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ISSUE 1 . TUNED IN HARDWARE . NEGATIVITY AND MUSIC . PLAYLIST OR SOMETHING . TEDDER . SMELLS LIKE MIDDLE-AGED SPIRIT

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Page 1: The Tuned In Issue

ISSUE 1 . TUNED IN

HARDWARE . NEGATIVITY AND MUSIC . PLAYLIST OR SOMETHING . TEDDER . SMELLS LIKE MIDDLE-AGED SPIRIT

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TUNE IN

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Contents

5HARDWARE: A Guide To Headphones For Your NeedsDiscover the perfect fit for your ears

Eddy Dew9NEGATIVITY AND MUSIC: Why Is It Made?A discussion of the means and ways music is made

Joe Palmer17PLAYLIST OR SOMETHINGYeah something about playlists and crap

Ethan Abari13TEDDER: The Mind Behind The MusicA look inside the life of Ryan Tedder

Lachlan Matheson11SMELLS LIKE MIDDLE-AGED SPIRIT: Are Music Festivals A Dying Act?An investigation into the festival scene

Chelsea Lowe

TUNED IN

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So you’ve probably seen that per-son on the bus, the one with the headphones on that seems totally oblivious to the world, and now you want to escape that annoying youth talking too loudly on their phone. Even though you have the earbuds that came with your phone in you can still hear their over exaggerated boasting of how much they drank that weekend.

Most earbuds that come with a phone have a microphone feature. Handy to have but the design of a headset allows for background noise to get inside to allow the user to hear how loud they’re talking.

Enter the headphones.

Headphones, or more specifically, closed headphones are designed to keep background noise out and music “in” i.e only for the listener to hear. With this design the listen-er only has to use a fraction of the volume to keep background noise out as compared to the original earbuds. So, what to spend on head-

phones? As there are thousands of brands today it can be an overwhelming task to find the right type. Essentially the price range will set the quality. There are arguably some brands that are overpriced but they can be easily researched online. The cheap. Sub $100. This will get you a very disposable set of headphones and the closer to $100 the better the sound that you will most likely get. Sub $100 headphones can feel very cheap, harsh plastics and uncomfortable earpads. But more importantly they can lack isolation to block outside noise out and have very poor quality sound. Most sub $100 headphones will lack bass and wont sound much better than earbuds.

The reasonable.$100-$250.$250 can seem very expensive for a set of headphones and wont be for the most common of music listeners. However, a set of head-phones that cost $150 upwards

will have better quality in both the sound and the build. Meaning they will last longer and sound better.

The top.$250+The absurd price but the best. These headphones wont really sound their best from a phone jack but they have the best sound and generally only used with an amplifier (see pt.2)

If you just want to dip your toes in to the world of headphones then a sub $100 pair will be the best bang for your buck. The only thing to remember is, you only get out what you put in. Call it an investment to never hear a phone call on the bus again.

Ever wanted to tune that noise out on public transport? Or maybe just to listen to your music as it was meant to sound? Here’s everything you need to know about how a set of headphones can improve your music listening and what to expect from your moneys worth.

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1 - iPod and Fiio E6 iPod 5th gen with RockBox connected via LOD to Fiio E6. iPod $80 Fiio E6 $60 LOD $50

2 - Fiio E7 A DAC plus headphone amplifier Fiio E7 $90

3 - Desktop amplifier Custom DIY tube amplifier price $90

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The Tools to Escape

You have the headphones. Now where to go from there? Using a dedicated audio source has the benefits of keeping your phone battery alive and even better audio quality. Apple dominates the audio world, almost wiping out the humble mp3 player. But they can be found online and these days the only big manufacturers of mp3 players cater for the audiophile market, meaning that prices start at over three hundred dollars.

But for the humble beginner there are a few options. Borrow that old, unused iPod! Classic 5th gen iPod video (30, 60 and 80gb) arguably has one of the best quality audio chips inside, and can be bought from eBay in good condition.Chinese manufacturer Fiio have a range of audioplayers and accessories to enhance your music listening. They are regarded as the best audiophile quality mp3 for the low-est price.

