Music festivals: high-risk financial bets

At the Lollapalooza festival, at the Paris-Longchamp racecourse, on July 19, 2025. CHA GONZALEZ FOR "THE WORLD"

"We put 3.7 million euros on the table, and it's a game of roulette. There's no economic sector in which we take such crazy risks to painfully break even after selling all the tickets." This chilling observation by Carol Meyer, director of Art Rock in Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d'Armor), illustrates the torment of many music festival directors. France is characterized by a plethora of contemporary music and variety festivals. Emmanuel Ethis, interministerial delegate for artistic and cultural education, has counted some 2,500. But very few survive.

The latest study by the National Music Centre, published on Thursday, July 24 , highlights the extreme structural fragility of this sector: "In 2024, two out of three festivals ended the year with a deficit." The reason is not even linked to a lack of spectators, since "68% of festivals with an occupancy rate above 90%" were in the red in 2024. According to another study by the Ministry of Culture, released on Tuesday, July 29 , music festivals appear even more financially fragile than the others. Out of 800 festivals, all disciplines combined, "only" 46% admitted to being in deficit in 2024.

You have 87.11% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.