The True Economic Impact of this Summers Music Festival Fanatics

Last month I ranted about the missed economic opportunity of corporate sponsorship in the Electronic Dance Music niche (Link : “The Deplorable State of Electronic Dance Music Marketing in America“).  To my surprise, it has been the subject of debate on a few Dance Music forums across the web, well… The people over at Lovebox have actually put the “proof in the pudding” and investigated how much the average festival goer will spend this summer, per event.  It makes note that much of what is spent happens in preparation for the event.

The survey of 3,000 festival fanatics was commissioned by the Lovebox Weekender

The true cost of summer festivals revealed  Fashion, tickets, sick days and travel send festival costs soaring…

The survey of 3,000 festival fanatics, commissioned by the Lovebox Weekender asked festival goers to list their festival outgoings to provide an overview of the true cost of attending music festivals in 2009.  The poll reveals that the average festival goer will spend a whopping £600 on a festival weekend. The biggest expenses being cited as tickets (average £140) followed by drinks (average £130), travel (average £100), and food (average £60).

The findings also reveal that the days of the tie-dye t-shirt and ripped shorts are long gone as festival goers are increasingly being influenced by the “Agyness Deyn/ Alexa Chung effect” and are spending huge sums on a new wardrobe and top of the range designer camping gear prior to each event.  The average pre-festival spend came in at £170 boosted by a third of the female respondents (33%) who admitted spending an average of  £220 before they had even left the house, the money going on new clothes, designer wellies, waterproofs and tents to take with them for their festival weekend.

These costs are compounded by the startling fact that one in five festival goers who camp are planning to throw a sickie this year to give them an extra day to recover from the festivities.  With 707,000 attending the top ten camping festivals this summer, that’s a potential 141,400 people who will be kicking back at home to recover from a weekend of excess!

The survey suggests that the rising costs of festivals are leading many music fans to look closer to home in order to get their musical fix this year.  With value for money at the forefront of their minds, 54% of regular festival goers admitted that they would be turning their backs on camping and traffic jams this year and looking for festivals within easy reach of their home whilst 70% agreed that local festivals were much better value for money.

The study also reveals that music fans are now demanding more from their festivals than just music. Despite a hardcore 8% of us claiming to spend up to 20 hours watching bands play live at festivals in reality a third (32%) of festival goers have admitted that they will struggle to actually remember which bands they see due to excess alcohol. A fifth (21%) admitted they will take in less than 6 hours of music over their festival weekend, preferring instead to socialise with friends, wander around the site, and take in the atmosphere.  Over half (57%) were looking forward to having plenty to eat and drink while a vain 29% confessed that their top concern was looking good.

Festival goers are also demanding a better all round festival experience for their money, 37% highlighted filthy toilets as their key festival gripe whilst 28% picked the weather, 15% claimed lack of showers, 10% cited constant and lengthy queues and 10% felt that food options ruined their festival fun.

Tom Findlay, from Groove Armada, founders of Lovebox Weekender commented:

“In these credit crunch times, festival goers are keen to get more bang for their buck and local festivals are a great way for them to watch live music without incurring the expense of camping and travel costs. As festival goers get older, they want to share the experience with their children and they are looking for festivals that not only showcase great bands but also provide great amusement, atmosphere and food options for the whole family. We’ve certainly addressed this at Lovebox Weekender by providing great food, fun family activities and variety of fantastic performers to cater to music lovers of all ages.”

The average cost of festivals revealed:

Travel: £100
Food: £60
Drink: £130
Clothes and camping gear: £170
Tickets: £140

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About The Lovebox Weekender

The Lovebox Weekender takes place in London’s Victoria Park from the 18th-19th July and includes performances from the legendary Duran Duran, N.E.R.D, Groove Armarda, Florence and the Machine, Doves, Ladyhawke and many many more. In addition to the stellar music line-up Lovebox has expanded for 2009 and will be bursting at the seams with the best new acts, performers, stage sets and special effects. Not to be missed will be the Heavenly Healing area offering festival goers some much needed relaxation, The Gaymers Tree House with its incredible view of the Gaymers Stage, The Fringe Field offering an eclectic mix of sideshows and freak shows and thelondonpaper Sourced Market ensuring hungry festival fans have an array of delicious treats to keep them going.

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