The software.Believe it or not, the software of a device can be altered. RockBox is a third party operating system that allows for a greater range in audio tweaking on the device and can even allow different themes and styles. Loading RockBox is as simple as plugging the supported device in to the computer and following the program prompts.

The connection.An amplifier attached to an iPod via the dock (Line out) allows the music to go directly from the iPod to the amplifier without being affected by the iPod, it is a more “pure” con-nection than a headphone jack. LOD cables range in price and their difference wont be noticed in a basic set up. The main reason to upgrade a LOD cable is if the old one breaks or if the new one has a plug that better suits.The amplifier.An amplifier is used to supply stronger audio

to the headphones. The amplifier can pro-vide louder music volume than a headphone jack without distorting, however, it is better used to provide a quality boost at lower listening volumes.Amplifiers come in a variety of price range and some of the cheaper options are the best bang for your buck. Unless you have $200+ headphones that require an amplifier, a cheap amp will give you the quality you need.Pictured is the Fiio E6, a basic model with very simple functions, bass boost and a high/low gain (used for high impedance head-phones).

DACOr, Digital Audio Converter. A DAC will con-vert the original digital audio signal to an analog signal to provide a pure clean sound. Arguably these aren’t necessary for portable headphone use but are good for computer and desktop use.

Desktop AmplifierA desktop amplifier is great for using while at work or at home to escape background noise or to just keep the music volume down. There are a number of desktop amplifiers on the market but again, the best use comes only from using the top headphones.

There we have the basic tools, a player, soft-ware, cable, amplifier, headphones. Starting with a set of headphones and a dedicated audio player is more than enough to escape the background noise of public transport, however, if you want to feel some bass with-out going deaf, or to just experience better quality. Than an amplifier is the way to go.

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Negativity andMusic

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are also much more extreme cases, in which individuals who listen to exclusively cer-tain bands or styles of music will reject literally anything that doesn’t fall into their very precise genre. It is not that they are wrong in provid-ing a different perspective, but rather than accepting the fact that music can be a very personal experience and as a result, very individual; they attempt to downplay any-thing they don’t listen to. It is becoming part of a popular opinion to be negative about people’s taste in music, saying that the vibrations and fre-quencies interpreted by their senses is somehow inferior to others is just absurd.

Music is one of the must sub-jective and personal influ-ences in people’s lives, that

reason itself can contribute to why such negativity can come from a musical orientated conversation. Generally when people share a similar taste in music an instantaneous bond is developed, although hard to distinguish and to what capacity is unclear, but know-ing that someone shares in a similar experience is a fan-tastic sensation. This kind of interaction is pretty rare, but it can be exemplified during live performances as the peo-ple who are invested into the music travel in droves to be a part of it. This explains why there is always such a high sensation of energy and ex-citement at festivals and gigs, as it is the exact opposite environment in which many forms of negative attitudes, the internet.

In this developed age of streaming and sharing music, individual tastes are more particular than ever. Contra-dictory as it may seem, people share their curated playlists with online communities in hopes that some people dis-cover something new or show similar interests. This is the best kind of outcome, but there will always be a vocal minority there to express dis-taste or negativity.

Funnily enough, musical elit-ism comes in different forms and to various degrees. For instance, it is generally ex-cepted that it is okay or even popular to express hate to-wards certain musicians (Jus-tin Bieber, Nickleback, etc) for very few reasons other than the bandwagon effect. There

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With music more accessible than ever, it is difficult for any band or musician to turn their music into a self sus-tainable source of funding. They rely heavily on their fans to expand their influence through word of mouth. As it currently stands most forms of social media are extensively spammed with bands trying to get any kind of expo-sure wherever possible. The interest-ing thing about social media and the internet in general is the way in which the audience has the ability to reply to content.

