BBC survey says Male Rock acts headline more than Pop or Women

ESBlonde

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-40273193

It makes some bold assumptions but it would seem that Pop or whatever is fine on the radio as disposable fun, but people/Males won't spend to see it live. Is that because Men don't like watching dancers and backing tracks or the big spenders are more middle aged and provide better overall return for festival organisers? If a youngun spends £300 on a ticket and takes a couple of crates of tescos lager the profit is small, whereas a middle aged rock fan has a ticket and spends £100 a day for him and his misses over the 3 day event plus thus making the event partners pay a premium for concessions.
Or have I misunderstood the whole thing?

Funkfingers

Festival organisers need to book acts that can be relied upon to attract a large audience. That tends to mean established acts. This cycle is self-perpetuating.

The bulk of the Pop audience consists of minors. How many of these are likely to be in any position to attend a weekend music event?

Axe_meister

The trouble is (in my opinion) modern pop does not translate well to a festival stage. A pop concert is often about the dancing/props and his heavily choreographed. Not entirely easy on a stage that requires very quick changes.
Act are also often booked well in advance, will girlband cuz still be relevant in a years time, whereas an rock outfit that's been around for years and has come up through pubs/clubs to stadiums is more likely to still be together

digitalscream

They seem to be trying to make a story out of an occurrence, without trying to understand it.

They don't consider that there aren't actually all that many women fronting rock bands. Perhaps most women don't want to be in rock bands? I personally think they should be allowed the freedom to choose...

They complain about women not headlining festivals while rock bands dominate...but don't stop to consider that festivals are the ideal place for rock bands, while the singers they point to (Rihanna, Florence Welch, Grace Jones, Joanna Newsom, Pink and Beyonce) aren't rock singers.

Following on from that...they then complain that white, male guitar bands are popular at these festivals when they're not popular anywhere else. Well, hang on a minute...if we're talking about influencing choice in the name of equality, why aren't we forcing people to buy music from white male guitar bands? They're actually a tiny minority in the "purchased music" stakes.

Nobody complains that there are too many black artists at rap and hip-hop festivals. 

Grrrr.

Funkfingers

digitalscream said:

They seem to be trying to make a story out of an occurrence, without trying to understand it.

The article seems to be founded on the notion that there should be equity in bookings for optional entertainment events. This completely ignores the unfortunate truth that life is not fair.

guitarfishbay

Lots of rock acts would love to put out a world tour at the level of Rihanna, Beyonce etc but the fan numbers just aren't there internationally for it to be a thing.  However if you put on a festival with lots of bands over a couple of days then you can get a lot of rock fans in one place... article written by someone not understanding the dynamics of the industry..

Snap

my response to that survey would be: so what?

As long as the music is good, who cares?

RocknRollDave

"But there is a worrying reliance on white, male guitar bands at music festivals - which is strange, because white, male guitar music is massively out of favour.

The charts are dominated by pop and hip-hop, with acts like Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift dominating streaming services. If bookers took a risk on these acts, they'd undoubtedly attract a younger, more passionate crowd - ensuring their longevity in the process."

That'll be the Ed Sheeran who is headlining Glastonbury this weekend?!

And has headlined Wembley Stadium for more than one night? Damn, if only he could persuade promotors to give him a CHANCE.....

Dopesick

It just looks like they're trying to analyse something that does not need to be analysed.

'Male rock acts perform at festivals more than pop acts' - well, welcome to the last forty fucking years. Festivals are renowned for debauchery, excess, bonding, sex, alcohol and lots of noise. Qualities that pretty much sum up rock music.

RocknRollDave

I don't know what the contracts are like for all festivals, but I have heard it said before now that bands at some festivals are asked to agree to a certain period before and after a festival during which they don't play any other dates within a reasonable distance of the festival site - basically no point getting bands to sign up to your festival to attract fans if the same fans can see them at Koko for a tenth of the price two days earlier.

Now, this may all be hearsay and nonsense, but assuming it is true, then white male bands who are  playing "massively out of favour" styles of music might have more to gain and less to lose from playing high-profile, televised festivals than a pop star who can sell out a full UK tour alone thank you very much.

Bygone_Tones

It is a clickbait nonsense article in my opinion, trying to imply glastonbury is sexist.

