Walking around Barcelona, I saw a lot of colorful banners and ads promoting several music festivals. After talking to several locals, we realized just how big and popular these music festivals are in this part of Spain, and with summer approaching, several festivals were on their way!
Our guest lecturer was Marta Salicru, a musical journalist with Radio Primavera Sound, and she gave us a lot of insight into the work behind one of the largest and most popular music festivals in Barcelona. Founded in 2001, the company has grown and expanded to regions all over Europe, becoming an international festival, and has developed in the last few years into broadcasting audio and video as well.
Marta detailed her work with finding and contacting talent to be apart of their festival, and the process she’s done to put their best show forward and connect with different target audiences. The audience this festival is drawing in has a lot to do with the values of the festival itself. The popular podcast of Primavera Sound has a feminist approach, and discusses very important issues with women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, so the audience that is drawn is different than that of traditional radio and media, which tends to be targeted more towards men. I could tell Marta was definitely proud of this podcast and the community of listeners it has built!
While a lot of companies felt the weight of the pandemic significantly, Primavera Sound actually increased their popularity and listener count. With many at home, people turned to this form of musical entertainment and this crowd has since stuck with the company as the world has transitioned into life after the pandemic.
Marta Salicru does some pretty awesome work, and I’m glad we got to learn a little more about this form of media in Spain!