acts, says Melvin Benn
Watch Coldplay perform 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' live at Glastonbury 2011 below:
Speaking at a conference for the UK festival industry at London's Roundhouse venue, Benn said that the sums paid by British festivalgoers helps keep the prices lower abroad.
© WENN
"The fees that bands get on mainland Europe is significantly less than they get here in the UK," Billboard quotes Benn as saying.
"Therefore, when a mainland Europe festival goes on sale the price often is significantly cheaper that here and that's actually because the UK is subsidising the European tour of these particular headliners."
He also suggested that the increased ease of travelling to mainland Europe will lead festivals to insist on continent-wide exclusivity deals in future.
"I don't think it's going to become prevalent but I think there are going to be some acts that do it," he said.
"The bands are resisting it, as you would imagine, and will only accept a UK or a European exclusivity on the basis of a big fee, but I do think that's slightly unfair."
Benn rejected claims that the UK festival industry is "in trouble", explaining that "people are still going to want to go out and have a period of separation from normality".
© PA Images
The festival boss also suggested that festivals will start introducing better toilets and washing machine facilities as revellers get older.
Festival Republic runs a number of annual events, including Reading and Leeds, The Big Chill and Latitude.
Benn is also the licence holder for Glastonbury and has operational responsibility for the Worthy Farm event.
> Reading Festival 2012 has "exciting" headline acts, says Melvin Benn
Watch Coldplay perform 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' live at Glastonbury 2011 below:
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