Ralph Broadbent told eFestivals in an interview that it’s not just the headliners that command such clauses, but acts much further down the bill.

“Whenever we try and book any small artist more often than not they’re already under exclusives, normally with the bigger festivals,” he told eFestivals.

“Because we’re all about new fresh music this makes big problems for us. New music has really exploded in the last few years. Now the major festivals really want to get involved in that, so they put in exclusive contracts.”

Y-Not takes place from 3-5 August in Derbyshire.

The panel, consisting of Isle of Wight Festival’s Rob Langford, Steve Daly from ID&C, Steve Jenner from Intellitix and Ticketmaster’s Adam Newsam, provided a mix of experience and insight to debate the future of RFID in the live event space.

The seminar kicked-off with an overview of the success seen in North America last summer, where RFID was used for access control at a number of flagship live events.

Intellitix’s Steve Jenner, and ID&C’s Steve Daly gave separate accounts on how the adoption of RFID wristbands at festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza had positive results for the organisers. Daly added that the success had also spawned an influx of enquiries for the wristbands.

Rob Langford from Solo (the production company behind Isle of Wight festival) provided the promoters’ view point, giving insight into the RFID cashless payment trial carried out amongst 500 fans at the festival last summer. The pre-loaded RFID wristbands gave fans in the VIP arena the chance to experience the technology when purchasing at food and drink stalls. Langford expressed that the success of the trial had led the Isle of Wight festival to consider other avenues where RFID wristbands would benefit the festival and its fans.

The explicit insight into RFID technology provoked an extensive Q&A session, where a packed-out audience asked everything from ‘how can an RFID wristband be topped-up?’ to ‘who owns the data on the wristband?’ The most frequent question though, ultimately asked ‘who will pay for the technology?’

The panel gave individual scenarios and explained possible business models that included sponsorship and paying for the new technology from the proven uplift in sales that a cashless payment solution can generate. Solo’s Langford stated that it was certainly not the intention of Isle of Wight to pass the cost onto the fans.

Although no specific festivals were named, it was unanimously hinted by the panel that the industry could expect to see a cashless payment solution at a UK festival this summer.

RFID wristbands hit the headlines recently after Glastonbury organiser Michael Eavis announced that they’d be considering using the technology when the festival returns in 2013.

The aim of the conference is to review the crime encountered during the 2011 festival season, the actions taken and outcomes and to look forward to improvements and continued intelligence and tactic sharing for the 2012 season.

The conference is designed to provide a forum to share operational expertise and experience in order to work together to combat organised and strategic crime at music festivals. To that end Festival Republic is once again inviting key UK festival promoters who run large scale, professional festivals, their security companies and relevant planning, intelligence and operational officers from those local police forces to contribute.

The conference will be chaired by Melvin Benn Managing Director of Festival Republic and Chief Superintendent Andy Battle of West Yorkshire Police.

The speakers confirmed and topics to be covered include:

* Detective Constable Mark Smith from the Metropolitan Police on “Operation Podium, the Metropolitan Police’s response to serious and organized crime at the Olympics”
* Deborah Charles, Senior Trading Standards Office from Milton Keynes Trading Standards on the work of trading standards fighting counterfeiters at music events
* Detective Inspector Amanda Lowe from City of London Police on the work of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau
* Paul Cook from Live Nation and Simon Battersby from Showsec on security at Download Festival
* Police Sergeant Gary Tupling from Leicestershire Police on covert tactics and organised crime groups
* Detective Constable Kevin Walker and Detective Constable Phil Lilley from Leicestershire Police on the recent prosecution of a major counterfeiter
* Mark Yovich, President of Ticketmaster International on “Ticketing and the Onsale Crush”
* Lynden Manning, Fraud and Special Investigations Manager from Barclaycard on combating ticket fraud

Representatives have been invited to attend the conference from festivals including Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, Latitude, Electric Picnic, Bestival, Rockness, Download, Isle of Wight, T in the Park, V Festival, Womad, Creamfields, Secret Garden Party, Global Gathering, Hackney Big Weekend, Great Escape, Oxegen, Green Man, Sonisphere and Wireless.

Since the inaugural conference in 2009 the past conferences have proved invaluable in terms of sharing intelligence and communicating a strong and cohesive message to criminals that their actions will not be tolerated.

The conference will take place on Wednesday 22nd February from 10am to 4pm at the Royal Berkshire Conference Centre at the Madejski Stadium in Reading. Festival Republic will cover the costs of the conference and it is free for delegates to attend.

