What is happening to music festivals?

2024 will be remembered as “the year music festivals died”, wrote journalist Greg Rosalsky in the Planet Money newsletter, published by the American broadcaster NPR. Indeed, it is not a good time for large live music events, especially in English-speaking countries: in recent months, numerous festivals have been canceled, to the point where some industry insiders are already talking about a crisis in the sector. Since the beginning of the year, events of various kinds, in terms of musical offerings, geographic location, and target audiences, have been canceled. This is the case, for example, of Desert Daze and the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, two well-known Californian events dedicated to psychedelic rock and reggae music, respectively. The same has happened with Kickoff Jam, a popular country music festival, and the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. But festivals targeting a general audience, such as Sudden Little Thrills or Austin's Float Fest, have also been canceled. Even the Pitchfork Music Festival, organized in Chicago by the eponymous American magazine, has been suspended this year after 19 years of activity.

There are also major music events that have not been canceled but have yielded very disappointing results by their standards. For instance, in recent months, much has been said about the commercial flops of two of the most famous American festivals: Coachella and Burning Man. The former experienced a revenue drop of about 15 percentage points compared to last year, while tickets for Burning Man 2024, for the first time in over a decade, did not sell out. But this trend is not limited to the United States. In August, the South American edition of Primavera Sound (which was supposed to take place in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay) and the Parisian edition of Lollapalooza were canceled. However, the most critical situation is in the United Kingdom, where the culture of music festivals is deeply rooted: since the beginning of the year, over 60 major events of this kind have been canceled in the country.

Why the Music Festival Sector Is Struggling

The numerous cancellations of music festivals in English-speaking countries and beyond have multiple causes. The main one is the impact of rising inflation on Western economies. In this context, the costs of procuring goods and services necessary for organizing such events have increased significantly, and many promoters have been unable to recoup their expenses. It is also important to note that festivals, especially independent ones, are relatively risky economic ventures – they require large upfront investments. Ticket sales and other revenue streams do not always cover costs, so in most cases, profit margins are quite limited. Due to rising prices, which have also had tangible effects on ticket costs, audiences have become more selective and now tend to focus their attention and resources on the most popular festivals – such as Glastonbury, which, being one of the most-followed music events in the world, is much less affected by sector fluctuations.

The current crisis in music festivals is also linked to changes in consumer behavior. Today, users of major streaming platforms, particularly Spotify, discover new artists primarily through algorithm-generated playlists, which generally take into account the listening habits of users with similar tastes. Over time, this approach has essentially flattened user preferences, making them more habitual and less inclined toward musical novelties. As a result, many potential attendees are now more reluctant to participate in large music events featuring lineups of unfamiliar artists or groups. In the past, festivals of this kind were primarily attended to discover new music. Today, interest in this form of entertainment has visibly declined.