How High Costs Are Silencing China’s Music Festivals

文章预览

With rising costs, shifting consumer demands, and stricter regulations leading to a wave of music festivals being canceled, festival organizers are struggling to attract price-sensitive audiences while maintaining profitability. By Ye Zhanhang and  Huang Yang Days before the Wuyishan Midi Music Festival in early May, 23-year-old Li Keying had everything lined up, from hotel reservations to train tickets, eager to see her favorite band. Her plans were abruptly derailed when the festival was called off at the last minute. Again. “They just said it was due to ‘force majeure,’” Li tells Sixth Tone, adding that it was the second festival to be canceled in quick succession for the same reason, following the Taizhou Feilong Lake Midi Music Festival in mid-April. Amid the outcry that followed, Zhang Fan, principal of the Beijing Midi School of Music — which runs the festival — apologized to fans on the microblogging platform Weibo. He also hinted at deeper issues with a cryptic ………………………………