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Brit Beat: Reading & Leeds Boss Melvin Benn on the Festival’s Winds of Change (Both Literal and Metaphorical)
This month's Brit Beat column examines the aftermath of the Reading & Leeds Festivals, including the shift from rock to pop, and the Mercury Prize.
Benn says all Festival Republic events are doing “everything we can” to reduce their own carbon footprint, adding that the unstable climate is also increasing insurance premiums, which leads to higher ticket prices. BPI CEO Jo Twist tells Variety that the absence of a headline sponsor this year – ride app FREENOW had filled that role since 2022 – made the traditional live spectacular impractical. This year’s list is the usual eclectic mix, with Charli XCX’s “Brat” album the favorite ahead of the likes of the Last Dinner Party’s “Prelude to Ecstasy” and Nia Archives’ “Silence Is Loud.”
Or read this on Variety
