A score of music festivals in Spain this summer have accumulated complaints for "irregularities" in consumer associations, according to figures provided to Europa Press by consumer organizations, in a period that represents the return of these macro-events without capacity restrictions.
For example, from FACUA they have denounced festivals such as Reggaeton Beach Festival, Puro Latino Fest, Marenostrum, Low Festival, Madrid Puro Reggaeton Festival or the Interstellar Festival. As they have recalled from the organization, the latter has opened a disciplinary file due to the complaints.
Facua has lamented that the organizers of this type of event "are believed to go unpunished" and has denounced that "irregularities" have increased in recent years but in 2022 "it has been the height of anomalies and fraud".
The main complaint from users is to prohibit access to the venue with food or drink, although discontent is also caused by changes of location without the right to reimbursement and without advance notice; casualties of artists without compensating those affected; cancellations; limit the term for the return of money; do not allow cash payments; charging to recover the money from the 'cashless' bracelets; tails; mid-event completion; and excess capacity.
For example, the Diversity Valencia, which was to be held from July 21 to 23, was canceled ten days before its celebration. Something similar happened with Metal Paradise (Málaga, July 15 and 16) and it was canceled a month before the start. It also happened with the Madrid Puro Reggaeton Festival (June 25-26), although in this case its cancellation occurred 24 hours before the kick-off. However, the list also includes the Benás Festival in Huelva, the Reggaeton Beach Festival in Tenerife or Fan Fan Fest (Madrid).
The causes for cancellations are diverse. In the Diversity Valencia, the organization in a statement lamented that "the necessary conditions for its proper development" were not met; The Madrid Puro Reggaeton Festival was not authorized by the Community of Madrid for not meeting the necessary security conditions.
"Some of them are organized without having the venue closed or having something provisional. Others sell more tickets than they should. It is increasingly known that there are more practices that are fraudulent," said Facua's spokesman, Rubén Sánchez.
The Facua expert and the spokesperson for the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU), Enrique García, who has also attended Europa Press, has pointed out that many festivals have been held this summer, which leads to more claims.
Both organizations have called for a greater participation of the administrations in this type of problem because "users are abandoned" and regret that there are "gaps" in the legislation and "lack of guarantees". "We have asked the Ministry of Consumer Affairs that, as a result of abuses against users, the holding of these events be regulated to guarantee the rights of consumers," said the OCU spokesman.
For his part, Rubén Sánchez wants the administration to act more harshly, especially in economic matters, because "the message they convey to developers is that the fines imposed are less than the profits they obtain."
In this regard, the Association of Music Festivals has defended itself, through its lawyer, Belén Álvarez, who has attended Europa Press, and has insisted that the negative aspects "are specific cases" and asks not to generalize. "There is a rigorous regulation and most of the festivals strictly comply", she has sentenced.
The spokeswoman has declared that, according to data from the Ministry of Culture, in 2019 there were about 800 festivals in Spain, so she foresees that after overcoming the pandemic, the events have increased in number. "Before there weren't that many, but it has grown a lot and some festivals have become more professional. Several studies confirm that festivals are very positive socially and culturally, and also from an economic point of view," she emphasized.
The latest live music data indicates that 157,637,491 euros were billed in ticket sales in 2021, 13.7 percent more than in 2020, which closed with 138,580,764 euros, according to the Music Yearbook Live 2022, publication edited by the Association of Music Promoters. However, before the pandemic, the figures were well over 350 million.
For Álvarez, the pandemic has wreaked havoc in the industry because "another year of unemployment would mean the disappearance of the sector" and has also caused "the overlapping of dates" but in no case does he consider that one should speak of "excess" because "it is cultural content and that is not enough". "Perhaps the public has also taken the festivals more eagerly this summer and it is true that everything seems to indicate that attendance has been higher, but I think that is a good sign that people are returning to normal," he defended.
Likewise, he has assured that the organization of the festivals entails a great deal of work, since he has stressed that "the set-up and organization is carried out throughout the year" and has insisted that "they are not improvised events".
From the sector it has been requested that those festivals that are held under the same conditions, it is not necessary to process another license and that "a more agile system" be sought. "Autonomic regulations sometimes grant licenses at the last minute, that's why there are festivals that fall or hang by a thread. Bureaucratic procedures are very slow," criticized the lawyer.
Regarding the main complaints of the users before the prohibition of food and drink entering the premises, Álvarez has stated that these claims made by Facua "do not prosper" and defends this measure "because there may be no food security if food from outside enters".
In the case of some festivals that have been held, criticism has also hung over them. Many young people have used social networks as a voice for their complaints.
For example, the city council of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo) asked the organizers of the Capital Fest, held on June 11, for explanations due to the numerous criticisms for the prohibition of water entering the premises, the lack of shaded spaces and fountains and the long queues suffered by young people, as reported by the municipal government.
In this line, the Boombastic of Asturias has not been spared from reprimands. Some users denounced the collapse until reaching Lugo de Llanera and warned about the performance of the shuttle buses, which caused the parliamentary group of Podemos Asturias to register a question to find out about the supervision carried out by the Principality of Asturias and to know if any was committed illegality in this regard, according to El Comercio.
Users have even used complaint platforms such as Change.org to achieve a collective complaint, as has happened with the Monegros Desert Festival (Huesca). The complaint request is close to 3,000 signatures because, as indicated, there were no drinking water points, cancellation of artists without prior notice, insufficient shaded areas, up to six hours of waiting to leave the premises, heat stroke. "We require that the organization take responsibility and find a solution for the inhumane treatment. And legal measures are taken," the complaint proclaims.
