And today's 'dubious survey of the day' (dubious because just over 1000 people were surveyed) is on festivals. And, it seems, the prospect of bad toilets and poor weather and, more importantly, high ticket prices are the main reasons why UK music fans might decide not to go to a music festival. Yep, despite the fact the British music festival market is still seemingly booming, a new survey from research firm TNS says that consumers are expressing some concern at rising ticket prices, particularly when at the same time brands, radio stations and local authorities are staging more free-to-enter music events.
The survey also showed that the 55 to 64 age group were potentially a lucrative market for festival promoters, though they were most sensitive about price. A quarter of the people interviewed in that age group said they would like to attend a music festival, but the average sum they would be willing to pay for a weekend ticket was just £59, with only 3% saying they would consider paying more than £100. In the more traditional festival demographic, 16-24 year olds, the average price interviewees said they would pay was £81, while 22% said they would pay over £100.
Commenting on the survey, Sue Homeyard of TNS said: "Festivals are an intrinsic part of the British summer - and the grey market is no exception. [But] it's sad to see that the rising ticket prices are beginning to deter even the hardiest of fans. And with the growing popularity of free events, we expect to see a gradual shift away from the all-weekend events in favour of these. The big festival organisers need to listen to their customers - and recognise that the under-25s aren't the only market with festival cash to flash."