Are music festivals really paying "too much" for artists?

In a recent article penned by Greg Cochrane for BBC an interesting debate has been started. Apparently there are a group of organisers that represent independent music festivals that claim that if artists fees aren't cut fans could suffer, presumably because the smaller indy festivals wont be able to pay the fees that festivals like Glastonbury can and will shut down as a result.


Have a read of the article Here. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on this. Personally I think that it would be unfair to artists to be unable to get as much money as they can from performing live, even if it means higher ticket prices and a loss of some smaller festivals. I think people forget that it's a very short career span for most artists and even if you are this years 'hottest thing' you could find yourself on the shelf in a matter of months.


There are millions of arguments for and against but if you have the time please read the article and let us know your thoughts.