this year was my 10th roo. i think the primary problem is bonnaroo has become 'just another festival'. hiking out to bumfuck tennesse is a big deal for most people, and so there needs to be incentive. festivals are a dime-a-dozen these days, with a lot of crossover, so you need to keep a sense of identity, and i feel bonnaroo has lost that, and so they've lost some appeal. bands USED to get full sets, not this truncated 45-75min bullshit every other festival has. late night sets USED to rage until 4 or 5 or even 6 in the morning. camping USED to be free, now there's a car pass. headliners USED to be relatively unique to bonnaroo, now they're shared with the other 50 festivals across the nation.
i don't think bonnaroo is in trouble necessarily, but clearly a 30% drop from one year to the next is something to keep an eye on. MAKE BONNAROO GREAT AGAIN. or not, i'll still probably go.
I think it's a combination of what people mentioned but to me the two biggest are...
Cost: I'm 25, so I fit in the target demographic and I speak for myself and my peers when I say WE ARE BROKE. Most of my age group started paying back college loans or are about to start, are living on our own or trying to, and many of us work (at or near) minimum wage jobs or unpaid internships, so if we're able to scrape together an extra $300 we're going to be pickier about what we do with it.
The wrong headliners: I just don't see that many people going "Oh my god, Tom Petty, Beyonce, AND Skrillex. Best festival ever!" yet every festival seems to follow that pattern "Old favorite, New mainstream favorite, Alternative favorite"
I think it's time we went to more genre based festivals honestly. While some people truly love all genres, most have a preference between rock, hip hop, pop, country, etc. So if I'm a huge rock fan and could pass on most pop, why would I want to buy a weekend pass when PJ headlines one night but it's Taylor Swift the next? Same if I was a huge pop fan and thought PJ was boring. With a few remaining cross-genre festivals perhaps. This has the plus of reducing the number of festivals to choose from, but also focuses them so you're more likely to enjoy a greater portion of the line up, and makes them different from one another if you do want to/can go to more than one.
And now that people can discover all kinds of music from big acts to basement acts on the internet for free, there's less of an incentive to spend tons of money on the off chance you'll find a new band you like.
This year was my 2nd year attending bonnaroo. I am planning to go back next year as long as the lineup is good. I can take the heat/weather. i enjoy the camping. The lineup is what makes the decision for me to attend now. If they don't have a good lineup, I will be looking to go to Lolla, forecastle, gov ball, sasquatch, or another festival that has the same undercard bands, but also the headliners that I want to see.
2003: 7/14 NJ ... 2006: 6/1 NJ, 6/3 NJ ... 2007: 8/5 IL ... 2008: 6/24 NY, 6/25 NY, 8/7 EV NJ ... 2009: 10/27 PA, 10/28 PA, 10/30 PA, 10/31 PA 2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD 2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
Ive never been to Bonnarroo, but I just bought single aftermarket tickets for both nights in Wrigley, and they cost me the same as 1 Bonnarroo ticket. I'm pretty sure I will enjoy those 6+ hours of Pearl Jam more than I would that whole festival.
2006: Gorge 1
2009: Seattle 1
2013: Seattle
2016: Wrigley 1 & 2
2018: Seattle 1&2, Montana
2020: San Diego, LA 1&2, Oakland 1&2
2022: San Diego, LA 1&2, Fresno, Sacramento, Las Vegas, Denver
There were multiple issues that combined in a perfect storm to bring about such a drop in attendance.
1. The festival market is obviously over saturated and customers have many options, probably closer to home and more convenient.
2. The lineup. I think the problem for many wasn't the headliners but the undercard. This is tied to over saturation. As the article points out the increasing demand for headliner caliber bands has driven up prices on headliners leaving less money for the rest of he lineup. And it shows. This has been compounded by the fact that Bonnaroo is trying to be everything to everyone. If you were attending to see PJ or Dead & Co. there wasn't much else on the lineup to justify the expense. Ellie Goulding? J. Cole? Macklemore? C'mon Roo. You used to be better than this.
