Taking AIF forward
Barely more than a month into the role , new Association of Independent Festivals CEO John Rostron tells AAA about his vision for the organisation and the priorities for 2023
Words : Christopher Barrett
John Rostron , a former member and vice chair of AIF , is looking to bring his experience of working on events and leading an association to bear . Aside from co-founding the multi-venue Sŵn Festival in Cardiff in 2007 , his other industry experience includes being a consultant for Arts Council Wales and Sound Diplomacy , and being a development manager at From The Fields . A former CEO of the Welsh Music Foundation , he also cofounded the Welsh Music Prize .
At AIF , Rostron is now working alongside AIF chair and Notting Hill Carnival CEO Matthew Phillip . Taking over from former CEO Paul Reed , whose tireless work during the pandemic helped gain the festival sector recognition and support from central Government , Rostron acknowledges that the festival business is far from being out of the woods when it comes to challenges .
His relationship with the AIF is long established and it is that experience with , and awareness of , the benefits of being part of the association that Rostron says drove him to want to steer it : “ I joined AIF a long time ago , when there were around 20 members . I went to my first meeting and thought it was amazing to be able to sit in a room with other festivals operators . I got so much out of talking to them and being part of the network , not just in terms of the running of a festival but emotional support and help understanding the bigger picture – the positive impact festivals have more widely .
“ A decade or more on , I am not promoting anymore but I still love going to festivals . I am wiser now and I ’ ve got to a place in my life where I understand all the work that is needed strategically to advocate and lobby on behalf of the people that make these great events happen .”
Looking back to his mid-twenties when he first set out as a promoter , Rostron says there was no promoting manual , and very little support of any kind . He credits AIF with playing a significant role in changing that and helping the UK ’ s festival market evolve into the hugely successful industry it is today .
Around 1,000 festivals take
place across the UK each year but the vast majority , around 80 %, are community-based greenfield events with capacities below 5,000 that often are run on a voluntary basis . The remaining 20 %, regarded as the commercial market , is where the money is made .
That 20 % consists of around 200 events that range in size from 5,000-capacity shows to giant operations such as the
147,000-capacity Glastonbury . The Association of Independent Festivals ( AIF ) membership grew significantly during the pandemic to 94 festivals ,
“ We have the worst VAT levy on culture in Europe .”
John Rostron meaning it currently represents around 45 % of all commercial UK festivals with capacities of 5,000 and over .
“ Before AIF there wasn ’ t an organisation that supported anyone trying to put on a festival ,” says Rostron . “ So everybody just stumbled their way along and some festivals worked but many didn ’ t . AIF has reduced the numbers of people that have problems , reduced the
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