This happens to every celebrated festival. The owners and promoters party all the money away. They get away with it for a while because the event is on upswing and they can reasonably get away with charging more and more. Then it hits the wall, and by that point, it’s already becoming uncool because it’s attracted the LCD and often that means some tacky mainstream acts have to be thrown in to appease, compounding the downfall.
Very interesting video... always been a bit suspicious that Glasto was becoming a celeb hangout/trendy place for people to go. Would be interested to know how much it compares to other festivals in the UK though!
Can easily become £800-1k holiday if you go all in with food and drink. Plus expenses for parking/buses/trains etc. quickly adds up! Wouldn’t swap it for the world though had the time of my life back in 2023
There’s some valid criticism here (mostly with the overcrowding), but you missed some major points: 1. Glastonbury’s profits are way less than other major festivals (R&L etc) because they give half their profits to charities. £5 million went to them in 2024 and the other profit is invested back into the festival every year. 2. Drink prices are high at all festivals. However, Glasto do this to support the vendors as attendees are allowed to bring as much booze they want and take it anywhere on site, something that no other major festivals allow. This can make the weekend quite affordable. As for food, Glastonbury have a £6 meal deal scheme that lots of vendors offer to provide affordable options. 3. The corporate sponsorships argument isn’t fair because the few partners Glastonbury have are all vetted by Greenpeace and unlike other majors festivals, you don’t see adverts plastered everywhere. 4. Neil Young is getting on and it’s clear he was just misinformed. He headlined in 2009 when BBC were involved and didn’t care then. He’s also rumoured to be headlining BST Hyde Park which has tons of corporate sponsors including AMEX so that makes him a hypocrite. 5. Most of the pre-erected, VIP and glamping options around Glastonbury aren’t even owned by them, it’s neighbouring farms and companies profiting of it. Glastonbury only own Sticklinch, the Tipi Field and Worthy Farm.
Yeah some good arguments here and you’re right that drinks prices are high at all festivals. The argument I’m making in the video isn’t comparing Glastonbury to other festivals though, it’s comparing present day Glastonbury to its origins. For me, without question some of the core values that made it special in the first place are fading away. I’d say that, given there’s a long list of artists that have publically criticised how the festival has changed, it’s worth speaking about! there’s no smoke without fire as they say!
@@sanjaypanchalmusic most artists who criticised Glastonbury is around the pay. Glasto pay less than other festivals because of the lack of corporate sponsors and the charitable causes. The Black Keys turned it down and criticised Glasto for not giving them a bigger slot and payday yet they got humbled when they had to cancel their arena tour bc it wasn’t selling lol.
That’s true - I’m playing devils advocate here but they did double their profits last year to £6m… maybe it’s because they’re making better margins than ever before and choosing not to pass this down the chain to artists?
I'd take a closer look at the their latest accounts, if I was you. find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04348175/filing-history/MzQ0ODc3Mzc2MWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0 £250K for 2 maybe 3 full-time directors. £3.5M in salaries. £2.4M in payments to "entities under common control" (other businesses owned by the same directors)
Neil,you put your songs on Spotify,you take your songs off spotify,then you put your songs back on spotify.And so the pattern continues.Neil DRAMA is you! Quite boring man.Tune in to reality ya old hippy.
Queen Charles can afford toi host one free concert each year.
Super interesting video, can’t wait to see you play at Glastonbury in the future 🎉(?!)
One day it will happen 💪🏾
This happens to every celebrated festival. The owners and promoters party all the money away. They get away with it for a while because the event is on upswing and they can reasonably get away with charging more and more. Then it hits the wall, and by that point, it’s already becoming uncool because it’s attracted the LCD and often that means some tacky mainstream acts have to be thrown in to appease, compounding the downfall.
Very interesting video... always been a bit suspicious that Glasto was becoming a celeb hangout/trendy place for people to go. Would be interested to know how much it compares to other festivals in the UK though!
Can easily become £800-1k holiday if you go all in with food and drink. Plus expenses for parking/buses/trains etc. quickly adds up! Wouldn’t swap it for the world though had the time of my life back in 2023
It's always been a corporate event, never was a proper rock festival.
There’s some valid criticism here (mostly with the overcrowding), but you missed some major points:
1. Glastonbury’s profits are way less than other major festivals (R&L etc) because they give half their profits to charities. £5 million went to them in 2024 and the other profit is invested back into the festival every year.
2. Drink prices are high at all festivals. However, Glasto do this to support the vendors as attendees are allowed to bring as much booze they want and take it anywhere on site, something that no other major festivals allow. This can make the weekend quite affordable. As for food, Glastonbury have a £6 meal deal scheme that lots of vendors offer to provide affordable options.
3. The corporate sponsorships argument isn’t fair because the few partners Glastonbury have are all vetted by Greenpeace and unlike other majors festivals, you don’t see adverts plastered everywhere.
4. Neil Young is getting on and it’s clear he was just misinformed. He headlined in 2009 when BBC were involved and didn’t care then. He’s also rumoured to be headlining BST Hyde Park which has tons of corporate sponsors including AMEX so that makes him a hypocrite.
5. Most of the pre-erected, VIP and glamping options around Glastonbury aren’t even owned by them, it’s neighbouring farms and companies profiting of it. Glastonbury only own Sticklinch, the Tipi Field and Worthy Farm.
Yeah some good arguments here and you’re right that drinks prices are high at all festivals. The argument I’m making in the video isn’t comparing Glastonbury to other festivals though, it’s comparing present day Glastonbury to its origins. For me, without question some of the core values that made it special in the first place are fading away. I’d say that, given there’s a long list of artists that have publically criticised how the festival has changed, it’s worth speaking about! there’s no smoke without fire as they say!
@@sanjaypanchalmusic most artists who criticised Glastonbury is around the pay. Glasto pay less than other festivals because of the lack of corporate sponsors and the charitable causes. The Black Keys turned it down and criticised Glasto for not giving them a bigger slot and payday yet they got humbled when they had to cancel their arena tour bc it wasn’t selling lol.
That’s true - I’m playing devils advocate here but they did double their profits last year to £6m… maybe it’s because they’re making better margins than ever before and choosing not to pass this down the chain to artists?
I'd take a closer look at the their latest accounts, if I was you. find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04348175/filing-history/MzQ0ODc3Mzc2MWFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0
£250K for 2 maybe 3 full-time directors.
£3.5M in salaries.
£2.4M in payments to "entities under common control" (other businesses owned by the same directors)
Neil,you put your songs on Spotify,you take your songs off spotify,then you put your songs back on spotify.And so the pattern continues.Neil DRAMA is you! Quite boring man.Tune in to reality ya old hippy.