Why the variety of festivals ensures they will never go out of fashion
The festival industry is in good health in 2019, exemplified by the speed at which Glastonbury and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend sold out in recent months. With Tramlines also selling out this summer, it is clear that the appetite for live music is not diminishing. While festivals can present logistical challenges and create dents in people’s budgets, they offer one clear advantage over standard gigs: variety.
That variety comes in two forms:
Bringing together lots of big bands from one genre
Festivals with a focus on one particular genre gives fans a rare opportunity to see several of their favourite bands in one place, as opposed to waiting for them all to tour locally. For example, the Punk in Drublic at this year’s Slam Dunk Festival brought together NOFX, Anti-Flag, Less Than Jake, Bad Religion and Lagwagon, a veritable who’s who of the 90s and 00s punk scene. Ordinarily, you’d have to go to five different gigs to see those five bands, as they would all be headliners in their own right.
Offering lots of different genres at one event
Some people prefer to stay within one genre, while others have more diverse tastes. This is particularly true for those who like everything under the umbrella of ‘pop’, as tracks that come one after another on the radio may not always be from natural touring partners. Festivals allow people to enjoy and explore a range of genres. Glastonbury is the notable example; this year, attendees could have watched Stormzy, The Killers, and even David Attenborough. You’ll never see such an eclectic lineup outside of a festival.
Variety is what ensures festivals will always have a place in the music industry. Just as festivals have to curate line ups that have a balance between old favourites and new talents, other entertainment industries also have to find the perfect variety if they are to keep people coming back.
Music streaming
While there is no one festival that is definitively the best, Spotify is the clear standout in music streaming. This is because the platform caters to all genres, while its continually expanding library ensures subscribers have little incentive to look elsewhere. The days of needing to buy physical albums are long gone, as users have millions of records at their fingertips on Spotify.
iGaming
Just as Spotify thrives on quickly adding the most exciting releases each week, iGaming sites succeed on offering the best and latest games. A look at the selection from videoslots casino demonstrates the depth of variety available in the slots genre. There are adventure-themed slots like Gonzo’s Quest, slots with mythical themes like Zentaurus. Given that slot mechanics largely remain similar across games, it is vital that sites provide a wide variety of themes to appeal to all players.
Movies
Netflix has long been the world’s premier streaming service, but there used to be a sense that you could exhaust the website’s library. However, Netflix’s move towards creating its own series and movies keeps its variety fresh. Netflix faces a tough task to ensure its variety continues to satisfy users, with new platforms constantly emerging on the scene to try and grab their share of the market.
However, Netflix now has over 150 million subscribers, so it starts from a position of strength. Variety is the most important factor for music, gaming and streaming sites, so it is no surprise that festivals have a similar allure in the live music scene.
