How are music festivals changing? What does this reveal about the music industry, identity and target audiences?

Music festivals are changing in the sense that attracting a wider range of audiences and the amount of festivals is increasing. They also offer a diversification by creating new things such as poetry, literature and different size stages.  This is affecting the music industry because the artists are making more money by performing at festivals and they are losing sales due to the proliferation of illegally downloading music. Therefore, music festivals are having to pay more for artists. Recently, music festivals are becoming more mainstream because music is becoming second nature, and the experience and lifestyle is becoming the main feature. But still, certain audience attend different types of festivals to reaffirm their lifestyle choices and identities. People use music festivals to express their own identity and this is a reason for why some of them keep their wristbands on for weeks.  Music festivals are also changing in the sense that they are improving market segmentation, by each different festival appealing to a certain genre which helps them to appeal to a niche audience.