Glastonbury and the 'pay to play' controversy.

A few thoughts and insights of my own.

This week Oliver Keens wrote an article in The Independent addressing the fact that most artists at Glastonbury either get paid well below their usual fees or perform for free. More than that, not every artist gets a ticket and many are left with having to either buy one (if they can, which is a huge gamble) or find another volunteer role at the festival.

I’m surprised that this state of affairs hasn’t been picked up by the press previously but this isn’t just a Glastonbury issue, the whole festival industry is built on a model that is either exploitative or unsustainable. The main problem is that it is an industry. Gone are the days when festivals were just a few well meaning hippies in a field trying to sell chai and bring some vibes, now there are festivals of every shape and size and many jumped into bed with the corporate world years ago. Not only that but every single festival is in survival mode right now, so the model isn’t going to change any time soon. Would you rather they didn’t happen at all? I know I wouldn’t but the sad truth is utopian ideals are rubbing up against neo-liberal exploitation and nobody knows how to make things fairer, even if they wanted to.

I guarantee that Glastonbury is in a far more precarious position than people think and I doubt there’s mountains being creamed off the top for personal gain. It only takes a couple of muddy years to end up deep in the red so I’m sure there’s plenty being squirrelled away for such an occasion. Some people make money for sure but I don’t believe it’s the ‘pyramid’ scheme that people are making out. Production costs across the industry have gone up double and triple since lockdown and for a festival the size of Glastonbury that is a huge problem, though many still offer reduced rates out of sheer good will for them. Glastonbury spills into other fields that don’t belong to the Eavis family and so they are often over a barrel when it comes to rental costs too. Plus although they do have some corporate interests they have fought the urge to bring in huge and offensively tacky brand partnerships which prop up many other big festivals. I would rather play for free at Glastonbury than see that happen to be honest.

I have played for free many many times in the past without complaint. Though I agree that it is unfair that there are never enough tickets to cover artists. I’ve been lucky til now. This year is the first time since 2009 that I haven’t been offered a ticket to play. I got offered 4 sets in total, but nobody was willing to give up any allocation. I totally get that, I’m not mad at them though I’d love to be back there in 2027.

Before lockdown I even had extra guest tickets due to playing a few times around site. In 2019 I gave up one of them to a band I knew from Canada called Stephen Lewis & The Big Band of Fun because they’d booked all their flights but even with 3 gigs at the festival, they still didn’t have enough tickets to get the whole crew in. Despite the name they weren’t a big band at all, in fact there were only 4 (maybe 5 then) members. As the article says, most bands of a certain level have the same problem, scrambling to get enough tickets by playing extra shows for free.

I love Glastonbury, it’s my favourite place on earth and it stings a little not to be there this week. I want it to carry on forever but I want it to be fairer, so what's the answer? Firstly they need to be honest and open in order to give people their proper respect and to address where the problems lie rather than trying to cover it up. Glastonbury is incredibly important and it can be truly magical, so everyone needs to appreciate the time and effort that people put in for free to bring that magic to life rather than relishing unpaid labour and treating people unfairly. I realise not everyone can work for free, asking professionals to put in long hours for a job that can be incredibly stressful requires money - but when someone does do it for the love then make sure they get that love back is all I’m saying. Also respect that being an artist costs money. Even as a DJ I will usually spend at least £50 on new tunes before every big DJ set, not to mention my monthly tunes allowance and the money the equipment costs from DJ set ups to USBs and headphones. Then I’ll spend hours researching music and picking out tracks to take with me. I would say all the hours spent practicing but I’d be lying at the moment. Add food, travel and the fact that a festival gig can take up your whole day then you’re bringing a lot to the table. I make an average of £300 a festival set but that doesn’t go far believe me, especially if I’m booking my own accommodation now I don’t have a camper van any more. More often than not I’ll do somebody a favour for less because I believe in what they’re doing and I love going to new festivals. I also ask a lot of other people for Big Love, so feel that it’s only fair I’m willing to do the same.

It genuinely upsets me that I often have to ask friends to play for free or reduced fees at Big Love, even though most are more than happy to do so. The simple fact is the festival would not exist without that and I know that nobody is making bags of cash from it. I don’t take money for putting the line up together and that takes weeks of stressful negotiations and planning. I don’t take wages for working or playing at the festival. If it ever turned a profit then maybe I’d accept a fee but I guarantee it would be well under what I’m worth because the whole model just isn’t sustainable enough. Why do you think we have lost so many independent festivals in the UK over the past few years? It’s a fight for survival but the alternative isn’t worth thinking about for me. Perhaps this will change in the future but when it does, we really need to start rethinking the way we do things.

With that all in mind, do please consider coming to volunteer at Big Love this year. The more help there is the less work people need to do and the more fun they can have. Email getinvolved@biglovefestival.co.uk