Electric Picnic 2018 **Discussion Only // No Ticket Sales** [Part 1]

Wooderson

BullBlackNova wrote: »

Fwiw, I think the delays are just a poorly thought out marketing strategy.

There was a lot of big gigs and festivals to compete with in the news cycle earlier in the summer, including Longitude, which FR is behind too.

I think they decided to try totally dominate the cycle in August by making 3/4 announcements and keeping the buzz going throughout the whole month until the festival starts. August is traditionally dead news-wise too - make the right booking and announce at the right time and it'll get a disproportionately high boost on some sites in comparison to doing so in the middle of June, for e.g.

Then, put the tickets back on sale immediately after the festival is over and hope to capitalise on the good time had by all (presumably!!), the FOMO from those who spent a weekend gutted to miss Kendrick, Massive Attack or whoever, and the buzz generated by being all over social media since July 31 onwards.

But, I think they underestimated the frustration that would emerge. In particular, for people who are just going to EP and not buying other festival tix/standalone gig tix and are just waiting to hear the new acts, etc as the summer rolls on, as in previous years. EP has had a very set formula of announcements in the past and the deviation from this was jarring and has left lot of people unhappy/frustrated, very understandably IMO too.

I may be wrong but I don't think it's any less likely than the conspiracy theories about wanting to suffocate a festival which looks to be targeting an entirely different sized market at this stage.

“At this stage” is key point. I’m convinced that EPHQ has made judgement call that risking pissing off their regulars is less problematic than allowing ATN get an easy (head?) start. Market is heavily weighted in their favour at the moment - ATN the first challenger with potential to damage their dominance in short and medium term. Weather (?) novelty and proximity to a more reliable and accessible touring schedule gives ATN some inherent advantages.

Or, EPHQ could just be f%cking with us.

ghostdancer

any EP announcement will get publicity for about 24hrs before everyone moves on with their lives, same as any coverage of ATN, which will basically be a couple of pieces at most in media outlets that are bothered to report on it (most aren't bothered covering B&S, Sea Sessions, Indiependence etc. so can't see much happening for ATN either).

The "sabotage their publicity" thing makes absolutely no sense to me. Any supposed "sabotage" would be incredibly minimal. Outside us festival nerds here, most people don't really care or give a crap about either EP's announcement schedule or ATN (if they've even heard of the latter). Any pieces about an EP announcement or ATN will be on social media for people who are tuned in to festivals/music in general, and buried on page 12 of the newspapers.

A main EP announcement today or tomorrow isn't going to get anyone with a ticket from going to ATN, and anyone thinking of going at this very late stage is unlikely to change their mind now. I'd say 99% have made up their mind about going to ATN by now anyway.
If it was to damage ticket sales for ATN, they would surely have announced weeks ago so people would have had to make a choice (assuming there's anything worth going to EP for in the next announcement!).


It'll be a right laugh if after all this the main stages announcement doesn't happen this week :pac:

Former Former

haitens wrote: »

If the delay isn't anything to do with ATN what do you reckon it is???
They could have a few big names in the announcement and can't release them because the acts want to release tour details themselves (Prodigy Aphex Twin)??? Maybe EP thought the flak for naming the line up without these would have been worse than just holding off a few weeks. Just guessing here, either way it's great to be listening up on a few acts from yesterdays news.

I have no idea, but I'd wager it's far more mundane than the conspiracy theories being put forward here.

I just can't understand why people are so angry to the point that it's spoiling the whole thing for them. We all bought tickets without knowing a single act, I'd have thought that anyone for whom the final lineup was absolutely critical is going to the wrong festival.

ChannelNo5

Just listening to Fontaines DC now and i'm getting excited for EP.

Is it too early for the things to bring checklist?.....

BaZmO*

Former Former wrote: »

I have no idea, but I'd wager it's far more mundane than the conspiracy theories being put forward here.

Maybe the person that does the announcements is on holidays?

d_levins

BaZmO* wrote: »

Maybe the person that does the announcements is on holidays?