The way most interactions occur is very formulaic, most of the audi-ence that receive news or content are subscribed and invested into the source, if they see something they will take in that content then continue on with whatever they were doing. Only those who are entirely enthusiastic or against the content will comment, and depending on the bandwagon effect, this could be entirely beneficial or detrimental to the bands or musician’s success.

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Not all music is created for the same purpose, so judg-mental comparisons between genres is similar to comparing film to Tv. Coming from a dif-ferent context and growing up with certain genres of music it’s difficult to understand why people listen to something completely different. This understanding is vital for a number of reasons. Specifical-ly, to not be known as a musi-cal elitist.

There is a reason why pop music is around, that reason is not because of it’s deep lyrics and instrumental techniques.

This small minded attitude can be hard wired and diffi-cult to overcome, especially

with the overall attitude that it is easier to hate something rather than understand it and move on. Particularly the well heard phrase “Music was better in my day”; of course that’s a valid point, consider-ing they would have grown up listening to a certain band or musician with the appropriate context of that era.

Closing yourself to new expe-riences and listening to bands that no longer exist is a sure fire way to become musically introverted and rather narcis-sistic.

By promoting negative atti-tudes in music, many bands stick to very specific and “safe” sub genres where they create music that is proven to

be successful in that area. Keeping away from any forms of experimentation so they can keep a tight grip on their current audience.This lack of experimenta-tion and closed, fragmented genres keeps music from pro-gressing in all forms, which is ultimately detrimental to the industry as a whole. Obviously this cannot be good for the audience, as we all become more and more divided and start secluding ourselves into our own little unnecessarily specific genres, hating anything different and promoting everything that sounds the same. Until these attitudes start to change, we will be stuck in this rut for a long time to come.

“Not all music is created for the same purpose”

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TRIPLE J, FASTER LOUDER, [V] LOUD & UNFD PRESENT

NORTHLANE NORTHLANE T H E N O D E TO U RA U G U S T B U R N S R E DL I K E M O T H S T O F L A M E SB U R I E D I N V E R O N A • O C E A N G R O V E

F R I D AY 1 3 T H N O V E M B E R

T H E C A M B R I D G E H O T E L7 8 9 H U N T E R S T, N E W C A S T L E

18+

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B E G I N N I N G SIt began with perhaps the humblest of

beginnings, a young boy raised by a family of missionaries and pastors. Influenced by the deep melancholic tones of church song which are reflected in his modern compositions, Ryan Tedder began his experiments with the art form from the age of three, prompted by his parents to play piano in exchange for candy.

From this point onwards Ryan sought independence in his musical learning, self-teaching singing by the age of seven and developing his skills by imitating his influences. “I sang for two hours a day every day of my life until I was eighteen.”

Tedder worked as a waiter and shop assistant at Pottery Barn through his late teens before gaining an internship in Nashville for DreamWorks SKG, where he sung demos for other artists.

At twenty-one he entered a competition and was granted the opportunity to perform a one-hour special on MTV (performing his own original material) in front of several million viewers. Recognizing his talent with most votes secured by the judges and viewers for his performance of “The Look”, Tedder placed first. Despite the failure of Free Lance Entertainment to secure a record deal, it launched Tedder into the spotlight.

L I M E L I G H T Having caught the attention of Hip Hop

producer Timbaland, Tedder honed his skills as a producer and writer, becoming experienced in the creation of music for many different genres, spanning R&B to Rock, Pop and Dance.

His biggest breakout came as a result of this partnership, when Tedders’ band OneRepublic and Timbaland co-produced “Apologize”, which broke US airplay records and was the number on most-played radio song for five consecutive months. This achievement was quickly overtaken by Leona Lewis’ “Bleeding Love”, a track also produced and written by Tedder which broke the records of “Apologize”, and becoming the most played radio track worldwide, as well as gaining him a Grammy nomination.