WeGotFestivals will offer customers easy access to WeGotTickets’ 200 plus music and non-music festivals, many of which might otherwise go undiscovered. Already on the site are Field Day, Bearded Theory, Electric Elephant, Meadowlands, Wychwood, All Tomorrow’s Parties (curated by Jeff Mangum), I’ll Be Your Mirror and Soundwave Croatia with many more to follow.

The design of the site is a step away from the current WeGotTickets site and is intended to engage directly with customers, encouraging them to browse and discover festivals with ease.

Certain independent festivals can be featured on the WeGotFestivals homepage, through which customers can click right through to purchase. Ticket selling clients are also able to integrate RSS feeds displaying a scrolling front page feed which allows automated festival news updates such as line-up announcements or competitions.

Edd Lewington, Sales Manager WeGotTickets said: “We’d been thinking about ways we could provide customers easier access to our fantastic independent festivals – and WeGotFestivals was born. As well as providing marketing support to our festival clients we are offering festival goers an opportunity to discover those hidden gems we all know are there, but only occasionally hear about.”

Tom Baker, Eat Your Own Ears (promoter of Field Day) said “WeGotTickets has been such an invaluable partner of Field Day over the years, and we particularly look forward to using their new WeGotFestivals feature of the site to make 2012’s Field Day the best year yet”

This is a massive market leading move by Big Day Out founder Ken West to establish greater artist buying power, and a genuine platform for expansion. In light of the evolving festival market, this is a potential game changer for international artists dealing with the Australian market.

Big Day Out’s partnership with C3 will offer many opportunities for Australian and international artists across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The result is a boon for BDO; in what was considered to be a highly competitive few months of discussions with local and international promoters, it appears Big Day Out have landed the best possible outcome, with C3 considered to be the ‘good guys” of the big US music players.

Lollapalooza and Big Day Out seem to be kindred spirits, with both festivals launching in 1991 featuring a lineup geared at the more ‘alternative’ end of the music spectrum. In the subsequent 20 year period both have grown to sit among the world’s longest standing and most successful festival brands.

Ken West, Big Day Out founder is “really happy” with the partnership, stating: “I could not have found more creatively sympathetic, commercially dynamic and like-minded partners than the guys at C3. We remain a locally passionate music business but can revel and excel in what this new global relationship and its combined wealth of knowledge and experience can bring for Australian audiences and Australian and international artists.”

C3 Presents Partner, Charlie Walker says of the partnership: “C3 is thrilled to be entering this creative partnership with Big Day Out and are honored to become a part of the outstanding 20 year legacy that the festival has created.”

Austin City Limits Music Festival and Lollapalooza each draw over 200,000 people annually, with Lollapalooza recently expanding into Latin America. In addition, C3’s talent division books and promotes more than 1,000 concerts across the US and are pioneering the South American festival and touring industry.

They are joining forces with the seaside resort’s Celtic music festival to bid for the event after the Hay Festival ended its involvement.

Other parties to have expressed an interest include a Cardiff events company and a Carmarthenshire brewery.

Elvis festival promoter Peter Phillips said it would keep the jazz festival in Brecon and return it to its “heyday”.

Brecon Jazz has been seeking a new promoter since the Hay Festival, which took over the event in 2009, announced it was pulling out.

First staged in 1984, the mid-August event has been a critical and popular success over the years, attracting leading international jazz musicians and up-and-coming artists from the UK.

But it has faced financial difficulties.

In December, Cardiff-based promoters Orchard Media and Events and Llandeilo brewer Evan Evans both said they were interested in taking on the festival.

Now Mr Phillips, who has run the Elvis Festival in Porthcawl for the last eight years, has also come forward.

His bid is in partnership with the team behind the Porthcawl Interceltic Festival.

Mr Phillips told BBC News: “We have an outline model that will bring the jazz festival back into the town.”

He said it involved “free music on family orientated outdoor stages” along with street entertainment.

“We want to recreate the energy that Brecon Jazz had in its heyday,” he added.

“As with our other music events it’s all about delivering quality artists but not losing sight that festivals need to be fun.”

The Arts Council of Wales is offering publicly-funded support and while Mr Phillips said that would be welcome, he said they had a corporate sponsor interested in supporting the festival.

The newspaper says MCD promoters confirmed the festival will be suspended in 2012 in a move similar to what is happening to the Glastonbury festival in the UK.

