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A recent article in the The Sun newspaper painted the picture of a doomed UK festival market. Not every festival has the reputation of Glasto, which sold out in minutes, meaning more and more festivals are not selling out - with some even not going ahead.
Festivals like The Hop Farm and Kiss Beach have been dropped due to poor ticket sales, and even the big names like Latitude and Reading and Leeds are having difficulty shifting their ticket stock.
But is this necessarily a bad thing? In a statement by Viagogo, the popular ticketing website, they stated that they're still seeing a high demand for festival tickets, and that this way it allows music fans the opportunity to decide at last minute to see their favourite acts perform throughout the summer.
"Festivals are currently one of the most searched for categories on our site and we’re seeing high demand for tickets. The great news is that music fans have still got the opportunity to see their favourite acts perform throughout the summer. viagogo gives them the flexibility to buy tickets right up to the last minute and sometimes snap up a bargain," says a spokesperson for the ticket resale site.
Kool and the Gang at The Hop Farm last year, before it was cancelled
With the rise in festival prices in the past few years, doubled with the saturation of the market, meaning your favourite band will probably be playing in more than one location this summer, leads to fans waiting for that extra special line-up before jumping on the festival bandwagon. Knowing that what you're going to see is worth the £200+ ticket is certainly a good thing.
Furthermore, through safe ticketing sites like Viagogo, which allow customers to buy and sell on tickers, last minute punters can get cheaper prices, such as weekend tickets for Latitude selling for £170, which is £20 less than the festival's official site. If the drop in ticket sales allows spectators the opportunity to not be ripped off then this proves again, that it's a good thing.
Bat For Lashes performing at Latitude last year
Viagogo reported that they have seen a higher demand for international festivals, and that they are now the official ticketing partner of some of Europe's biggest festivals, including Benicassim in Spain and Weekend Festival in Finland. This can be partly linked to the almost guaranteed horrendous UK weather during festival season, but unfortunately, nothing can be done about that.
Reading & Leeds: £210 or £170 from Viagogo
Electric Daisy = £72.50 or £56.49 from Viagogo
T in the Park = £194 or £180 from Viagogo
Latitude = £190.50 or £170 from Viagogo
Below: the coolest bands to see at Latitude 2013
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