The American-Canadian legend remains evasive and evokes a festival “under the influence of the BBC”. The British channel’s mistake would be to try to impose performance conditions on stage, in particular a live broadcast that Neil Young had already refused in 2009.
Bitter old man or demanding artist? Folk-rock legend Neil Young announced this Thursday, January 2, that he was withdrawing from the lineup for the Glastonbury festival in England, accusing him of falling “under control” of the BBC, partner of the musical event which will take place at the end of June. The artists who will perform for the 2025 edition of the festival have not yet been announced, but rumors gave him there with his group The Chrome Hearts.
The 79-year-old American-Canadian musician explained on his website that he had “haste” to play at Glastonbury, which he describes as one of his favorite outdoor concert venues. But according to the singer, the BBC “wanted us to do a lot of things in a way that we were not interested in”. “It seems that Glastonbury is now under corporate control and the festival is no longer what I remember it being”he continues.
Neil Young, who performed at the 2009 edition, does not clearly explain the requests from the BBC and the festival which pushed him to make this decision. But the indictment of the British public audiovisual group suggests that the singer would be hampered by the broadcasts of the concerts, widely practiced by the “Beeb” for the Glastonbury festival.
End of exceptional aspect of stage performance
Fifteen years ago, Neil Young fans criticized the BBC for not having broadcast the concert in its entirety. The audiovisual giant then explained that it had “past two months” to negotiate with Neil Young’s entourage what could or could not be broadcast. This artist “believes in live concerts and in preserving its mystery”the BBC indicated at the time, as it recalled on Thursday on its website.
Live broadcasting of concerts and festivals is becoming more and more commonplace, whether on YouTube or Prime Video, among others. This relatively recent practice, with a much lower quality than a recording edited and then broadcast later on another medium, raises questions in the world of music, which hesitates between democratization of cultural events that are often not financially affordable and the end of the aspect exceptional performance on stage.
Glastonbury, which began in 1970, will take place from June 25-29, before taking a break in 2026 to let the ground at Worthy Farm, where the event takes place, rest. The organizers did not respond to requests from AFP. According to accounts declared to the British commercial register, Glastonbury’s profits more than doubled in the fiscal year between March 2023 and March 2024. They amount to 5.9 million pounds (7.11 million euros) before taxes, it was announced this Thursday.
Under festival policy, £5.2 million was donated to charities including Oxfam, Greenpeace and WaterAid. On sale in mid-November, tickets for the 2025 edition were sold out in 35 minutes. You have to pay 373.50 pounds for a ticket and five pounds for the reservation fee, or 452 euros. Rock star Rod Stewart is the only artist to have been announced so far. Last June, around 210,000 people attended the event, which included performances by Coldplay, Dua Lipa and SZA.