3. They raised prices significantly this year. Not only did ticket prices go up, but Bonnaroo added a per car camping fee this year that added to the already significant expenses and travel needed to attend.
Add these things up and you have more people hitting their regional fests for less money and hassle while getting a fairly comparable lineup.
Im one of those old farts who won't go to a festival for all of the above stated reasons.
I was actually thinking about going to the Ride Festival. I live in Colorado, only a short 5.5 hr drive from Telluride. I try to get out there at least once a year.
I didn't go due to one reason: cost
I ran the numbers and found that my trip to South Florida for 6 days to see the first 3 shows including tickets, airfare, rental car, misc expenses was less than 3 nights hotel, 2 VIPs, misc expenses for Telluride.
Im going to guess that cost is a big issue for a lot of people.
I think a lot of the points being made here are good ones...
1. Festivals are where you used to discover new music, not necessary anymore.
2. Cost - It's gone up too much too fast and the quality of the acts has diminished.
3. Oversaturation. Too many festivals all over the country (and world) with similar line ups
4. This is the biggest one if you really want to examine the root cause of issues, and that's experience. We live in a time where the "customer experience" is a big deal. You can get anything you want from Amazon in 48 hours or less (including all your music) so if you are going to shell out a pile of cash for a festival it needs to be not just a weekend of music, but an outstanding overall experience. As someone previously mentioned, our 20-30 year old population is broke, and they are educated, and the research stuff...they aren't spending a pile of cash to sleep outside, brave crowds and overflowing port-a-johns to catch a band or two. Let's be truthful, festivals are not an outstanding overall experience. It's expensive, it's crowded, possible weather concerns, uncomfortable, bad bathroom situation typically, camping, etc, etc.
I think "boutique" or specialized festivals are the future from a business stand point. I went to The Ride fest and I was blown away. I mean I knew it was beautiful there, but never have I seen an event so well planned, organized, etc. I left that festival wanting to go back next year so bad regardless of who plays. I don't want to write a novel on why it was so great....but I could. If you wanted to camp, it was available...and right next to the park. If camping isn't your thing, there were condos and plenty of hotels available depending on the $$$ you wanted to spend. Have your kids with you, no problem! Kids were free and there was a kid area set aside with things for them to do. No kids and you want to go get drunk before the show, go for it! You could walk 1 block from the fest and hit any number of local joints. Tons to do in town, you could truly make the experience anything you wanted....not stuck in a field for a long weekend. To some camping in a field for a long weekend and hitting one of the "mega fests" is a good time...but it's becoming a good time for fewer and fewer people every day.
Comments
i don't think bonnaroo is in trouble necessarily, but clearly a 30% drop from one year to the next is something to keep an eye on. MAKE BONNAROO GREAT AGAIN. or not, i'll still probably go.
Cost: I'm 25, so I fit in the target demographic and I speak for myself and my peers when I say WE ARE BROKE. Most of my age group started paying back college loans or are about to start, are living on our own or trying to, and many of us work (at or near) minimum wage jobs or unpaid internships, so if we're able to scrape together an extra $300 we're going to be pickier about what we do with it.
The wrong headliners: I just don't see that many people going "Oh my god, Tom Petty, Beyonce, AND Skrillex. Best festival ever!" yet every festival seems to follow that pattern "Old favorite, New mainstream favorite, Alternative favorite"
I think it's time we went to more genre based festivals honestly. While some people truly love all genres, most have a preference between rock, hip hop, pop, country, etc. So if I'm a huge rock fan and could pass on most pop, why would I want to buy a weekend pass when PJ headlines one night but it's Taylor Swift the next? Same if I was a huge pop fan and thought PJ was boring. With a few remaining cross-genre festivals perhaps. This has the plus of reducing the number of festivals to choose from, but also focuses them so you're more likely to enjoy a greater portion of the line up, and makes them different from one another if you do want to/can go to more than one.
