Festivals: YungBlud speaks to the BBC on ticket prices

Are festivals becoming too pricey?

Transcript

00:00The future of UK music festivals may be under strain as organisers warn of mounting costs

00:08and a saturated market. Glastonbury's Emily Evis has revealed the iconic event costs around

00:15£40 million a stage and only breaks even once it sells out. Despite its massive scale,

00:21profits reportedly sit at just £86,000. Other industry voices echo the concern.

00:27Power and waste alone can cost tens of thousands of pounds, even at smaller festivals. And at

00:33Glastonbury's scale of 210,000 attendees, those figures multiply dramatically.

00:39Sysgit Festival, CEO, says rising operational costs, sustainability demands and growing competition

00:47are major challenges worldwide. And it's not just overseas. Giles Napier, co-founder of London's

00:54gala and rally festivals, says many UK events have already cancelled this summer. He points

01:00to the cost of living crisis and a huge explosion in the festival market, warning that new festivals

01:07often don't last beyond a year or two. A recent study by the Association of Independent Festivals

01:15found that of 600 UK music festivals active in 2019. Fewer than 500 remained by 2023. Now, recently,

01:24singer and performer Youngblood spoke to the BBC about wanting to make a positive change when it comes to

01:30the UK's music scene by making music more accessible to everyone.

01:36It's just, even being an artist, I'm like, this is just dumb. It's just stupid. It does not represent

01:41real people. And I think like when we're playing a festival, like, and it's like, I cannot play a

01:47festival where it's like 800 quid a ticket. How can I, how can you stand on stage and that's okay?

01:54You know what I mean? Like what? Like, it's just that, that's just not my style. And we

02:00wanted to come back and do 20 bands for 65 quid, because that's the way it should be, I think.

02:06And will you stand by that, even if that means for you as an artist that you lose out on some

02:10That's what I said. I think, I think, I think with it all like, yeah, because I'll just make my own.

02:17That's my vibe. I'm literally just like, in this world, there is nothing you can't achieve. If,

02:22if I believe you are doing it from a place of truth and for the right reason.