Download Festival Founder Fires Back at Backlash Over Sleep Token’s Selection as a Headliner
When the headliners and more than 90 bands were announced for next year’s Download Festival, very few things stood out more than the fact that Sleep Token had been selected as one of the headliners. It was a bold choice, especially given how that spot was usually reserved for the big dogs like Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, or some other legacy act.
Well, it turns out that people on the internet did what people on the internet do and they got super bent out of shape over the decision to give Sleep Token such a major spot on the festival. Cries of the band being too new or not on the same cultural level as the two other headliners Green Day and Korn echoed through the interwebs, with some idiots concerned fans thinking Sleep Token are a fad band that totally hasn’t recently signed with RCA Records and continually sells out major arenas.
And while people are wringing their hands and clutching their pearls online, you know who’s not worried about the booking decision? Download Festival founder Andy Copping, who spoke with NME to not only explain why he felt it was important to put Sleep Token at the top spot, but also to fire back at detractors and explain why such a move was necessary in the first place.
“I think it’s important for the festival to bring new bands through to headline. Back in the day, I did it with Slipknot. I did it with Avenged Sevenfold and Biffy Clyro. In 2023 we did it with Bring Me The Horizon. Now, every one of those bands across the world is perceived as a festival headliner.
“That’s what I felt this time with Sleep Token. It feels like we’re the first major festival that’s taken the bull by the horns and gone, ‘OK, it’s time. Its Sleep Token’s moment’. I know it’s going to be amazing for them, amazing for the festival and amazing for the fans.”
He’s exactly right, you know. But he wasn’t done dispensing hard truths and knowledge. While discussing why it was important for the scene to push Sleep Token to new heights, he also explained from a stark business standpoint why he felt it was important for Download Festival to give up-and-comers a push.
“The festival has to evolve because people’s tastes and people’s expectations evolve all the time. The festival will die if we don’t move with the times, so we have to be innovative. We have to see what’s going on across social media and analyse the way people are consuming music in the TikTok age.
“All of that is super important. Luckily, we’ve put together a very wide and varied young team who are giving input into what they feel the festival should be. We also talk to the fans all the time and ask them what they want to see. We seek out feedback on what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. From that, we’ve found a formula that’s been working for us.”
Having looked at the initial lineup announcement again, there’s not much to complain about. But we all know the terminally online folks that have turned the internet into a cesspool, man. It’s all a Catch 22 situation — if you put Metallica in that spot again, you get panned for not thinking about the younger acts; if you put Sleep Token in that spot instead, you catch shit for idiotic various reasons.
I say you just shut up and either don’t go to the festival or attend and maybe find your new favorite band. Damn.
