CAT on the prowl 2005

The Backstage Experience
The mystery surrounding the backstage antics at a music festival is enough to keep Agatha Christie or any other self-respecting who-dun-it author in work for eons but the reality is often somewhat different.

So for those of you who have not been fortunate enough to be acquainted with the backstage experience, this year I thought that I’d lift the lid on the secret world of the music journalist to bring you a glimpse of the reality and to dispel the myths.

It’s A Tough Job…
I know what you’re thinking; how hard can it be?

You get access to the UK’s largest festivals accompanied by a chorus of angels, front-row view of the stage from the comfort of a seated VIP area within crawling distance of a bar, rub shoulders with rich (and maybe not so rich) and famous artists, all for the princely sum of a few scrawled words and a camera full of blurred snaps.

Although it may sound like Nirvana, it’s not all fun and games. Seriously, difficult as it may be to believe, reporting on a festival is very hard work and the account above is actually a bit of a misconception.

Let me enlighten you…

In The Beginning
It’s not a simple case of buying your ticket and arriving eagerly at the exchange with it clutched tightly in your hand.

Press passes are rarer than rocking-horse manure and requests are scrutinised by the media team at the organiser’s administration office weeks and sometimes months before the event.  The allocation of passes is not an automatic process with every request being strictly monitored and prioritised before the green light is granted. 

The rejection of requests is not unusual and the unenviable task of assessing the numerous applications for the Folk Fest falls to the Marketing Department at Cambridge City Council. Christina McNally, who amongst others is responsible for screening the media, explains further:

“We get absolutely hundreds of enquiries for press passes. Being a small festival with an international profile there are people from literally all over the world who want to come and cover the event.

It is difficult to assess the requests and we try to ensure international, national and local coverage, as all are very important so that the best spread of coverage is achieved. We also try our best to accommodate everyone but there is a finite number so we can only do so much and inevitably there are some people disappointed.”

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