According to the report, a text from MCD spokesman Justin Green said: “Oxegen, like Glastonbury, is taking a year off in 2012 and will be back July 2013.”

Oxegen has been running from 2004 and is by far the biggest music event in Ireland every year, attracting almost every major act in contemporary music. Prior to Oxegen, it was known as Witnness.

It has taken place every year at Punchestown Racecourse and at its peak was selling 80,000 weekend tickets.

However, the recession has taken its toll on people aged between 18 and 30, who make up the festival’s main audience. Many are unemployed and a huge number have emigrated.

Last year’s event is believed to have attracted in the region of 58,000 fans, making it financially difficult for the festival to carry on.

The announcement has become something of the worst kept secret in Irish music. It now remains to be seen if a succession of concerts in the Phoenix Park on the lines of the festivals in Victoria Park in London will be hosted in Dublin next summer.

Each year the prize is dedicated to an individual whose personal vision and energy has propelled the entire festival industry forward in a dynamic, creative and positive way.

Michael is to be given the Lifetime Achievement Award because of his seminal role in the European festival industry. Glastonbury and its success have inspired thousands of festivals to be launched, and Michael’s own personal philosophy of philanthropy has been adopted by countless promoters.

Commenting on his award Michael said: “After 41 years, to win something of this magnitude is something to be incredibly proud of. To still be doing this after that amount of time is no mean feat,”

Michael will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Festival Awards Europe ceremony on Wednesday 11th January in Groningen, The Netherlands.

Glastonbury festival founder Michael Eavis

Michael launched Glastonbury festival in 1970, after being inspired by the very first such gatherings such as the Isle of Wight Festival. After 11 years the event finally made a profit and Michael looked for good causes to support in the UK and around the world. Nowadays he aims to raise £2 million per year to make the quality of life better than it is, at present, for millions of people.

Presented in association with YOUROPE and Eurosonic Noorderslag, the Festival Awards Europe are the only pan-European body solely dedicated to recognising the contributions and achievements of the event organisers and performing artists that generate billions of Euros for local economies and brighten up the summer for tens of millions of festival-goers each year.

Christof Huber, Yourope general secretary said, “Michael Eavis is an icon in the European festival scene and in my view, Glastonbury is the mother of all European festivals. He is just the right person to get the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Festival Awards Europe’.

Tickets are now on sale for the special awards ceremony, which will open Eurosonic Noorderslag on Wednesday 11th January 2012, with a gala ceremony held at De Oosterpoort in Groningen, The Netherlands.

Featuring a drinks reception, buffet dinner, live acts and an aftershow party, the awards is also a great opportunity for the industry to come together under one roof to celebrate the achievements of the past 12 months, make new connections, and catch-up with established ones.

For more information, click here

The loss of the weekend of free music and entertainment in Ilkley’s Riverside Gardens park was felt by festival-goers this year, said the event’s director, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth.

The event, which included a performance from Imelda May, was paid for by Bradford Council in previous years, but funding was not available this year with a tighter local authority budget.

At a festival organisers’ meeting last week, Cllr Hawkesworth revealed directors are looking into organising their own “big weekend” event at an unconfirmed venue, including a possible entry fee.

She said: “The loss of the Riverside event has been felt by residents and visitors alike. This was expensive and wholly subsidised.

“I have been approached by people saying they would have been happy to pay a reasonable charge in the future.

“We are pursuing a big weekend and the charging option, although in these times it could involve a risk that the festival might not feel happy to take.”

In an interim results statement today the company said like-for-like sales in the 26 weeks to October 29 dropped 11.6%. Pre-tax losses hit £36.4m, compared to a £27.4m loss in the same period in 2010 – with losses after tax at £10.2m (2010: £10.6m loss).

The total HMV Group loss in the period was £50.1m (2010: £30.9m loss), but this included costs associated with the sale of Waterstone’s in June, when it also agreed a £220m refinancing deal with banks and sold its Canadian arm.

In a statement, HMV said: “The Board has initiated a strategic review of HMV Live which may lead to its sale, the proceeds of which would strengthen the financial position of the Group.”

CEO Simon Fox said: ““This has been a challenging start to the year. However, we have taken decisive action to restructure the business and are now seeing the benefits of this, particularly in our Technology products business. Like all consumer-facing companies we are facing tough trading conditions but we continue to push forwards through this period. We remain well prepared for the key trading days ahead.”