Hi, everyone! If you listened to the last episode of the Bazzcast, you’ll know that I was instantly a critic of the upcoming Woodstock 50 festival. Much to my hunch, bad news has recently plagued the festival, and it is still uncertain whether the festival is happening.
Tickets to the festival were set to go on sale on Earth Day, April 22. Since the lineup was revealed on March 19, a firestorm of rumors started going around. Apparently, there may have been financial problems that were not being discussed. In early April, the Black Keys had opted out of performing at the festival. To make matters worse, three days before tickets went on sale, all ticket sale were POSTPONED.
Last week, one of the festival's biggest financial partners, Dentsu, Inc, pulled its $17 million investment from the festival’s bank account. Additionally, event planner Superfly has also lost support for the sinking ship. Woodstock 50's founder Michael Lang, has not taken too kindly to this.
Lang wrote a five page letter accusing the Japanese PR firm of “swiping” the money, and asking them to return the money immediately. Additionally, he insists that they are trying to “suffocate Woodstock” and are “blocking ticket sales” as a result of removing their investment.
Despite its obvious financial troubles, Lang is sticking to his guns and still trying to make the festival happen. The financial burden is quite significant, as he needs to raise $30 million by the week’s end in order to stay afloat. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help that they have artists like Chance the Rapper, Jay-Z or the Killers being scheduled to perform. They’ll set Woodstock back around $1-3 million apiece.
Bankruptcy has been a common theme for both Woodstock’s festival, as the ‘69 installment had nearly driven promoters into the red.
Despite all of these financial blunders, I pretty much knew that the festival was doomed from the beginning. Whether it was the puzzling lineup that didn't have a clear demographic or very minimal details on ticketing and other logistics early on, its marketing tactics have been and that seems to have hurt the festival.
I would also like to question the motives of festival execs. Why would they not be explaining anything to its possible ticket buyers? You're leaving your consumers in limbo and have no explanation for why that is. With the festival almost two months away and not having ticket sales underway, all signs point to this festival being a bust.
I don't care if it's the 50th anniversary of some festival that was so "important" in history, I am still shaking my head at why they would want to try and recreate another Woodstock. You would think that people would learn after the failures at ‘94 or ‘99, but I guess not. Both were complete and utter failures, with violence, unusual lineups and unbearable weather conditions ravaging each of the festival experiences.
At this point, it will take nothing short of a miracle to save this festival. I don’t know how many more people are willing to bail out the shady execs of Woodstock. If this money isn't acquired soon, then you can kiss Woodstock 50 goodbye.
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