"More than ten cities around the world want to have a Primavera Sound"

March 20 marks the official start of spring in this leap year, and, like every season, marks the start of the final stretch for the preparations for the Primavera Sound festival, which this year celebrates its 22nd edition.

How is the new edition of the festival planned?

This year the poster has been absolutely lucky, more than 80% of tickets have already been sold.

Which artists stand out from the new edition?

There are very high-profile hires, such as Lana Del Rey, one of the most sought-after artists for any festival in the world, a debt we had pending because she was confirmed for the covid edition, which we had to suspend. It also seemed to us that SZA, who for many people has recorded the record of the year, should be there, she has only done five performances in Europe and the first one will be here.

How do they compete with the big international tours?

Being independent is for good and bad. We are not part of the offers for many countries of the big promoters, we are an increasingly unique case, we are lucky the trajectory of the festival, which makes many artists want to play at Primavera Sound. This does not mean that recruitment is not increasingly difficult, and hence the process of internationalization of the festival, which is a defensive strategy to maintain the ability to recruit.

The idea is to add new cities to those that already celebrate the festival in Latin America, in festival or one-day format?

Apart from the ones we already have, at the moment, more than ten cities in the world want to have another Primavera Sound and, except for Africa, there is interest on all continents. There will surely be news on the subject. Europe, Germany and Sweden have shown interest in the festival. This year we will work in the same nine countries to consolidate the hub of Latin America, Barcelona and Porto.

What experience did you get from the Madrid festival?

The Madrid festival was not lucky, the weather was very difficult and the venue was not suitable. If the circumstances were there, we could go back. But nowadays they don’t have a space in a condition to receive us.

Are there any pressures to move the festival from its current location?

The City Council has given us all the peace of mind, they know that Primavera Sound cannot be conceived outside the Forum, right now we have a contract until 2026, and for sure next year we will start talking about the next one.

Is it a problem to talk about the music industry?

Barcelona is the breeding ground for creating a music industry ecosystem that other cities and regions do not naturally have. Most of the big promoters in this country are based here, so developing a robust music culture industry is essential. In the post-pandemic, the shortcomings were somewhat evident, it was a somewhat gloomy return for all promoters, which is why it is essential to work in this industry, and that it is also able to provide good working conditions to all professionals.

What would it take to develop this music industry?

It’s something that already happens organically, naturally. Personally, I think that there is a lack of facilities, not only in Barcelona, ??and the fact that many tours do not come to Spain is because we do not have many facilities dedicated to music. The big concerts we do both in Barcelona and Madrid are at Sant Jordi or the Olympic Stadium, which are not spaces designed for music, sometimes with somewhat questionable acoustics. Betting on the industry means protecting all businesses linked to a music event. Another obsession of the city is related to audiovisual technology, the big productions we bring need equipment and professionals who know how to manage them. We need to support these companies all year round.

Has there been an increase in prices in the sector?

There is an increase in costs, and the consequence is that last year 36 festivals disappeared in the UK, this year it will be around 40. It is also happening in Australia and the United States, it is depressing, it must be the post-pandemic effect more obvious

How does the price increase affect them?

Artist fees have more than doubled in the last ten years, Primavera Sound spends more than 30 million euros between artists and production. In addition, this year the average price of the season ticket has fallen, because people have bought earlier, when the tickets are cheaper. It’s a tricky business these days, luckily we have good sponsors who allow us to do the day for free, which is by no means a filler: we have Phoenix, who were undisputed headliners in 2022, and the phenomenon of Stella Maris . The fact that it is a free opening day demonstrates the commitment to the city.

Have you visited the new Bernabéu?

They presented it to us as promoters, it seems like an important, versatile piece of equipment that can be used all year round. It’s a good move by the club and the city of Madrid, but it will have an answer soon. We know what the Camp Nou plans are, they have also shown it to us, and we will live up to it. In addition, we have the competitive advantage that artists really like to come to Barcelona. I think that under equal conditions they would choose Barcelona, ??but now we have to work so that these conditions exist.

Are you planning to raise ticket prices in the medium term?

If we can avoid it, no. As long as we can live with other sources of income, we would like to keep them. The price of the festivals is a competitive advantage when compared to the prices of the concerts of major artists, which cost the same as the one-day pass.