Music Festivals, a Changing World. An International Comparison

We have just presented our last research on Music festivals last week, November 20-21 2013, in a very animated conference in Lille.

This joint research was coordinated by Emmanuel Négrier, Michel Guerin and myserlf (Lluís Bonet), and rely on a team of collaborators from the different participant countries: Kai Amberla (Finland), Claudine Audet (Canada), Luisella Carnelli (Italy), Tino Carreño (Spain), Luca Dal Pozzolo (Italy), Aurélien Djakouane (France), Marie Jourda (France), Christopher Maughan (United Kingdom), Isabelle Paindavoine (Belgium), Béatrice Reynaerts (Belgium), Diane Saint-Pierre (Canada), Sara Tannå (Sweden), Ulrich Suter (Switzerland), Heidi Taskinen (Finland), Jorid Vaagland (Norway), and János Zoltán Szabó (Hungary). This work is a result of a commission by many federations of festival associations coordinated by France Festivals.

The result is a book published in both English and French by Michel de Maule (Paris 2013). This work presents the first study undertaken using a single, unique method on a sample of 390 music festival (from 15 different countries). They represent a wide variety of genres, musical styles, scope and seasonal programmes. All major aspects are explored, from the purpose of the festivals to human resources and business models adopted.

The first part reviews this analytical journey through the world of festivals. The second part contains several chapters on different countries festival landscapes, enabling the impact of the cultural, economic and political setting in which these events are created and developed to be measured. Whereas artists themselves have long since gone beyond national borders, this twofold international comparison allows the differences between country-specific models to be transcended.

Table of Contents
List of participants                                             7
Aknowledgemen                                              21
Preface                                                            23
GENERAL INTRODUCTION                            27

Part 1
FESTIVALS: RESOURCES, DYNAMICS AND STRATEGIES
Introduction                                                                                          41
Chapter 1. Festivals in Seven Variables                                              47
Chapter 2. Festival Finances                                                               56
Chapter 3. Cultural Project and Artistic Programming                         72
Chapter 4. Festival Activities                                                               84
Chapter 5. Festival Audiences: Issues, Priorities and Accessibility     95
Chapter 6. Artistic Cooperation and Territorial Partnership                113
Chapter 7. Communication Strategies                                               121
Chapter 8. Human Resources and Festivals                                     134
Chapter 9. The Six Clusters of Festivals                                            146

Part 2
FESTIVALS AND TERRITORIES
Introduction                                           165
Belgium                                                 168
Spain                                                     182
Finland                                                  193
France                                                   199
Hungary                                                 211
Italy                                                        224
Norway                                                  237
Quebec                                                 251
United Kingdom                                    262
Sweden                                                 278

General Conclusion                              291
Bibliography                                         309
Appendix                                              321

See the powerpoint presentation of the research done in Lille (France) on November 20th 2013. More information about the research project in www.festudy.com, with links to some press articles.

Bibl. reference:  NÉGRIER, E.; BONET, L.; GUERIN, M. [eds.] (2013) Music Festivals, a Changing World. An International Comparison, Paris: Michel de Maule. You can buy the book here.