Some of the festival organisers behind the newly formed United Festival Force (UFF) have told IQ about the benefits of banding together.
The alliance, announced earlier this month, comprises seven European metal festivals including Alcatraz (cap. 15,000) in Belgium, Bloodstock (20,000) in the UK and Brutal Assault (20,000) in the Czech Republic.
Dynamo Metalfest (10,5000) in the Netherlands, Leyendas del Rock (18,000) in Spain, Motocultor festival (14,000) in France and Summer Breeze (45,000) in Germany are also part of the group.
The group came together after their joint virtual event, in August 2020, to raise money for the independent festival sector.
“The project helped us to battle the challenging Covid times. We joined our fanbases who supported us by buying a ticket for the event,” says Tomas Fiala from Obscure Promotion, which promotes Brutal Assault (CZ).
“We’re able to show interest by offering a larger number of possible festival appearances”
Roman Hilser from Silver Dust, which promotes Summer Breeze, says that joining forces has helped each one of the festivals stay independent. “Together we are stronger,” he adds.
Even as the pandemic recedes, the festivals want to continue the spirit of independence, says Fiala: “The future is finally looking bright so there will be more interesting opportunities for our collaboration.”
Hilser says that one of the top benefits of operating under one umbrella is being able to make bigger and better offers to agents.
“We’re able to show interest by offering a larger number of possible festival appearances to create reasonable routing and advanced touring plans for artists,” he says. “We can also offer help to fill vacant show days before respective festival dates.”
“This will certainly be of advantage for overseas bands, especially US bands,” he continues. “We can act faster and earlier to ensure the required number of show dates, which naturally add further income through fees for the artists.”
“The passion that lies within all our festivals will be strong enough to build future headliners”
Another key objective for the United Festival Force is developing local and underground acts by providing them with slots across the European metal festivals.
“We believe in the importance of developing underground bands,” says Hilser. “The passion that lies within all our festivals will be strong enough to build future headliners. That’s what we are aiming for.”
But on a basic level, the festival organisers are hoping to exchange experiences and learn from both the similarities and differences with their events.
“Of course, we can’t always find a common ground in perspectives since we each have slightly different fan bases and dramaturgy – and the local business environment also comes into play,” says Fiala.
“What’s interesting is that these distinctions can be enriching moments in which we can learn from the approaches and attitudes of others.”
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