ARGANDA DEL REY, Spain, June 7, (AFP): Javi Amaro has ridden a mechanical surfboard, performed karaoke and had a bite to eat — but four hours after arriving at one of the world’s biggest music festivals he has yet to attend a concert.
“There are a tonne of things to do here. Later on we are going to listen to Shakira perform,” the 23-year-old told AFP as he waited in line with a group of friends on Saturday to rappel a rope laid over the crowd attending a concert by R&B singer Rihanna at the Rock in Rio Madrid festival.
With album sales worldwide down sharply due to the popularity of Internet downloads, artists are increasingly looking to live music performances to make up for lost income.
And to draw bigger crowds — and maximize revenues — concert and music festivals like Rock in Rio are offering an expanding array of attractions, from carnival rides to fireworks, along with upscale foods, souvenirs and VIP packages that can include backstage access in addition to prime seating.
The event’s 200,000-square-metre (240,000-square-yard) grounds at Arganda del Rey near Madrid, dubbed “Rock City” by organisers, include a ferris wheel and other carnival rides as well as several restaurants, bars and shops selling souvenirs ranging from T-shirts to necklaces and lighters.
A major Spanish department store stages fashion shows daily at the festival, which got underway Friday and wraps up on June 14 when heavy metal veterans Metallica headline, and gives festival-goers the opportunity to strut their stuff on the catwalk like a top model. In another corner of the grounds, actors recreate the “Bed-In for Peace” staged by John Lennon and Yoko Ono at an Amsterdam hotel during the Vietnam War in 1969, providing a much sought-after photo opportunity for the crowds.
“Rock in Rio is a theme park more than a music festival,” the event’s 61-year-old Brazilian founder, Roberto Medina, told daily Spanish newspaper El Pais last week.
At the Glastonbury Festival later this month in England, organisers plan to offer circus acts and food from Michelin starred chefs along with the music while the Oxegen festival in July Ireland will offer a complete funfair.
Significantly
Gary Bongiovanni, the president of Pollstar, a California-based company that provides worldwide concert tour information at its popular website, said the live music business has “grown significantly” at the same time as the revenue from record sales which artists traditionally relied on “has largely dried up”.
“The revenue streams are much greater from merchandise and everything else associated with going on the road,” he told AFP.
“Twenty years ago artists used to tour to sell records, today they tour to make money and maybe they sell a few extra records along the way.”
Worldwide ticket sales more than doubled in 2009 from $1.7 billion (1.4 billion euros) in 2000 while compact disc sales fell 65 percent during this time, according to Billboard magazine.
The growing importance of income from live performances to artists was underscored when Madonna left her long-time record label, Warner Music, to sign an exclusive deal with Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter.
Meanwhile, US teen idol Miley Cyrus performed her first concert in Spain before 36,000 people on Sunday during the third day of the Rock in Rio Madrid music festival, organisers said.
Wearing a black leotard and heels, the 17-year-old sang “Can’t be tamed”, “The climb” and “When I look at you”, which is part of the soundtrack of her latest film “The Last Song” that premiered in Spain last month.
The crowd consisted mainly of adults and young children, mostly girls. Many climbed on the shoulders of their parents to get a better view of the stage. While Cyrus has never performed in Spain before, she enjoys a huge following in the country due to the popularity of her television series “Hannah Montana”.
As a condition for playing at the festival held at Arganda del Rey located some 20 kms (12 miles) southeast of Madrid, she will not perform any other concert in Spain this year.
Her performance headlined a day dedicated to the family that featured two other youth-oriented acts — British pop band McFly and Scottish singer Amy Macdonald.
“I think adding Miley Cyrus to the event added a whole new dimension to Rock in Rio and attracted a different kind of audience,” Gary Bongiovonni, the president of Pollstar, a California-based company that provides worldwide concert tour information at its website, told AFP.
In a related store, The Rock in Rio Madrid music festival, one of the world’s biggest, will return for a third edition in 2012, the event’s Brazilian founder Roberto Medina said Sunday.
“People have gotten used to the Rock in Rio festival so we are going to continue in 2012,” he told a news conference at the site of the festival at Arganda del Rey located some 20 kms (12 miles) southeast of Madrid.
Organisers expect the total audience for this year’s Rock in Rio Madrid to reach 320,000 people, up from 290,000 when it was first staged in Madrid in 2008 despite an economic downturn which has hit Spain hard.
General admission tickets cost 69 euros ($82.50) while a VIP entry which provides access to an air conditioned tent with a good view of the main stage as well as catering service goes for 275 euros. Colombian pop star Shakira, US rockers Bon Jovi and teen singing sensation Myley Cyrus are among the acts taking part in this year’s Rock in Rio Madrid which ends on June 14 when veteran heavy metal band Metallica will headline.
The event is staged at a specially built grounds dubbed “Rock City” that include carnival rides, restaurants and shops an outdoor dance floor and two stages spread out over 200,000 square metres (240,000 square yards).
Rock in Rio was first held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in January 1985. Subsequent editions of the music festival staged in Lisbon and Madrid have been arranged by Medina. This is the second Rock in Rio Madrid.
The event is scheduled to return to Brazil in 2011 and Medina is in talks to hold a version of the event in Poland as well as in Britain.