Firstly, since when has glastonbury been classed as a pop festival? It has always been primarily a guitar band / indie band festival with a bit of a hippie vibe. That is its appeal in my opinion. If it was all girl bands and pop acts poncing about on stage it would draw a different crowd altogether - school kids mainly.

Secondly this is just the way the music industry is, dominated by mostly men. It comes down to the psychology of why men are more likely to start a band than women, which is a deep subject but has nothing to do with sexism, only the way human beings are wired.

 

ESBlonde

Didn't Glasto have a rapper on in recent times that claimed he was bigger than any rock star? I seem to remember that went down well. Another recent BBC story said that many Festival acts accept much lower fees to do the gig than they could earn on a typical tour night.

And appologies to @Emp_Fab for nicking a BBC link first.  ;-)

ewal

Bygone_Tones said:

It is a clickbait nonsense article in my opinion, trying to imply glastonbury is sexist.

Firstly, since when has glastonbury been classed as a pop festival? It has always been primarily a guitar band / indie band festival with a bit of a hippie vibe. That is its appeal in my opinion. If it was all girl bands and pop acts poncing about on stage it would draw a different crowd altogether - school kids mainly.

Secondly this is just the way the music industry is, dominated by mostly men. It comes down to the psychology of why men are more likely to start a band than women, which is a deep subject but has nothing to do with sexism, only the way human beings are wired.

 

Why are boys more likely to start rock bands and is it really to do with our wiring?

ewal

Why are most conductors male - is that wiring too?

Drew_TNBD

ewal said:

Bygone_Tones said:

It is a clickbait nonsense article in my opinion, trying to imply glastonbury is sexist.

Firstly, since when has glastonbury been classed as a pop festival? It has always been primarily a guitar band / indie band festival with a bit of a hippie vibe. That is its appeal in my opinion. If it was all girl bands and pop acts poncing about on stage it would draw a different crowd altogether - school kids mainly.

Secondly this is just the way the music industry is, dominated by mostly men. It comes down to the psychology of why men are more likely to start a band than women, which is a deep subject but has nothing to do with sexism, only the way human beings are wired.

 

Why are boys more likely to start rock bands and is it really to do with our wiring?

Men perform. Women select.

Natural selection and evolution.

Bygone_Tones

Yep. Basically most girls are negative, and most boys are positive.

axisus

I'd have paid for a front seat to see Girls Aloud in their youth.

ewal

Drew_TNBD said:

ewal said:

Bygone_Tones said:

It is a clickbait nonsense article in my opinion, trying to imply glastonbury is sexist.

Firstly, since when has glastonbury been classed as a pop festival? It has always been primarily a guitar band / indie band festival with a bit of a hippie vibe. That is its appeal in my opinion. If it was all girl bands and pop acts poncing about on stage it would draw a different crowd altogether - school kids mainly.

Secondly this is just the way the music industry is, dominated by mostly men. It comes down to the psychology of why men are more likely to start a band than women, which is a deep subject but has nothing to do with sexism, only the way human beings are wired.

 

Why are boys more likely to start rock bands and is it really to do with our wiring?

Men perform. Women select.

Natural selection and evolution.

I think that cultural norms change a lot quicker over time for it to be purely a matter of evolution. I think it's wired in to the biology of society, not the biology of the human species.

I know you have strong opinions on the matter, therefore for the sake of brevity and to give me time to do something useful with my evening (I've got a half written song to finish...), I'll leave it at that.

Drew_TNBD

I don't see why it's controversial. We already know that women select dominant men in order to pass on genes that make their offspring more likely to survive. Rock music and art in general is just another way that society facillitates the spread of genes.

Cultural and societal norms come from the merging of human biology and environment. Societies don't have biology. That's just poetic use of the term.

ewal

But what about all the other expressive arts where the primary performers are female, some of them arguably much more overtly linked to courtship, selection and mating?  We all strut our stuff regardless of our gender.

Drew_TNBD

ewal said:

But what about all the other expressive arts where the primary performers are female, some of them arguably much more overtly linked to courtship, selection and mating?  We all strut our stuff regardless of our gender.

Agreed. They're all trying to get laid too. It's lizard brain stuff.