Tedders’ influence on the pop/rock music scene is reflected in his collaboration with many other well-known artists, having produced and written for the likes of Adele, Kelly Clarkson, James Blunt and Taylor Swift to name a few. Many of his rhythmic styles and approaches can be heard throughout much of the genre today.

ON E R E P U B L I CTedders’ main passions lie in his pursuits as

lead-man in the band OneRepublic.

OneRepublic was formed in 2002 by Tedder and his college friend Zach Filkins (Guitarist). They achieved success through the then-popular social network site Myspace as an unsigned group, before touring the Los Angeles area.

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They signed with a subsidiary of Columbia Records but were dropped two months before their debut album “Dreaming Out Loud” was due for release. With the help of Timbaland’s highly popular R&B style reproduction of “Apologize”, the band took off to immediate commercial success.

D R E A M I N G O U T L O U D

The group shortly signed with Mosley Music Group, Timbaland’s own label, where the album was then released. The second single from Dreaming Out Loud “Stop And Stare” also achieved great success and rocketed the album to Platinum sales in the United States and Gold in Australia.

WA K I N G U PReleasing in late 200 , OneRepublic’s

second studio album “Waking Up” received widespread commercial success selling over

million copies worldwide. The lead single “All The Right Moves”

peaked at number on the US Billboard

Hot 00.

It was certified 2x Platinum, followed immediately by the success of the second single “Secrets” with garnered huge success hitting top five chart positions in many European countries, and selling million copies to boot. It was also featured in television series such as Lost and Pretty Little Liars, as well as being the feature track to the film “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

These successes were overtaken by the fourth single “Good Life”, by far the most successful track from the album, which was certified x Platinum in the US alone with over million copies sold, also becoming their second top- 0 hit in the Billboard 200 after the success of “Apologize.”

N A T I V EOneRepublic’s third studio album titled

“Native” was released in March 20 to immediate success. The first (global) single “If I Lose Myself”, which was released in January prior to the album’s release, was certified gold in Italy and Australia, and spurred further success through the popular Alesso remix of the same name.

Then, becoming the bands’ largest hit, “Counting Stars” achieved significant international success and widespread acclaim, charting in the top in many countries including Australia, New Zealand and Germany, even reaching number in in the United Kingdom. It peaked at number 2 in the United States Billboard Hot 00. It has been certified platinum x in Australia, 2x in New Zealand and x in the US.

The next single “Something I Need”, spurred on by the success of “Counting Stars” achieved mild success being certified Platinum 2x in Australian and Platinum in New Zealand.

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Scan QR code for tour and merchandise updates

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BLUR MAGAZINE ISSUE 02 page 2

can your bird sing?Is he the songbird of your generation?

Call us today to secure your birds’ spot in this 2015 Summer singing school.

Phone: 1800 8933 8375 (1800 tweeters)

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TUNED IN ISSUE 01 page 1

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TUNED IN ISSUE 01 page 1 EDDY DEW ISSUE 02 page 2

