invested in a couple of acts that we wanted to try and make into headline events, which were Bring Me The Horizon and Christine,” says Homer. “It might have been just a little bit too early in their cycles to be doing something like that, but it’s important to champion newer acts and we believe very strongly in both of them.”
He adds: “The thing with All Points East is that we’re trying to make it as broad as possible. The first weekend is what we class as a festival, where we have another couple of stages. So you potentially have smaller acts at the beginning, who need stronger bills and more support from the undercard. “With the second weekend, the plan was very much to look at those as more headliner-driven and that’s where we were with Bon Iver and Mumford & Sons, [whereas] Bring Me The Horizon was more genre-driven. We’re trying to keep the remit as broad as possible but with a more contemporary feel, rather than it being a heritage event.”
The Strokes’ first UK show since 2015 was a commercial success, selling out with the help of a stellar supporting cast including The Raconteurs, Interpol, Courtney Barnett, Anna Calvi, Johnny Marr and Fat White Family. The event was, however, met with a flurry
of sound complaints regarding the headliners’ performance. But while organisers shouldered the blame, Homer points out that The Strokes brought in their own sound engineer for the show. “With the previous artists that played on that stage, Johnny Marr and The Raconteurs, we had no issues with sound or complaints or anything of that nature,” he adds. “The system didn’t change from The Raconteurs playing to when The Strokes took over the controls and it was just an unfortunate set of circumstances that meant it didn’t actually deliver the same quality that we strive to do across the event.” AEG Global Partnerships EVP Paul Samuels is open to securing a naming rights partner for All Points East, similar to sister festival British Summer Time Hyde Park’s relationship with Barclaycard, despite APE’s less commercial image. “We would definitely look at it,” he reveals. “We have been in the market, but it’s about finding the right brand to fit with that audience. Thankfully, we have been very successful with our secondary partners.”
It makes sense for brands to link up with festivals for a multitude of reasons, declares Samuels.
“It’s about creating awareness for your brand and being associated with a big music event,” he explains. “Another major part of it is the loyalty play. At All Points East, for instance, if you were an American Express cardholder you could get into a private area and received a free bottle of water if you spent £20 on your card at the festival. Small incentives like that encourage people to use your product.
“If you take British Summer Time Hyde Park, we have a presale for Barclaycard customers and, if you buy a ticket during the ticket window, you get 10% credit back towards the price. So for the credit card companies, there are two things: incentivising spend and rewarding customers.”
Samuels believes the days of music fans turning their noses up at prominent brand partnerships are largely a thing of the past. “The reality is that commercial partners are a key part of the financial model of any modern festival,” he suggests. “If you say, ‘You can pay £300 for a ticket with no sponsors, or you can pay
musicweek.com
Points wins prizes: Homer (pictured with the Festival Of The Year award) and the winning APE team at the 2019
Music Week Awards
£100, but there are sponsors’, I can guarantee that 99.9% of the population would take the £100 ticket.
Park rangers: (from top) The Killers, Tom Petty (both BST 2017), Little Simz and Mumford & Sons (both APE 2019)
“The other side of the coin is that brands actually bring value to festivals by creating experiential spaces for people to hang out in. There is a lot of dwell time at festivals, so doing things that can entertain people is key. Tinder, for instance, installed a fun activation area at All Points East and it was mobbed. “We have an entire activation team which ensures that any partner fits into what we’re trying to achieve. Every year our budgets are going up on the basis that more and more brands are engaging and interacting with us.”
AEG’s Preeti Rajan, who manages social media and content for the company’s events, has noticed a significant swing among the APE fanbase to one platform in particular.
“We’re trying to keep the remit as broad as possible, but with a more
contemporary feel”
STEVE HOMER AEG PRESENTS
“Instagram just exploded for us,” she says. “Our focus has always been equal between the three channels [Instagram, Twitter and Facebook] because there’s a different audience on each and we want to reach as many people as possible. But the growth of Instagram and the engagement levels have just been great. So we’ve been doing more visual, animated pieces for announcements and teasers, which have worked nicely.” With AEG approaching the midway point of its multi-year deal with Tower Hamlets Council for exclusive rights to the Victoria Park site, the focus switches to All Points East III in 11 months’ time. “We’re already in discussions for next year,” says Homer. “You literally listen to what the customers have said, look at who’s available and try and move the process as quickly as possible. It’s critical to be as early as possible to give people time to be able to make plans.
“We’re confident that we’ve hit on a style that people like and the delivery that they appreciate, so we’re confident that we’ll be able to deliver that in the forthcoming years at Victoria Park.”
T
he promoting giant is on more well-trodden ground with its British Summer Time Hyde Park flagship event, now entering its seventh year. Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder and Barbra Streisand top the bill this Friday to Sunday (July 5-7), with Florence + The Machine/The National and Robbie Williams topping the bill on weekend two (July 13-14). “We hit the jackpot with Celine and Barbra because, my God, they produced the best announcement assets I’ve ever seen,” grins Rajan. “Celine did this incredible video where she announced she was coming to London and started talking about how much she loves sticky toffee pudding. Then Barbra created
01.07.19 Music Week | 27
PHOTO: Paul Harries
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