With the economic climate the way it is, it’s difficult to go to more than one (music) festival. When the financial situation is a little more buoyant, things are obviously different, but when people can afford to go to only one festival, you’ve got to give them value for money,” says Andy Copping, the man behind the hugely successful Download Festival, now in its 10th year.
With a powerhouse line-up featuring Metallica, Black Sabbath, The Prodigy, Machine Head, Soundgarden and even renowned jokesters Tenacious D among others across multiple stages over three days (June 8 to 10), it’s fair to say that the British festival is set to provide its punters with just that — value for money. According to Copping, “This will be the festival’s biggest year ever. It looks like we’re going to sell all 1,00,000 tickets this time.” In addition to a reforming Black Sabbath (status of drummer Bill Ward as yet unknown) and a smörgåsbord of brutal live acts, the tenth edition of Download will showcase Metallica playing their eponymous album (popularly known as the black album) in its entirety.
Interestingly, the festival has a storied history, with Metallica, kicking it off in 2003, when the band played a secret show on the second stage showcasing prime cuts from its then new album St. Anger. This was swiftly followed by a strangely unique show in 2004, when drummer Lars Ulrich was taken ill and Joey Jordison (Slipknot), Dave Lombardo (Slayer) and Flemming Larsen (Metallica drum technician) filled in for what turned out to be a historic show. In 2006, the band played its Master of Puppets album in its entirety. Moving on to 2012, “Metallica were not scheduled to tour in 2012, but I wanted them to do something a little different for our 10th edition and since it was the 21st anniversary of the black album too, I pitched the idea to the band to play the album from end to end,” reveals Copping, adding, “Th-ey liked the idea and agreed to do it for Download and some other European festivals. I felt immensely proud.”
Speaking of Metallica, the band joined Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax to tour as the “Big 4” in the Sonisphere Festival across the world, including the United Kingd-om. How much did Download suffer as a result? “Sonisp-here having the Big 4 was a blow to us, but we had nearly 70,000 people through the doors. What’s interesting is that this year, we’ve got three of the Big 4 playing (all except Slayer) but no one seems to have noticed,” he chuckles.
Considering the fact that this is Metallica’s fourth time at Download, I was left wondering as to whether there is a dearth of new talent out there or just a resurgence of the older bands. Copping sheds some light on the issue and says, “There is a limited number of bands you can really book. When you go through the list, there are around 30 to 40 potential headliners or bands that have headlined before.” These bands often pare themselves down to a smaller number, he continues, because not all of them are available at once, and it’s a bit of a nightmare to get three headlining acts that provide a good balance. “It’s vital to keep things as fresh as possible,” he says.
And freshness is exactly what an act like The Prodigy brings to Download. But how did fans react to the electronic sounds of The Prodigy at a rock festival? “There was a considerable amount of uproar in 2006 — the first time I booked The Prodigy to play — but I stuck to my guns. I knew our audiences would connect with the act. We brought them back to play in 2009 and in both editions, they were one of the must-see bands of the weekend,” reminisces Copping.
In 10 years of making a colossal amount of noise for three (or two in the early years) days a year, there’s no doubt that there’s been a number of memorable moments for the organiser, but what stands out the most for him is when he got AC/DC to play in 2010. He explains with no lack of pride in his voice, “AC/DC don’t play festivals. They’ve always refused and they probably won’t play another festival again. But we managed to get them in 2010 and as usual, they were outstanding.”
With annual festivals across the world dropping like flies and new ones popping up every now and then, it’s understandably a bit of a task to create an enduring name. Not losing one’s essence, according to Copping, is one of the most important factors in doing so. “You have to find the identity of your festival and totally connect with the ticket buyer. It’s crucial to know what they want, what excites them and what will make them commit to your festival,” he says and adds, “Make sure you never lose the essence of your festival. It’s important to maintain the loyalty of the customers and keep their faith.”
With 1,00,000 people expected between June 8 and 10, it’s safe to assume he knows what he’s talking about.