THE

INTE

RIM

1, Take a Walk, Passion Pit2, Mirrors, Justin Timberlake

3, Sacrilege, Yeah Yeah Yeahs4, Do You Realize??, The Flaming Lips

5, Girls Like You, The Naked And Famous6, Treasure, Bruno Mars

7, Young And Beautiful, Lana Del Rey8, Let’s Have a Kiki, Scissor Sisters

9, Started From the Bottom, Drake10, Blurred Lines, Robin Thicke

Comnihil ipicima iorepel ipsus ad quae commos eos-siminimus moluptibus magnihi ligenis prerupis dunt labor-rum intur restiun tempos modistiost, ommodipsa quis rehendi psantia esciet quidignis restia accaborae ne pratem sum aut dolorit re omnis eum faciaspici aperatibus seriaerum enecta as eatesequo et qui dipit ut aut hil-labo. Hendende etur simaion sequis dolor rerum derrume quos con ratestectur rem laccab in ea quatati to blam fugiaep erciis vit vel ipit, eic to quodipis mo quid et harum quas dis es incim dolorae volectem nis dolumque mo-luptatiat que deligenim aut as mossunto totaquamet omnihil iliqui to escillabo. Nam repres ut ilibus dolor adit vel-ique dent parchitas dit volupta quuntibus quidus nis rereptatus aliquam, sandamus int ditistotaere nihil-iqui od ut illiciust, tetur aspe quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaqua-tur, sus, offic tent.Mus, soluptasped mod ut quas autenihil ima dere natae susam quuntiu sapelique qui commolupta ni beribus dia nonsequidis dolorae pa id qui uta ab ium as mossunto totaquamet omnihil iliqui to escillabo. Nam repres ut ilibus dolor adit velique dent parchitas dit volupta quuntibus quidus nis rereptatus aliquam, sandamus int ditistotaere nihiliqui od ut illiciust, tetur aspe quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaquatur, sus, offic tent.Mus, soluptasped mod ut quas autenihil ima dere natae susam quuntiu sapelique qui commolupta ni beribus dia nonsequidis dolorae pa id qui uta ab iumvComnihil ipicima iorepel ipsus ad quae commos eossiminimus moluptibus magnihi ligenis prerupis dunt labor-rum intur restiun tempos modistiost, ommodipsa quis rehendi psantia esciet quidignis restia accaborae ne pratem sum aut dolorit re omnis eum faciaspici aperatibus seriaerum enecta as eatesequo et qui dipit ut aut hil-labo. Hendende etur simaion sequis dolor rerum derrume quos con ratestectur rem laccab in ea quatati to blam fugiaep erciis vit vel ipit, eic to quodipis mo quid et harum quas dis es incim dolorae volectem nis dolumque mo-luptatiat que deligenim aut as mossunto totaquamet omnihil iliqui to escillabo. Nam repres ut ilibus dolor adit vel-ique dent parchitas dit volupta quuntibus quidus nis rereptatus aliquam, sandamus int ditistotaere nihil-iqui od ut illiciust, tetur aspe quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaqua-tur, sus, offic tent. quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaquatur, sus, offic tent. quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve

liciis eaquatur, sus, offic tent.Comnihil ipicima iorepel ipsus ad quae commos eos-siminimus moluptibus magnihi ligenis prerupis dunt labor-rum intur restiun tempos modistiost, ommodipsa quis rehendi psantia esciet quidignis restia accaborae ne pratem sum aut dolorit re omnis eum faciaspici aperatibus seriaerum enecta as eatesequo et qui dipit ut aut hil-labo. Hendende etur simaion sequis dolor rerum derrume quos con ratestectur rem laccab in ea quatati to blam fugiaep erciis vit vel ipit, eic to quodipis mo quid et harum quas dis es incim dolorae volectem nis dolumque mo-luptatiat que deligenim aut as mossunto totaquamet omnihil iliqui to escillabo. Nam repres ut ilibus dolor adit vel-ique dent parchitas dit volupta quuntibus quidus nis rereptatus aliquam, sandamus int ditistotaere nihil-iqui od ut illiciust, tetur aspe quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaqua-tur, sus, offic tent.Mus, soluptasped mod ut quas autenihil ima dere natae susam quuntiu sapelique qui commolupta ni beribus dia nonsequidis dolorae pa id qui uta ab ium as mossunto totaquamet omnihil iliqui to escillabo. Nam repres ut ilibus dolor adit velique dent parchitas dit volupta quuntibus quidus nis rereptatus aliquam, sandamus int ditistotaere nihiliqui od ut illiciust, tetur aspe quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaquatur, sus, offic tent.Mus, soluptasped mod ut quas autenihil ima dere natae susam quuntiu sapelique qui commolupta ni beribus dia nonsequidis dolorae pa id qui uta ab iumvComnihil ipicima iorepel ipsus ad quae commos eossiminimus moluptibus magnihi ligenis prerupis dunt labor-rum intur restiun tempos modistiost, ommodipsa quis rehendi psantia esciet quidignis restia accaborae ne pratem sum aut dolorit re omnis eum faciaspici aperatibus seriaerum enecta as eatesequo et qui dipit ut aut hil-labo. Hendende etur simaion sequis dolor rerum derrume quos con ratestectur rem laccab in ea quatati to blam fugiaep erciis vit vel ipit, eic to quodipis mo quid et harum quas dis es incim dolorae volectem nis dolumque mo-luptatiat que deligenim aut as mossunto totaquamet omnihil iliqui to escillabo. Nam repres ut ilibus dolor adit vel-ique dent parchitas dit volupta quuntibus quidus nis rereptatus aliquam, sandamus int ditistotaere nihil-iqui od ut illiciust, tetur aspe quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaqua-tur, sus, offic tent. quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaquatur, sus, offic tent. quat as conectem reruptis quiam nullupiet eictesto tem volestrum eserit, siminve liciis eaquatur, sus, offic tent.

