Is it becoming harder to throw a party in a green field? Do music festivals need to become more niche to be successful? And how are promoters becoming more sustainable in their practices?
These questions were investigated by Skiddle in its recently released Festival Report, a dedicated investigation into the festival industry trends for 2025 and beyond. The report can be downloaded here.
Amongst Skiddle’s findings, we learned that smaller, boutique festivals are thriving, and so too are day festivals. There are success stories such as Reggae Land, held at the Milton Keynes Bowl, but there’s still a need for greater collaboration within the industry.
To find out more about what this means for the festival industry, we speak with Skiddle’s Head of Festivals Duncan King.
Jack: Some of the main points I took from the report include stats such as how 47% of attendees bought two tickets or more festival in 2024, and that 10% of attendees bought four or more festival tickets. Why is that? And are people are buying more festival tickets now than a few years ago?
“It’s a split demographic. People pick smaller festivals and go to multiple festivals per year, including day festivals. I think that shows a real trend for shared festival sites, where people can’t commit to a whole weekend but if you’re near good transport links there’s a good chance you’re going to find a good music festival.
We also discovered some interesting facts. For example, 16% of people that buy tickets for electronic music events forget to use their ticket so, but metal fans are the most entrepreneurial and will sell their tickets if they’re not going.”
Jack: You noted how Reggae Land was a particular success story. Do festivals need to become more niche to succeed?
“I think it’s about identity, and it’s about the promoter really understanding who they are, what they are, and who their customers are. Reggae is a hugely popular genre in the UK, but in my opinion, nobody has has done a festival on the scale of Reggae Land for a genre like reggae.
But what Reggae Land has done in a very niche genre, they’ve gone to the absolute boundaries of that niche. They’ve made sure that it’s an accessible experience, and they’ve done it right. There’s someone I have a lot of respect for in the industry who said it’s always easier to make something bigger, but it’s a disaster when you have to make something smaller. And that’s what the team at Reggae Land have done, and last year they has a 110% growth in ticket sales. It’s now the place to go if you like reggae.”
Jack: Do you think it’s harder promoters now to start a new festival in a field?
“I don’t think so, but I think it’s different. There is always going to be a percentage of the public likes getting down and dirty in a field. I’ve got friends who would never dream of sleeping in a field, but attend multiple one day festivals.
“I think a lot of people come into this thinking that they can just put some tents up and book some talent and have a festival. But it’s about knowing your audience and knowing what the fans want.
“you can get real bang for your buck with a music festival, so its natural for that to impact stadium and arena shows.”
Jack: is there any correlation between the underselling of major global or stadium tours, and an influx in people buying festival tickets?
“From the pandemic, where there was a backlog of tours that had to be rescheduled, the volume of stadium and arena shows that we have at the moment is unprecedented. That’s always going to happen, but the prices of some of these shows are the same as a weekend festival.
Especially with the younger 18-25 demographic, you can get real bang for your buck with a music festival, so its natural for that to impact stadium and arena shows.”
Jack: What are the changing trends in the industry? Especially around the topic of sustainability in festivals?
“Venues like Milton Keynes bowl are set up for these events. When you are in a green field, which is essentially a farm for 365 days a year, all of that outside infrastructure has to come in. Whereas with dedicated festival sites, that infrastructure is already there.
From a promoters point of view, the festivals can be more cost effective. That needs to be balanced with green field festivals, though. For me, being in a beautiful part of the world in a gorgeous green setting for the weekend with my friends is ideal.It comes down to who your audience is.”
Jack: What are you excited about in the next year or so?
“We’re waiting with bated breath to see what happens next year. There’s a very big opportunity for grassroots festivals to see some good growth next year because of the Glastonbury fallow year.
“We also saw that 19% rise in festival listings in January and February this year. Promoters are becoming smarter with what else is happening. And through organisations such as the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), independent promoters are sharing more information with each other.”
