The music festival season is ramping up with exciting news, as Glastonbury prepares for its upcoming event and several major artists make headlines with their latest announcements.
Glastonbury Festival has reported impressive financial gains, with pre-tax profits more than doubling over the past year. For the fiscal year ending March 2024, the festival saw profits shoot up to £5.9 million, compared to £2.9 million the previous year. Amid criticism for its increasing corporate nature, the festival has made significant contributions to various charitable organizations, including Oxfam, Greenpeace, and WaterAid, amounting to £5.2 million. A spokesperson noted, “Successful, dry Glastonburys in both 2023 and 2024 helped to rebuild the event's financial reserves.” These healthy profits will enable Glastonbury to continue its support for charitable causes after facing record losses during the pandemic, with the event's cancellation costing millions.
Meanwhile, anticipation among fans for Glastonbury 2024 has heightened, especially following news about potential headliners. One such artist, Taylor Swift, has officially ruled herself out of performing at next year’s festival by announcing 14 new shows on her highly successful Eras Tour. Swift took to social media to explain, “We’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour,” which includes three back-to-back performances in Dublin, effectively filling up her schedule for the festival weekend of June 26-30, 2024. The Glasto fan account, The Glasto Thingy, confirmed this development, stating, “Taylor Swift has added a 3rd Dublin date to her 2024 tour. She is now ruled out of performing at Glastonbury next year.” Fans expressed disappointment at the news, with many believing Swift was almost confirmed to headline the iconic festival.
While Swift may be out of the lineup, Glastonbury has secured the legendary Neil Young as its first confirmed headliner for 2025. This announcement follows Young's earlier controversial statement about declining the opportunity to play due to the BBC's involvement with the festival. Young recently stated, “Due to an error in the information received, I had decided not to play the Glastonbury Festival, which I always have loved. Happily, the festival is now back on our itinerary and we look forward to playing.” This change of heart means Young, who previously headlined alongside Bruce Springsteen and Blur back in 2009, will return to the legendary Pyramid Stage. Festival organizer Emily Eavis remarked, “Neil Young is an artist who’s very close to our hearts at Glastonbury.”
Aside from festival updates, Neil Young is also making headlines with the announcement of his long-awaited album, titled Oceanside Countryside. Initially recorded between May and December 1977, the album is part of the artist's Analog Original Series and is set to be released on February 14, 2024. Young described the project as, “the original mixes done at the time of the recordings,” sharing the track “Field of Opportunity” on streaming platforms for fans to preview. The album includes tracks reflecting Young’s classic country/folk sound, showcasing his artistic progression over the decades.
On another front, the music industry has faced challenges as well. A cyber hacker named Skylar Dalziel recently pleaded guilty to stealing unreleased music from various artists, including Coldplay and Shawn Mendes. Reports indicate Dalziel made approximately £42,000 from selling these unreleased tracks on the dark web. Det Con Daryl Fryatt emphasized the seriousness of this crime, stating, “Stealing copyrighted material for your own financial gain is illegal. It jeopardises the work of artists and the livelihoods of the people who work with them to create and release their music.”
While Glastonbury gears up for its future festivals with celebrated artists, major announcements and continued growth promise to excite fans worldwide. The festival not only aims to be more successful financially but is also determined to maintain its reputation for supporting charitable causes. Fans are on the lookout for the full lineup, eagerly awaiting updates about who will take the stages at Worthy Farm.
With the music industry continuing to evolve through releasing powerful new projects and engaging festival announcements, fans can only expect more thrilling developments as 2024 approaches.