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are music festivals

A D!Y!I!N!G ACT?Do you ever have those days when you finally listen to an album you’ve been planning to, and it’s just so good that you realise it’s a Sunday afternoon, you’ve successfully cleaned your room, vacummed the house AND managed to fold all of your laundry listening to this one list of banger hits, that you think “Hey! Imagine seeing these guys live!” It’s then a dissapointing realisation when google tells you the only chance you could possibly see them would be next year, at one of four, maybe five nation-wide cities scattered hundreds of kilometres nowhere near you? Yeah, that’s life these days, and it poses the question; Is live music a dying act?

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usic used to be enjoyed by masses of peo-ple, whether it was never-

ending dubstep beats, or hardrock drum and bass,

there was always a crowd that would listen, and be fist-pumping until late at night.

It was Australia’s favour-ite pill popping party, Future Music festival that first decided to call it quits. From rumours about six dead from a Methodone overdose in Malaysia, to lack of ticket sales, the Festival struggled to build their reputaion and eventually had to cancel the festival indefinitely.The festival released a statement after the news stating “In the end trav-elling the festival in its current form across Aus-tralia simply doesn’t make financial sense anymore”. Although Future has died, the Festival promises that there is something exciting brewing, the statement continues “The group are developing a new festival concept, planned for the same time period previously held by Future Music Festival”.

Following this year’s shock of Future, Austral-ia’s favourite big name festival Big Day Out (BDO) also announced that they are canning this years festival after Australian

music promoter AJ Maddah, who is the found-er of Soundwave and Harvest Music Festival sold his 50% share of the festival to big time American company C3, who also run the popular US festival ‘Lolapalooza’.

From a festival that hosted names by the likes of Nirvana, Iggy Pop, Rage Against the Machine and Nick Cave, to more recent years; The Ramones, Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, it’s hard to believe that a festival so popular can die so irrele-vantly.

Critics have accused the festival of living in the past, stating “Let’s face it. Big Day Out is starting to smell like middle-aged spirit.”

When you think of the common age group who attent music festivals, you tend to picture a sweaty group of young adults who don’t think twice about dancing in the middle of

packed out field on a 30ºC Summer day. But the headliners for BDO tend to suit the more mature adults who grew up listen-ing to thier music.

Darren Levin, the Editor-in-chief of the Australian music website ‘Faster Louder’,touched on the fact that the young-er generation “... want

craft beer, they want a bit more of an experience” rather than just an open field listening to music their parents played when they were growing up.

Festivals are constantly changing to suit the age bracket and indie/hipster culture but what does that mean for the rest of us?

Are we destined to travel for the bands we love? Or to settle for the radio single stars that fill our festival lineups.

“Cancellations, postponements, financial collapses and declining ticket sales are plaguing Australia’s many music festivals.”

“Let’s face it. Big Day Out

is starting to smell like middle-aged

spirit.”

M

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