iTunes Festival 2009
Some things in life are just too good to be true. Sugar-free coke, fat-free muffins, sub-prime mortgages, they all turn out to be a bit of a con. So imagine being faced with the prospect of a free music festival, there’s got to be a catch somewhere, surely?
The corporate branding of the current iTunes festival may put off hardened festival-goers who aren’t happy with commercial sponsors taking control. The initial signs aren’t promising: a glossy programme impressing the merits of iTunes, coupled with the tantalising carrot of 10 free downloads (provided you offer up your credit card details first.)
The conditions on the free tickets make it explicit that anyone attending a gig consents to being filmed, and the cheesy VTs that Fearne Cotton and Dave Berry record on the balcony make it less Glastonbury and more Top of the Pops. It’s easy to see what’s in it for Apple: they have teamed up with ITV to bring exclusive weekly highlights from the 31 gigs to your living room throughout the month of July, so securing millions of pounds worth of free TV advertising.
But of all the brands associated with the festival, (iTunes, ITV, the Evening Standard) the one least likely to make you flinch is Facebook. For the vast majority of the festival tickets are given away via the social networking site. Punters are encouraged to register their interest via the iTunes (EU) Facebook page and share their thoughts and pictures from previous shows.
To date, the iTunes festival has over 220,000 fans who have uploaded nearly 1,000 photos between them. This may not seem a lot, given that over 300,000 people are fans of 'Sunshine’, but when compared to other major festivals it’s pretty impressive. Glastonbury has a modest 33,000 Facebook fans and Reading just 11,000, so iTunes is clearly a step ahead in engaging with festival-goers online.
But cut through all the promotions, marketing blurbs and PR, and at the heart of it all lies the essence of any decent festival – great music. The line-up that iTunes have assembled this year is truly impressive: Oasis, Kasabian, Bloc Party, and Franz Ferdinand, all of whom are more than capable of filling arenas on their own, as well as fast rising acts such as La Roux and Bat for Lashes.
Not all the shows have gone without a hitch though, and the first band to misjudge their audience was Snow Patrol. Assuming a crowd of die-hard fans, Gary Lightbody and co played a distinctly top heavy set. After the smash hits Run and Chasing Cars were out of the way, sizeable chunks of the crowd drifted home as the band’s Sunday night set drifted on. The end of the show was watched by less than 70 per cent of the capacity audience, so it seemed unfair that folks with just a fleeting interest had just as good a chance of winning tickets as diehard fans. As one punter I heard said “I only really know that Chasing Cars song they did.” She left shortly after said song was played.
Another act who nearly fell foul of the free ticket lottery system was Mr Hudson. This rising soul singer gained much critical acclaim for his 2007 debut album, A Tale of Two Cities, but the word had clearly not spread far enough to merit a headline billing. By the day of the gig, he had not managed to attract enough interest for iTunes to give away all the tickets. The ace up his sleeve however, was a guest slot from Kanye West, who was more than sufficient to draw in a capacity crowd.
In its third year now, the iTunes festival is taking on its biggest venue yet at the Camden Roundhouse, after previous residencies at Koko and the ICA. Comeback kings Placebo easily filled the venue, with ‘thousands’ applying for tickets according to the compere. But the venue’s capacity had to be limited from 3,500 to 1,800, because of the stage and the sound desk, making it all the more exclusive for the fans who did make it in.
Such exclusivity pales in comparison to the festival’s inaugural year in 2007, when Paul McCartney and Amy Winehouse were among the acts entertaining a crowd of only 300 people at the ICA.
Like it or not, heavy corporate endorsement looks set to remain as a permanent fixture of big music festivals. With ticket prices continuing to rise despite the recession, the iTunes festival is the only chance many will get to see headline bands of this calibre. In that context, a little corporate advertising seems a small price to pay.
The iTunes festival continues until Friday July 31. Forthcoming acts include Bat for Lashes, Oasis, Bloc Party, Kasabian, Graham Coxon, The Saturdays and Mika. To register for tickets visit www.facebook.com/iTunesEU
