March 20 marks the official beginning of spring in this leap year, and like every season it marks the beginning of the final stretch for the preparations for the Primavera Sound festival, which this year celebrates its 22nd edition. Alfonso Lanza, co-director of the event, receives us at the Primavera Sound offices in Poble Nou, a space that they will soon abandon to move to Josep Pla street, right in front of the Parc del Fòrum, a message of stability for a festival that has made Barcelona its flag internationally, leading an expansion throughout Latin America that could go further in coming years.
How is the new edition of the festival planned?
This year the poster has completely fallen on its feet, more than 80% of tickets have already been sold, so it is going to be full, which is the important thing, that the public comes. Now the challenge, like every year, is to build the Forum's city of music in three weeks, an incredible amount of production in a very short time. Last year we found the ideal format, more compact, the capacity decreased a little and the distances were shortened. When we expanded in Sant Adrià there was a lot of walking, however last year's format with the main stage at the entrance worked very well, more compact, the capacity was reduced a little and the distances were shortened.
Will the capacity remain the same as last year?
Yes, between 65,000 and 70,000 people, the three days will be very balanced, Thursday sometimes costs a little more, but this year is going fantastic, it will be a day I don't know if it will be more nostalgic with Pulp, Vampire Weekend and Justice, than among the public Primavera works very well, they are very much our artists.
What artists stand out this year?
There are very popular hires like Lana del Rey, who is probably one of the most sought-after artists for any festival in the world, but above all by the Primavera Sound audience, a debt that we had pending because it was confirmed in the Covid edition, which we had to suspend. It also seemed to us that SZA, who in the opinion of many has recorded the album of the year, had to be there, it was a difficult hire, he has only done 5 performances in Europe and the first will be here. Primavera is usually the first European concert on international artists' tours. Lana del Rey will do 6 in Europe, Vampire Weekend will perform the only show at European festivals in 2024, they haven't played at festivals in 5 years, while Charli XCX and Bikini Kill will only perform at two European festivals. On the other hand, The National also begins their tour here, as does Dogstar, Keanu Reeves' group.
How do you compete with the big international tours?
The fact of being independent is for good and bad. We are not part of those offers for many countries from the big promoters, we are an increasingly unique case, luckily we have the history of the festival that makes many artists want to play at Primavera Sound because of what it means, because it gives them prestige. This does not mean that hiring is becoming more and more difficult and hence this process that seems very ambitious, and is, of internationalization of the festival, which contains a defensive strategy to maintain hiring capacity. We are currently working in nine countries, which makes us a relevant player, probably not of the magnitude of those with whom we are competing, but enough for top-level artists to want to come.
What is the reason for the expansion in Latin America?
There was a gap in the November and December season, which competes with the Asian tours, but there was no festival that was capitalizing on that period. The challenge was to find local promoters who know how to understand the Primavera Sound brand well, because it is impossible to work from here. The Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo editions are absolutely established, they are the future of the festival along with the Primavera Day and the Road to Primavera, which are concerts that complement the artists' route. They are held in Bogotá, Lima, Asunción and Santiago de Chile.
Is the idea to add new cities?
Currently there is interest from more than 10 cities in the world and, except for Africa, there is interest in all continents. In Europe, Germany and Sweden have shown their interest. The challenge is to provide the conditions for artists to be able to travel to other parts of the world. This year we are going to work in the same nine countries to consolidate this hub of Latin America and Barcelona and Porto, and we are going to study what the next step is.
Will Latin American festivals expand?
Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo must come together. I think Sao Paulo is closer to taking the step to three days than Argentina, but it will probably have to be done at the same time. Not this year, but I think they will take the step to three days. In Santiago de Chile there will be no festival format, but there will be a lot of activity, the drive in ticket sales is important.
What experience did you get from Madrid?
The Madrid festival was not lucky, the weather was very difficult; The setup and venue were not adequate. Furthermore, it is a city that has always responded very well to all our tours, and if circumstances arise we could return. But, for a festival to come to fruition, and in Madrid many of them did not happen, today there is no venue for us, that is a reality.
Is there pressure 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 Fòrum, right now we have a contract until 2026 and surely next year we will start talking about the next one. The issue is not so much the location as the way in which it is worked, and Primavera Sound works to alleviate possible inconveniences. We work with the highest quality standards when it comes to clearing the premises, cleaning and sound management.
And the idea of extending the dates?
We are doing well with our weekend in Barcelona, we have the format we were looking for and it is the one we want to continue with for many years.
Is the relationship with Barcelona City Council good?
It is unbeatable, there is a lot of harmony and they have given us all the peace of mind. This week Mayor Collboni spoke about how Barcelona has returned. I don't think he ever left, but I understand and share the message of optimism that he was sending. An open, cultural city model is being proposed that embraces major events such as Mobile, Copa América or Primavera Sound, which are the three references at a technological, sports and cultural level.
Is the arrival of foreign audiences increasing again after the pandemic?
This year the international audience will be around 55 or 60%, it has been more than half for some time now. If we talk about cultural tourism, it is the profile of the most sought after by any city. People come from more than 120 countries and, if you take into account that there is practically no city in the world that does not have its festival, the fact that so many people come from outside speaks of how special this is.