Maybe his pet dog ate the lineup.

scruff monkey

ChannelNo5 wrote: »

Just listening to Fontaines DC now and i'm getting excited for EP.

Is it too early for the things to bring checklist?.....

never too early, there are two of them linked in the first post of this thread.

ChannelNo5

scruff monkey wrote: »

never too early, there are two of them linked in the first post of this thread.

Oops thanks! You think i'd have noticed this!!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON WHAT TO BRING :P

PinkCamper

Former Former wrote: »

I have no idea, but I'd wager it's far more mundane than the conspiracy theories being put forward here.

I just can't understand why people are so angry to the point that it's spoiling the whole thing for them. We all bought tickets without knowing a single act, I'd have thought that anyone for whom the final lineup was absolutely critical is going to the wrong festival.

Oh come on... it’s perfectly reasonable to be irritated by this stringing along. It’s one thing to be clueless a year out, but 4 weeks out?
It also has knock on effects for people’s enjoyment. In my case, a load of friends aren’t coming because they’re not die hard EP fans and there’s nothing to attract them, even though they’ve been regulars for past few years.

haitens

ghostdancer wrote: »

any EP announcement will get publicity for about 24hrs before everyone moves on with their lives, same as any coverage of ATN, which will basically be a couple of pieces at most in media outlets that are bothered to report on it (most aren't bothered covering B&S, Sea Sessions, Indiependence etc. so can't see much happening for ATN either).

The "sabotage their publicity" thing makes absolutely no sense to me. Any supposed "sabotage" would be incredibly minimal. Outside us festival nerds here, most people don't really care or give a crap about either EP's announcement schedule or ATN (if they've even heard of the latter). Any pieces about an EP announcement or ATN will be on social media for people who are tuned in to festivals/music in general, and buried on page 12 of the newspapers.

A main EP announcement today or tomorrow isn't going to get anyone with a ticket from going to ATN, and anyone thinking of going at this very late stage is unlikely to change their mind now. I'd say 99% have made up their mind about going to ATN by now anyway.
If it was to damage ticket sales for ATN, they would surely have announced weeks ago so people would have had to make a choice (assuming there's anything worth going to EP for in the next announcement!).


It'll be a right laugh if after all this the main stages announcement doesn't happen this week :pac:

Now that would be really taking the piss:)

tonto123

PinkCamper wrote: »

Oh come on... it’s perfectly reasonable to be irritated by this stringing along. It’s one thing to be clueless a year out, but 4 weeks out?
It also has knock on effects for people’s enjoyment. In my case, a load of friends aren’t coming because they’re not die hard EP fans and there’s nothing to attract them, even though they’ve been regulars for past few years.

Ya 4 weeks out is a fricking joke, of course it is, it's rediculous to say otherwise... People buy the tickets without knowing lineup as its the only major festival with a bit of something for everyone and anyone that doesn't mean u expect to have the piss taking out of u and not know the majority of the lineup 4 weeks out

tonto123

haitens wrote: »

[/B]

Now that would be really taking the piss:)

Lads at this stage I wouldn't be surprised, could easily be other voices tomorrow or comedy tent and then the main announcement next week, like I cringe saying that, but the way things are going....

Rigor Mortis

On a side note, the music press will not thank FR for putting an announcement out on Thurs or Friday. People have stories written, features on the ten bands you must see at ATN etc.
The media want these stories spread out.
To be honest, i think if the main announcement isnt out by close today they would be mad to put it out.
For what its worth, i think we get Comedy or either Other Voices2 or Jer Fish today and then minor stuff for the rest of the week.

ricerocket

Let's call a spade a spade - it's a fuppin music festival first and foremost with a bit of comedy, arts, food etc thrown in. Music is what brings people there and if there is ever a sense that the lineup is slipping, people will start to desert it.  A lot of people were underwhelmed with the initial announcement back in March.  Some of those people probably found some nuggets on the line-up in the months since but were still hoping that the line-up would be beefed up.  5 months have now passed and the line-up hasn't been beefed up so hence the impatience, disappointment etc.

