What Festivals Have Done For Bands in 2014

For guitarists, bands and musicians not many industries have flourished in the way that UK music festivals have of late. You needn’t go too far onto the high street for proof of the terrible effect that the 2008 recession has had, and continues to have, on our market. Yet, somehow, the festival circuit has not only manage to last , it’s also achieved growth on an unprecedented scale, with more than 700 events officially classified as music festivals taking place in the UK last year. Cast your mind back 10 years to 2004 and the number stands at a paltry 100.

Of course, few of these will be keeping Michael Eavis wide awake at night, and some will be little more than glorified campfire affairs held in a student’s parents’ back garden, but a many would no doubt welcome the opportunity to forge new, mutually beneficial partnerships with MI brands.

One brand, which has made its mark on the festival front is guitar amp manufacturer Carlsbro, whose ties with metal event Bloodstock are reaping reward.

“Our partnership with Bloodstock is a great way for us to raise the Carlsbro profile and show people our gear,” explains the firm’s international sales, marketing and business development director, Paul Brewis. “We have Carlsbro backline across all of the stages and the festival produces thousands of flyers and posters with our logo, so it’s great for branding.

“We also have access to all of the performers, so it’s a great way of putting our gear into their hands and its helps us to get new endorsements. Artists don’t have to use our gear, but it remains onstage regardless, so we maintain a visual presence throughout.”

For several brands, it is the opportunity to connect with a vast network of artists in a concentrated area that provides the biggest draw; an opportunity that Marshall has, and continues, to capitalise on through its backstage presence at the Download rock festival.

“We have a Marshall cabin in the artist area,” says Joel Manan, Marshall’s artist liason manager. “We tend to bring new amp models and special editions that the artists wouldn’t have seen before, along with kit from Natal and Eden bass gear, covering all three of our distributed brands. Artists can then try out our gear and speak to our techs and specialists on-site if they need anything servicing or assistance with their existing amps. We look after so many artists, so it’s a great place to catch up with them in person and offer our support.”

The firm also provides backline for the Download Festival’s Pepsi Max stage, including drums from Natal, Marshall amps with a selection of heads and Eden bass amps, whilst also keeping a selection of backline equipment in reserve at its local head office for artists to hire during the event.

Furthermore, the provision of gear offers artists the chance to try out the firm’s products in bona fide festival surroundings; something that they may not receive in most MI shops.

“Artists can’t always go to stores and try out equipment at the volume levels required for a festival. Here, they can try things out in a true festival environment.”

Another brand long-associated with the festival circuit in the UK is Peavey. Over the years, it has sponsored stages and provided backline for a number of different festivals, whilst also hosting backstage areas for artists to be photographed using the firm’s gear.

“Festivals can be great for branding, but they’re mostly a fantastic opportunity for getting your equipment into the hands of a great many artists and bands,” says the firm’s European marketing manager, Andy Rust.

“It is also a brilliant way of introducing your products and services to potential new players.”

Fellow amplifier specialist, Ashdown, has also sung the circuit’s praises over the years, most famously on account of its relationship with V Festival.

As with those previously mentioned, the company approached the circuit on a number of fronts – branding, artists areas, backstage bars etc. However, in recent years, it has scaled down its involvement on the UK festival scene for a multitude of reasons, one of which being the growing cost of event sponsorship due to the sector’s growth.

“At V Festival we used to have a backstage dressing room area, providing artists with access to our gear, along with branded bars,” commented Ashdown’s artist relations and marketing manager, Dan Gooday. “We also used to do a similar thing at both Sonisphere and Download.”

Since reining in its presence on the circuit, Ashdown now puts its weight behind a number of lower-profile events and festivals abroad.

“There has to be a return on investment, which is why we stopped,” Gooday continues. “It’s got far too expensive, and the prices continue to go up.

“We still work with some festivals on the continent, such as the Snowbombing festival in Austria and Hell Fest in France. For each of these we are supplying backline equipment throughout.

“It’s great to support festivals like this. It’s important to remember that they get even more from the relationship than the brand. For a company like us to supply full backline across the event saves them a significant sum of money; it would cost them a hell of a lot more to hire the backline themselves.”

Opportunities like this are not solely confined to the world of heavy rock. Folk specialist Hobgoblin has connected with the genre’s festival scene to such an extent that it now considers its involvement with festivals an essential part of its business.

Now working in partnership with around 30 folk festivals every year, the company’s managing director, Pete McClelland, views live events as a great way of both backing live music and raising the profile of the Hobgoblin brand.

“One of Hobgoblin’s central ambitions is to help support live music and we have been putting our words into action wherever we can,” he explains. “We set aside a fund for each year and give money to events that we feel we can help and those which are important to us. Generally, we will have a product stand at each of these events. Trading has become quite a big thing for us at festivals and dealers will quite often set up stalls as well.

“Our presence at these festivals is something that has become central to what we do. Branding at these kinds of events is one of the most important things to us.”

And, having developed such strong links to the festival scene, McClelland remains keen to further bolster his company’s status on the circuit for many years to come.

“We’ve been going to a number of festivals on a yearly basis for the past 38 years now and we would very much like to see that continue for a lot longer yet.”