How to solve the headliner problem

With artist fees skyrocketing, festivals are feeling the pressure on their budgets. So what are the solutions? IQ investigates

Feature By James Drury | 5 February 2025

One of the key findings of our latest European Festival Survey – and a topic frequently brought up at conferences, including the International Festival Forum (IFF) and European Festival Summit (EFS) – is just how concerned promoters are about headliner fees.Whether you’re a major event vying for stadium-filling acts or a small festival with a more modest budget, the problem is industry-wide. For promoters, rising fees for artists are compounding the problem of inflation across all their costs, at a time when consumers are worried about their wallets, meaning festivals are very sensitive to ticket prices.The reasons for rising fe

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