Why Are Lineups of Major Festivals Recycling the Same Names?
In the past 15 months, festivals and shows were canceled and touring dates were postponed in an attempt to keep fans and artists safe. While events come back to life, what mentality is driving the lineup decision on behalf of bookers? For many booking agents and promoters, the process of choosing a lineup comes down to marketability: whatever brings the biggest crowd, will also bring the biggest payday. The lineup diversity has fallen to the wayside of negotiable artistic and promotional integrity alike, so the majority of lineups have begun to all look the same long before the pandemic. Catering to the lowest common denominator can often be a pitfall, and one can surely argue that this is the case here, at least when it comes to proper representation and artistic integrity.
