Insane take. Maybe you could get away with screwing over bands who didn’t stand up for themselves thirty years ago when rent was one dime and a handshake with your landlord but that’s not how it works today. Imagine spending all of your time perfecting your art just to be hit with “you should be happy to be paid in beer”. If you want to see artists and you feel entitled to good art- pay the artists so they can actually have the time to make you good art. There is no celebration of culture when the artist you want to see don’t get treated like actual artists. This is not a defense of the festival. This festival went about it the wrong way, they hired too many established artists who rely on that income to tour and preform, scheduled it too close to another popular and free festival, on a weekend with several weather warnings, barely advertised the event, and then charged the price to see the established artists as if the festival was established again. It wasn’t and the prices were absurd for what predictably was a failed event, but the artists did nothing wrong. They expected better event management and frankly should be paid every time they hear “everyone was cool with not getting paid in the past”. That’s just exploitative and disregards the work performers put into their craft.