How do you seek links with the city's residents?
We have a cultural project underway with the City Council to energize some of the cultural facilities in the Fòrum neighborhood, in addition to all the activity we do in Barcelona during the year. On the other hand, the Primavera Sound Foundation focuses all its activity on the neighborhood; we are working on a project in high schools called “Create your own festival.” This year we started with the Barri Besòs institute and this year two others have joined it, it is a project for artistic high school students, a curricular subject with six credits so that they learn how to make a festival.
Is talking about the music industry a problem?
Sometimes it seems that putting the words together is not coincidental, but on the contrary, in Barcelona there is the breeding ground to generate a music industry ecosystem that other cities and regions in Spain and southern Europe do not naturally have. Most of this country's big promoters are based here, so developing a robust music cultural industry is essential. During the post-pandemic the seams showed a little, it was a somewhat clumsy return for all the promoters, that is why it is essential to work in that industry, and that it is also capable of providing good working conditions to all the professionals involved.
What would it take to develop this music industry?
It is something that is already happening organically, naturally. Personally, I think there is a lack of equipment, not only in Barcelona, and the fact that many tours do not pass through Spain is because we have nowhere to host the performances. The big concerts we do in both Barcelona and Madrid are at the Sant Jordi or the Estadi, which are not spaces designed for music, sometimes with slightly questionable acoustics. Betting on the industry means supporting all the companies linked to a musical event. Another of the city's obsessions has to do with audiovisual technology, the large productions that we bring need equipment and professionals who know how to handle them. It is necessary to support these companies throughout the year so that they can be active and that results in top-level professionals.
There are people who point this out when talking about the problem of small rooms...
I find it hard to believe with the type of relationship we have with the venues, especially because there is a project that we will be able to present shortly together with the ASACC [Associació de sales de concerts de Catalunya]. We work with the Apolo, with the Razzmatazz, with the Paral·lel 62, we program at the Nitsa Club all year round, last 2023 we programmed 1,000 concerts in Spain, I think that if we are a reference for anything, it is the integration of a festival in a cultural fabric throughout the year, not something that appears for three days and then leaves the space. We do not feel challenged when they talk about the problem between venues and festivals, I think it is a somewhat artificial debate because it is not us who decide whether an artist plays in a venue or a festival, it is they who decide.
Has there been a price increase in the sector?
The cost of artists and production has been constant for several years, it is becoming more and more difficult for artists to tour, the shows they bring attract a huge number of people, and they are the ones who set the prices so that they can afford it. count spin. But it is evident that there is an increase in costs, and the consequence is that last year 36 festivals disappeared in the United Kingdom, this year there will be around 40. It is also happening in Australia and the United States, it is being devastating. It is surely the most obvious post-pandemic effect; those that have managed to survive have been affected by inflation that has made it impossible for many festivals to continue.
How has the price increase affected you?
Artist fees have more than doubled in the last 10 years, Primavera Sound exceeds 30 million euros in spending between artists and production. Furthermore, this year the average price of the season ticket has dropped, because people have bought earlier, when tickets are cheaper. It's a complicated business. Luckily we have good sponsors who allow us to do the day free, which is not filler at all. There we have this year Phoenix, who was the undisputed headliner in 2022, and we have the phenomenon of Stella Maris. That it is a free opening day demonstrates the commitment to the city, we want people to make the festival their own.
What is the weight of the Barcelona festival within all the festivals of the Primavera Sound brand?
The Barcelona festival is the largest of all, and in our roadmap we want to continue making it the flagship. The rest are editions that try to maintain the spirit, with all the hallmarks of the festival, which are many, but none like the one in Barcelona. The international editions serve to protect it, behind all this strategy is the objective of keeping Barcelona in the top 5 festivals in the world.
Barcelona Global launched the proposal that the tourist tax be used to promote cultural and musical activity.
We are in favor of the tourist tax being invested in equipment in the city, in strengthening the music industry, not in direct aid.
Have you visited the new Bernabéu?
They have presented it to us as promoters, it seems like an important, versatile piece of equipment that can be used all year round, that is a competitive advantage over the Olímpic, which can only be used in the summer. It is a good move by the club and the city of Madrid, but it will have a response soon. We know the Camp Nou plans, they have also taught us, and we are going to be at the level. We also have the competitive advantage that artists really like coming to Barcelona. I think that under equal conditions they would choose Barcelona, but now we have to work to ensure the conditions are met.
Do you plan to raise ticket prices in the medium term?
Not if we can avoid it, as long as we can live with other sources of income we would like to be able to maintain it. The price of the festivals is a competitive advantage with the shows of big artists, which cost like a one-day pass. A one-day Primavera Sound ticket is 125 euros in which 70 concerts are offered, obviously you cannot see 70 concerts but you can see 7 or 8, of which 2 or 3 would cost the same separately.
Is the blow of Brexit no longer so serious?
It was a hard blow, but we see it improving especially this year. On the other hand, people from the UK musicians' union have approached us to find out how it was affecting us. Although we have weathered it, it is the musicians there who are having it more difficult when it comes to coming, the management of the isas is complicated, and they wanted to know our opinion on the matter to speak with the British government and see how they can help them to have the experience of one of the great European promoters like us.
