{"id":59858,"date":"2018-05-09T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-05-09T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=59858"},"modified":"2018-05-30T21:02:07","modified_gmt":"2018-05-30T20:02:07","slug":"quality-is-paramount-sustaining-download-festivals-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/quality-is-paramount-sustaining-download-festivals-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Quality is Paramount: Sustaining Download Festival’s Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Photo credit: Matt Eachus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAs an industry, we have to push bands through, but it\u2019s everybody; it\u2019s festival promoters, it\u2019s normal promoters, it\u2019s labels, it\u2019s the press, and \u2013 more to the point \u2013 it\u2019s the fans\u201d<\/em><\/h2>\n

It doesn’t seem five minutes since we were putting away our camping gear but low and behold the UK festival season is nearly here. For rock and metal fans, there is a host of options throughout the UK and Europe yet for some of them, there is only one destination \u2013 Download Festival<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Now in its 16th year, Download<\/strong> has become the premier rock and metal festival in the UK. While festivals such as Sonisphere have come and gone, Download<\/strong> has remained. This is due to a number of factors; constantly hosting world-renowned acts, highlighting a wealth of up-and-coming names, becoming increasingly diverse and its location. Donington Park has a long history of playing host to rock and metal icons, stretching back to the Monsters of Rock festivals of the 1980s and early 1990s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something about this place when you come here. I\u2019ve said it many, many times before, but it\u2019s like a living breathing entity. It\u2019s like it has got its own heartbeat. This is the home of rock, there\u2019s no question about it,\u201d<\/em> says Andy Copping<\/strong>, the head booker for Download Festival<\/strong>, at a recent media day ahead of June’s event. \u201cYou talk to the bands, you talk to the fans; if you want to go and see any band in the rock genre, Donington Park is where it\u2019s at, and we\u2019re very, very lucky that Download is a big part of that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You can’t pick fault at Copping’s statement as Download<\/strong> has a proven track record of attracting major names to Donington Park; Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Kiss, Slipknot, System of a Down, Linkin Park, Muse and Biffy Clyro are just some of the names to headline Download<\/strong> over the past 16 years. 2018 is no different with Avenged Sevenfold<\/strong> returning as headliners for the second time and the iconic Ozzy Osbourne<\/strong> visiting Donington for possibly the last time. Yet considerably the crowning jewel of Download’s trio of main stage headliners is Guns N’ Roses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been talking about for a number of years, if there <\/em>was a reformed Guns N\u2019 Roses, that I\u2019d be super keen to have them playing at the festival, and then they got back together a couple of years ago we got talking about them playing,\u201d<\/em> explains Copping. With their ‘Not in This Lifetime… Tour’ seeing the return of Slash and Duff McKagan to Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/strong> and the tour going on to being an overwhelming financial success, they’re now rightfully set to return to Donington.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BhepL4Xl4gd<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great that they\u2019re going to do a full set. I think that\u2019s important for the fans out there,\u201d<\/em> says Andy. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a massive catalogue of songs, so two and half hours is going to go in a heartbeat. It did at the Olympic Stadium. Slash, Duff, and Axl will all be onstage together playing those songs, so it\u2019s a big deal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

While the attraction of Guns N\u2019 Roses<\/strong> is a surefire winner, the planning that goes into putting Download<\/strong> together is extensive. As we learned during the media day, Copping alongside fellow Live Nation bookers, Kamran Haq<\/strong>, Sean Ryman<\/strong>, and Steph Van Spronsen<\/strong>, preparation begins months, even years, in advance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m already out with three offers for three different headliners for Download next year, and I\u2019ve also got an offer out for a band to headline in 2020, so that\u2019s how far ahead we are year-on-year,\u201d<\/em> Copping tells a small circle of writers. \u201cBack in the old days of booking Download, we would finish in June and we wouldn\u2019t start looking at booking for the following year until the end of September and start of October. We can\u2019t do that now. We\u2019ve got to be in the band schedules, make sure that we\u2019re letting them know that we\u2019re interested in booking them in the years ahead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Besides the headliners, Download<\/strong> plays host to a varied of acts from all corners of the world of rock, metal and beyond. With increasing diversity and the emergence of sub-genres, the addition of Kamran Haq, Sean Ryman and Steph Van Spronsen means the Download<\/strong> booking team is well-rounded with a firm eye on all what is going on within the rock scene. For example, Ryman has played a key part in putting together the Avalanche stage which plays host to punk, pop-punk, emo and hardcore. While Haq has shaped the Dogtooth stage to be heavier with names such as Thy Art Is Murder<\/strong> and Baroness<\/strong> leading the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe generally try and make sure that the headliners are booked and then we start the body of the festival. That\u2019s how we\u2019ve approached it this year, and it\u2019s just the standard way of doing it,\u201d<\/em> explains Ryman who joined the team alongside Kamran Haq last summer. \u201cI think he (Andy) saw two different things in us. There was only one job there <\/em>to begin with, and then they wanted both of us, which really helped with the yin-yang of our different tastes to come into the fold really.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

