Skip to main content

Maverick Ad

Home

Main navigation

  • Home
  • Cover Stories
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Legacy Awards
  • Past Covers
  • Weekly Archive
How Festivals Have Changed

Breadcrumb

  • Home
  • How Festivals Have Changed
How Festivals Have Changed
Fri Aug 23, 2019
Peter Åstedt

There was a kind of interesting article in a newspaper in Sweden how Swedish festivals have changed over the past 10 years. Before many of the festivals were held in some small town in a muddy field. Camping festivals they have named them. Many of them have now been replaced by a large city festival inside parks in a big city.

I don't know if this is just a Swedish phenomenon or if it is a change all over the world? I guess it’s a worldwide phenomenon.

I was recently at Summerfest the world’s largest festival with a million visitors in Milwaukee in USA. It's not a camping festival but held in a park area in the city with permanent structures. What struck me was the vendors. A part of being on the festival back in the days was that you could buy things around your favourite artists or records like they had on Medimex in Italy where I was at the beginning of the month. Also, a festival in the middle of the city.

I remember when I went on my first festivals and found vendors selling my favourite band's merch like Ramones, Misfits, 23Till and more. The first festival I attended I bought a Ramones pin that I still have today over twenty years later. Back then it was impossible to find anything like that in my hometown Orebro. If you were lucky, they carried a ‘best-of’ compilation with the Ramones. The record dealers in that city were just greedy people that didn't care about music. They just sold the top ten on the album chart and was walking around like small popes deciding what was good music or not. Mainly they missed it by far. Today I'm really happy these horrible people that were awful gatekeepers have disappeared.

The festival was providing a breathing ground where I could choose my music. Discover new cool stuff. Not just on the stages but also in everything else. One thing now is that thriving festivals have stages for newcomers. Summerfest provides a whole big stage for over 100 totally unknown bands to come and play. Back in the day, even the smallest stage had very famous acts. So that is positive. I have been coming down on the vendors all this year and here is a big change. All they sell now is knickknacks. Had a hard time to find anything music-related.

At the same time, the internet has changed all that was obscure. Today you find thousands of different Ramones pins on eBay just a click away. The rare bootlegs are on Youtube and sometimes easier to find than the official ones.

Moving the festivals to the city is a part of this. You want it closer and more comfortable. At the same time, it won't be a full experience. Suddenly all the other millions of types of entertainment that are in the city are also vying for attention. All this is has gotten the audience to be looking for the next thing faster than they can listen to a song that is three and a half minute long. It seems like the thing to do at festivals today is to walk up to the mainstage and take a selfie to prove you were there and then keep on the hunt for your next cultural experience kick in a cloud of ‘FOMO.’

Nothing is limited any longer for either good or bad.

*FOMO=Fear of missing out.

Editor's Note:  Peter Åstedt has been working in the music industry for over 30 years. He has started record labels, distribution systems, and publishing companies. Peter also runs several major showcase festivals. He has worked with the Top Ten most streamed songs and had music on both the Olympics and SuperBowl.

htttp://www.musichelpblog.com

Features
Music
Month: Oct 2021
Maria Muldaur Declares "I'm Vaccinated & I'm Ready For Love!” Oct 22
David Gogo Sips from a Silver Cup in New Album & Single Oct 15
Sultans of String Release the Classic Cover of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” Oct 15
Rosita Stone Gives Her “Love To The World" Oct 15
Q&A's Tony Quarrington + Zoey Adams Serve Up a Big, Delicious Song… Oct 15
The Old Boys Club Must Be Disbanded Oct 15
Martha and the Muffins Celebrate New Release : Marthaology: In and Outtakes Oct 15
Mike Green Unveils Living Room Session EP with “No One’s Gonna Love You Like I Do”… Oct 08
You Need Knowledge To Know How to Export Music Oct 08
Country Nights In The City, Live Music Is Back! Oct 08
Pop-Rockers Patrick McCormack and Eric Warner are MACARONI BIRTHDAY Serving… Oct 08
Colin James Hits the “Open Road” With New Release Oct 08
Canadian Brass Announces New Album Canadiana Featuring Leonard Cohen’s “… Oct 01
We Will Soon Be Out Of Stars Oct 01
Author David Binks Captures Stories, Photos & Memorabilia About the Iconic… Oct 01
Joan Armatrading with the Latest Consequences Oct 01
Ian Janes - The Real Deal Oct 01
Eric Clapton Releases “The Lady In The Balcony: Lockdown Sessions” Oct 01
Month: Sep 2021
Musical Link between Canada and France Sep 24
Most Played Artist Doesn’t Make You A Successful Artist Sep 24

Pagination

  • First page « First
  • Previous page ‹ Previous
  • …
  • Page 27
  • Page 28
  • Page 29
  • Page 30
  • Current page 31
  • Page 32
  • Page 33
  • Page 34
  • Page 35
  • …
  • Next page Next ›
  • Last page Last »

CEO/PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF
SANDY GRAHAM

email:sandygrahamemg@gmail.com 

Canadian Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Don Graham
email: dongrahamwriter@gmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada and Global
Lisa Hartt
email: lisahartt87@hotmail.com

Contributing Journalist - Canada 
Michael Williams
email: greydread@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

International Journalists:

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Malin Osth
email: malin@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - Sweden
Jonas Tancred
email: jonas@musicdays.se

Contributing Journalist - USA
Rob Durkee 
email: rockster2746@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Developer/Technical Support
Chris Wardman

email: info@chriswardman.com
website: chriswardman.com

Cashbox Cover Design and Graphic Artist
Jain McMillan

email: jainmcmillan@gmail.com

Contributing Photographer 
Tracey Savein - South Paw Productions
southpawproductions@rogers.com

 

 

 

Footer menu

  • Home
  • Features
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Cashbox Archive
  • Issue Archive
  • Past Covers