And now that people can discover all kinds of music from big acts to basement acts on the internet for free, there's less of an incentive to spend tons of money on the off chance you'll find a new band you like.
2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD
2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s7
1. The festival market is obviously over saturated and customers have many options, probably closer to home and more convenient.
2. The lineup. I think the problem for many wasn't the headliners but the undercard. This is tied to over saturation. As the article points out the increasing demand for headliner caliber bands has driven up prices on headliners leaving less money for the rest of he lineup. And it shows. This has been compounded by the fact that Bonnaroo is trying to be everything to everyone. If you were attending to see PJ or Dead & Co. there wasn't much else on the lineup to justify the expense. Ellie Goulding? J. Cole? Macklemore? C'mon Roo. You used to be better than this.
3. They raised prices significantly this year. Not only did ticket prices go up, but Bonnaroo added a per car camping fee this year that added to the already significant expenses and travel needed to attend.
Add these things up and you have more people hitting their regional fests for less money and hassle while getting a fairly comparable lineup.
I was actually thinking about going to the Ride Festival. I live in Colorado, only a short 5.5 hr drive from Telluride. I try to get out there at least once a year.
I didn't go due to one reason: cost
I ran the numbers and found that my trip to South Florida for 6 days to see the first 3 shows including tickets, airfare, rental car, misc expenses was less than 3 nights hotel, 2 VIPs, misc expenses for Telluride.
Im going to guess that cost is a big issue for a lot of people.
1. Festivals are where you used to discover new music, not necessary anymore.
2. Cost - It's gone up too much too fast and the quality of the acts has diminished.
3. Oversaturation. Too many festivals all over the country (and world) with similar line ups
4. This is the biggest one if you really want to examine the root cause of issues, and that's experience. We live in a time where the "customer experience" is a big deal. You can get anything you want from Amazon in 48 hours or less (including all your music) so if you are going to shell out a pile of cash for a festival it needs to be not just a weekend of music, but an outstanding overall experience. As someone previously mentioned, our 20-30 year old population is broke, and they are educated, and the research stuff...they aren't spending a pile of cash to sleep outside, brave crowds and overflowing port-a-johns to catch a band or two. Let's be truthful, festivals are not an outstanding overall experience. It's expensive, it's crowded, possible weather concerns, uncomfortable, bad bathroom situation typically, camping, etc, etc.
I think "boutique" or specialized festivals are the future from a business stand point. I went to The Ride fest and I was blown away. I mean I knew it was beautiful there, but never have I seen an event so well planned, organized, etc. I left that festival wanting to go back next year so bad regardless of who plays. I don't want to write a novel on why it was so great....but I could. If you wanted to camp, it was available...and right next to the park. If camping isn't your thing, there were condos and plenty of hotels available depending on the $$$ you wanted to spend. Have your kids with you, no problem! Kids were free and there was a kid area set aside with things for them to do. No kids and you want to go get drunk before the show, go for it! You could walk 1 block from the fest and hit any number of local joints. Tons to do in town, you could truly make the experience anything you wanted....not stuck in a field for a long weekend. To some camping in a field for a long weekend and hitting one of the "mega fests" is a good time...but it's becoming a good time for fewer and fewer people every day.
98' - 6/26, 6/27, 6/29, 8/26, 9/22
03' - 4/25
06' - 6/29, 6/30
07' - 8/05
09' - 8/23
11' - 9/03, 9/04
12' - 9/30
13' - 7/16, 7/19, 10/21, 10/22, 11/15, 11/16, 12/06
14' - 06/28, 06/29, 10/1, 10/03, 10/16, 10/17, 10/20, 10/22
15' - 11/20, 11/22
16' - 4/21, 4/26, 4/28, 4/29, 5/1, 5/2, 7/9, 8/5, 8/7, 8/20, 8/22
17' - 4/7
18' - 7/1, 7/3, 7/5, 8/8, 8/10, 8/18, 8/20, 9/4
21' - 10/1, 10/2
22' - 7/12, 7/14, 9/6, 9/8