With a wealth of industry contacts across the booking collective alongside the demand from bands desperate to play the festival, it’s no surprise the number of submissions can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, as Sean explains, they delegate them between each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite often we\u2019ll get submissions and <\/em>myself, Kam, and Steph will divide them between us, and if we think there\u2019s something there then we\u2019ll bring it to the team again. That\u2019s how we did it this year. It\u2019s quite a phenomenal thing to see how many there <\/em>is on a list, and then you go ‘Right, we need to cut down 90% of this.’\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Although Download<\/strong> has a stellar history and support from the rock and metal community, like many big festivals, it is burdened the question of \u201cwho are the future headliners?\u201d and the issue of gender balance. For the latter, the booking team are aware of the tweaked lineup posters highlighting bands only with female members. \u201cWe have consciously tried to put more female featured artists on there, but still have the quality on there,\u201d<\/em> explains Kam with Sean going on to say \u201cthere are plenty of amazing female artists out there, and we will book them, but it\u2019s not a numbers game as such for us. We can\u2019t really commit to 50% each way, which is what some people have suggested. We have to make it fair for everyone, and the quality is paramount.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Undoubtedly, the issue of gender balance is sure to continue beyond this years festival, yet Ryman and Haq’s reason is considerably understandable. As for the issue of future headliners, it is one that has repeatedly come into question in recent years, especially when past headliners have repeatedly been used. Nevertheless, it is not an issue of Copping being short of options. He highlights names such as Foo Fighters, Blink-182, Fall Out Boy, Bring Me The Horizon, Bon Jovi, Pearl Jam, Van Halen, and Green Day as just some of the names who could but have yet to headline Download<\/strong>. He also name checks Parkway Drive, Architects, Alter Bridge, and Volbeat as potentially stepping up to a main stage headline slot.<\/p>\n

The criteria of what makes a Download<\/strong> headliner is a combination of different factors; album sales, ticket sales, popularity, and for Copping, can they deliver? Having taken risks in recent years with Muse, Biffy Clyro, and Avenged Sevenfold being headliners, it’s a gamble that has paid off. Another factor for potential future headliners is support from all areas of the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an industry, we have to push bands through, but it\u2019s everybody; it\u2019s festival promoters, it\u2019s normal promoters, <\/em>it\u2019s labels, it\u2019s the press, and \u2013 more to the point \u2013 it\u2019s the fans,\u201d<\/em> emphasizes Copping. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to get behind the bands and push them instead of going ‘Oh, that band doesn\u2019t deserve to be a headliner.’ Get behind them, and really push, because if we\u2019re just gonna sit there and say there\u2019s ‘no headliners’ there then, after a period of time, there will be no festivals.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Looking past the ins and outs of how Download<\/strong> comes together, at the core of the festival is its fans. While the increasing European festival market offers cheaper options for festival-goers, the attraction of Donington, Download<\/strong>‘s history and the close but diverse and dedicated community of the festival continues to thrive. Download<\/strong>‘s fanbase has been relatively open when welcoming different types of acts to the festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf bands are good, rock fans across the board will go ‘that\u2019s a thumbs up. \u00a0If you don\u2019t impress us, that\u2019s it. You\u2019re done,’\u201d<\/em> Copping suggests. \u201cThey’re not very forgiving, but also very open.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen bands that prior to a festival have taken a bit of negative press about playing, but when they have performed the response has been amazing. It\u2019s good to see that, particularly with rock fans. If you can impress them, they\u2019ll support you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Download Festival 2018<\/strong> takes place at Donington Park from 8th – 10th June. Tickets are available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Download Festival links: Website<\/a> | Facebook<\/a> | Twitter<\/a> | Instagram<\/a>\u00a0| YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by S\u00eaan Reid (@SeanReid86<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\n

If you have enjoyed reading this article and would like to help us produce more content and promote more great new music, please consider donating to our Patreon page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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