– The fact that the festivals are too similar is a sign of the flattening of the culture. That’s what Mira Svartnes Thorsen says. She is festival manager for Ravnedalen Live in Kristiansand, which is an independent festival. news has looked at 63 festivals in Norway between May and August. Many artists leave again. Among others, Postgirobygget, Emma Steinbakken, Victoria Nadine and Fay Wildhagen are playing at ten or more festivals this summer. – I think part of the problem is that you get a business structure in the music field that is similar to the one we have in many other fields such as groceries, says Thorsen. At the bottom of the case you can see who is playing at your favorite festival and how many festivals the artists are playing at. Thorsen says that Ravnedalen Live spends a lot of time booking artists. The aim is both local, national and international performances at the festival. She says that Norway is a small market with a limited number of available artists. Nevertheless, that is not the biggest challenge for the festivals. Mira Svartnes Thorsen is festival manager for Ravnedalen live. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news – The big problem is when someone buys up an artist, so that others don’t have access, she says. Øyafestivalen is the most and least unique festival in Norway, measured in terms of the number of artists. Since it is so large, it has both the most “regulars” and the most unique artists. Matoma playing in front of the audience at the Neon Festival in Trondheim this year. Photo: Kim Erlandsen / news P3 The festival has 77 artists who will perform at the festival this year. – For us, it is important to find new artists who have not played here before, says festival manager Claes Olsen. Claes Olsen is festival manager for Øyafestivalen, one of Norway’s largest festivals. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news Spends a lot of time on the booking Olsen is already writing wish lists for next year’s festival. He says that they have several ways of landing artists. Often they get offers from the artists’ booking agents that the specific artist will only play a few festivals this year, and use this as a selling point to get the artist into the festival. Unknown artists can discover the festival at showcase festivals or club concerts during the year. – Then there are thousands of artists who send us music by e-mail, says Olsen. In Svolvær, too, they are looking for new music stars when they have to fill the poster. – Predictable and boring – If we are only going to have what is very established then it will be a bit predictable and boring. That’s what festival manager for Høllafæst and the Kuba Festival in Svolvær, Petter Erlbeck, says. For them, part of the booking process is about finding lesser-known artists. “Sometimes we hit and sometimes we miss,” he says. Sam Smith who was the headliner at the Stavern Festival this year. Photo: Eskil Olaf Vestre / news Attractive for the artists The CEO of Norwegian Culture Organizers, Siri Haugen Holden, believes that it is natural that the same artists return to Norwegian festivals. – It is probably a natural consequence of the development in the music industry, which is, among other things, about increasing concentration and consolidation, she says. Siri Haugen Holden says that Norway has a great diversity of genres at various festivals. Photo: Jane Lool In Norway, several festivals are organized by a small number of larger players. When these actors enter into agreements with the artists, the same names often end up on several festival posters. This is attractive for those artists who get several festival jobs. But if the programs are filled with the same artists and bands, the opportunities for other artists become fewer. – It’s an unfortunate situation, because we need the new bands and artists too, she says. Holden therefore fears that diversity will deteriorate if the smaller, independent festivals disappear. Gabrielle at Bergenfest this year. Photo: Tom Øverlie / news P3 Martin Nielsen is managing director of Live Nation Norway. They run several festivals in Norway, such as Tons of Rock and Bergenfest. – I think we have to distinguish between festivals. We probably have about 5–6 festivals and there are maybe 95 festivals in Norway, he says. Martin Nielsen in Live Nation Norway is behind several festivals. Photo: Erlend Dalhaug Daae / news Nielsen believes that there are several reasons why some festivals have the same artists on the poster this year. Including the weak krone exchange rate. Therefore, Live Nation tries to book at least some of the international artists to play at several festivals in order to save money. He himself believes that there are some festivals that are quite similar to each other, but where their purpose is more to organize a party than a festival. – Certain artists suit these festivals very well, and therefore end up playing in several places. Published 17.07.2024, at 21.23
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Festivals this summer. The same artists play almost everywhere – news Nordland