Korvanica

So what are you lot going to complain about now ?

Former Former

PinkCamper wrote: »

Oh come on... it’s perfectly reasonable to be irritated by this stringing along. It’s one thing to be clueless a year out, but 4 weeks out?
It also has knock on effects for people’s enjoyment. In my case, a load of friends aren’t coming because they’re not die hard EP fans and there’s nothing to attract them, even though they’ve been regulars for past few years.

Irritated - fine. People want to fill up their playlists and I understand that, but we've gone way beyond "irritated".

I just don't get the level of absolute rage and bitterness and why people are spoiling it for themselves but sure look, whatever works for you.

If your friends bought tickets without any real intention of going, then they're a much bigger problem IMO. If people like that didn't panic-buy tickets and think "sure we'll flog them later if we have to", then maybe EP would release acts earlier. As it is, there's no incentive for EP to do anything because it sells out every year with zero announcements.

PinkCamper

That’s just it... it’s sold out. It has paid for itself. But I believe last year, and this year, there were/will be a ton of unused tickets. They were selling for like €100 or less in the days before last year. They certainly weren’t gold dust. Is that the beginning of the wane of it’s popularity I wonder? People (general public) weren’t impressed with last years line up and were scathing of Duran Duran. How wrong they were, but I wonder has it damaged brand etc. All idle speculation as we continue to wait btw

*sunday last year, literally one of the top 5 nights of my life. Warm evening, amazing buzz, Simon and co ye legends!

Seathrun66

At this stage it's all about early bird sales for 2019. EP announce a few biggies this week or next and they're sorted for ticket sales in Sept. ATN are likely to release their own early tickets in the next fortnight so EP really need an impressive final line-up.

I reckon the second batch of announcements will be mixed but overall more formidable than the entire ATN line-up.

PabloAndRoy

Seathrun66 wrote: »

At this stage it's all about early bird sales for 2019. EP announce a few biggies this week or next and they're sorted for ticket sales in Sept. ATN are likely to release their own early tickets in the next fortnight so EP really need an impressive final line-up.

I reckon the second batch of announcements will be mixed but overall more formidable than the entire ATN line-up.

The word "delusional" springs to mind.

scruff monkey

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

The word "delusional" springs to mind.

we need something similar to the reddit remindme bot to come back to this at a later date.

fwiw, i'm expecting a bunch of good middle tier, no headliners though...
would like to be wrong

ricerocket

Confirmed: Main announcement on Friday

ricerocket

https://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/electric-picnic/327257/electric-picnic-2018-main-stage-line-up-announcement.html

Seathrun66

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

The word "delusional" springs to mind.

For me ATN is a pretty poor line up full of acts that have played EP recently & bands doing DJ sets. There are definitely a few exceptions that I'd love to see (Nils Frahm, Thundercat, New Power Generation) but overall it's less strong than Beatyard. Don't get me wrong, I hope it goes well and I hope that you and others (including my sister, her fella & other pals) have a great time and I think you will. The setting, Arcadia & weather should ensure a good fest. It's entirely subjective but the line-up is not strong enough for me and I expect the next 50/60 acts that EP announce to be stronger than what's in Waterford.

Ferris_Bueller

So it ends up being on the day that All Together Now starts, surely it is not a coincidence that the one year this festival comes along is the year they leave the announcement so late. Hard to know why though, not as if people are going to turn around in their cars midway down to Waterford.

PabloAndRoy

Seathrun66 wrote: »

For me ATN is a pretty poor line up full of acts that have played EP recently & bands doing DJ sets. There are definitely a few exceptions that I'd love to see (Nils Frahm, Thundercat, New Power Generation) but overall it's less strong than Beatyard. Don't get me wrong, I hope it goes well and I hope that you and others (including my sister, her fella & other pals) have a great time and I think you will. The setting, Arcadia & weather should ensure a good fest. It's entirely subjective but the line-up is not strong enough for me and I expect the next 50/60 acts that EP announce to be stronger than what's in Waterford.

Fair enough on the ATN lineup. It's just down the road for me so its a no brainer. I simply don't have any high expectations at all from EP's next announcement.

Fatfrog

The ATN sabotage does not make any sense, to sabotage you would need to hit them in the pocket/ticket sales. Anyone going to ATN would have bought their tickets in the past couple of weeks, this lack of announcement would have the opposite affect and fuelled sales, punters would be more likely to buy in frustration. A cracking final announcement now isn't going to have any impact on ATN ticket sales.

I think we can all agree this has seriously dampened the hype, EP is a hype monster!! If I had to guess I'd imagine this silence isn't voluntary.

Contractual agreements with artists, maybe there's some kind of issue? But the chances of issues with multiple artists are slim! If there was an issue with 1 or 2, what's stopping them releasing the rest.

To me there's some internal issue, maybe with venue, shareholder, monies owed or with Benn himself??

BaZmO*

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

So it ends up being on the day that All Together Now starts, surely it is not a coincidence that the one year this festival comes along is the year they leave the announcement so late. Hard to know why though, not as if people are going to turn around in their cars midway down to Waterford.

It's probably a case that EP will pressure on the media to put their announcement front and centre ahead of any ATN talk especially if they want their freebies.

It happens a lot with promoters.

Seathrun66

PabloAndRoy wrote: »

Fair enough on the ATN lineup. It's just down the road for me so its a no brainer. I simply don't have any high expectations at all from EP's next announcement.

Yeah, even with reservations I'd be there too if it was nearby. Definitely enough to entertain me, pals going and nice to be there for the first year of a new fest. Enjoy it.

Blackie_IRL

Seathrun66 wrote: »

For me ATN is a pretty poor line up full of acts that have played EP recently & bands doing DJ sets. There are definitely a few exceptions that I'd love to see (Nils Frahm, Thundercat, New Power Generation) but overall it's less strong than Beatyard. Don't get me wrong, I hope it goes well and I hope that you and others (including my sister, her fella & other pals) have a great time and I think you will. The setting, Arcadia & weather should ensure a good fest. It's entirely subjective but the line-up is not strong enough for me and I expect the next 50/60 acts that EP announce to be stronger than what's in Waterford.

Comparing both is pointless. Both festivals having different business models, target audiences and budgets. ATN is trying to get a foothold into the boutique festival circuit initially whereas over the past few years EP has grown into the large festival category. It's clear that EP will have a line-up of higher calibre when they have the budget now and the clout with FR to attract larger pedigree acts. There are both pros and cons to that. It shouldn't be used as a stick to beat ATN with. Many of EPs long term customers might actually prefer the ATN approach and if this group is a benchmark it is obvious that there is a sizable % of EP customers going to ATN too. Of course EP will still sell out this year but the demographic will start to change over time. Especially as the profile of acts they book changes to cater for younger audiences.

Seathrun66

Fatfrog wrote: »

The ATN sabotage does not make any sense, to sabotage you would need to hit them in the pocket/ticket sales. Anyone going to ATN would have bought their tickets in the past couple of weeks, this lack of announcement would have the opposite affect and fuelled sales, punters would be more likely to buy in frustration. A cracking final announcement now isn't going to have any impact on ATN ticket sales.

I think we can all agree this has seriously dampened the hype, EP is a hype monster!! If I had to guess I'd imagine this silence isn't voluntary.

Contractual agreements with artists, maybe there's some kind of issue? But the chances of issues with multiple artists are slim! If there was an issue with 1 or 2, what's stopping them releasing the rest.

To me there's some internal issue, maybe with venue, shareholder, monies owed or with Benn himself??

It's all about 2019 sales. People buying early birds will have to decide if they trust EP or ATN more. The idea is that a big EP announcement on Fri will have the ATN punters regretting the choice to go there. And many will have chosen that as their sole fest of the year. Whether it works or not will be seen with the early bird sales.