Field Maneuvers festival launched their “Save FM” crowdfunder on 30th September, in a bid to keep the festival afloat so it can continue to take place.
Raising over 50% in the first 24 hours, and now sitting at 75% thanks to widespread support and generosity, Field Maneuvers now has 10 days to raise the final 10k that will allow the event to continue and take place in 2023.
Following their recent 8th edition – arguably the biggest and best yet – the festival now faces financial challenges that will impact its future.
A troubling time for the wider music, festival and live events industry, the return of the festival this year following three years break due to the pandemic came with its own challenges.
Increased overheads, a new site, the cost-of-living crisis, roll-over tickets and life changes for ticket holders since 2019 are just some of the factors affecting the festival.
Despite being sold out, they experienced a 30% drop-off in attendance and a reduced income from punters onsite, Field Maneuvers are now in a position where they need to recover £40,000 to ensure FM has a future.
Long recognised as one of the UK’s most important festivals, adored globally by artists, DJs, and dancers and renowned for its loving crowd and free-party spirit, attendees, performers and crew know the importance of the festival’s continuation. We are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis and Field Maneuvers recognise this, but If you can afford to offer a little support, it will really help.
In the festival directors’ own words, “For FM to survive we really do need your help. We know times are tough and if you can’t afford it, please don’t even think about donating, but if you can chip in to this Save FM Crowdfunder, you’d make some exhausted and genuinely worried people very happy indeed.”
Field Maneuvers’ Save FM crowd-funder will run for just ten more days. Crowdfunder donation reward packages start from £20, with each tier offering a set reward. From limited edition merch packages from pens, jumpers and t-shirts through to the FM Bomber Jacket to Fruit Machine Tutorials, A VIP party in the FM Pub (The Pack It Inn) and a private luxury portaloo at FM2023, now is the time to support FM if you can. We need these spaces more than ever.
Link here to crowdfunder: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-field-maneuvers
Read the letter from the Directors of Field Maneuvers below for more information.
““The love you gave me, nothing else can save me, S.O.S”
First of all, a massive thank you to everyone who joined us for FM2022. In many ways it was our best event ever: our best line-up, best sound, best location and best crowd. And many of you sweethearts have been in touch to say just that. So thank you. Without you, the party is nothing.
But sadly, we can’t cash in all this love, and so we find ourselves in a position where we are asking for your help to save FM.
Field Maneuvers started eight years ago when five of us put £50 in a pot, bought an incorrectly spelled domain name, and hoped for the best. Each year we’ve grown incrementally, releasing a few more tickets, improving the sound systems, booking bigger acts, always trying to throw the best party available within our means, never paying ourselves much more than expenses and stupidly or not, not taking any sponsorship (beyond a few kegs of beer). Call us plonkers but we’ve always done it for the love. FM2022 was our biggest party to date. But it has also ended up being the hardest.
We always knew our first event after a three year break for Covid was going to be tough, but it ended up being more challenging than we ever imagined. The bottom line is we’ve lost a lot of money, and without your help we could end up in a crippling amount of debt. But we really believe FM has a future. And if you do too, we could do with your help.
How we got here…
- Firstly, we sold most of our tickets in 2019, pre-pandemic, and have racked up three years’ of day-to-day costs before this event even started: licensing, storage, ongoing business administration, accountancy, all of which would normally be covered by the annual income from running the event.
- Secondly, the cost-of-living crisis has affected us across the board. Brexit, the war in Ukraine and inflation have seen all of our contractor prices rocket by at least 30% – from diesel to marquees to plant hire to hay bales – everything cost more this year, so we found ourselves trying to make 2019 ticket prices match our 2022 costs.
- Thirdly – and this is the biggie – since buying those tickets in 2019, life has changed for a lot of people. Wedding invitations got sent, people got new jobs, children happened, financial situations changed – and so despite selling 1500 tickets and budgeting for a party for 1500 people – only 1000 people turned up. 500 less punters buying drinks meant our bar projections were out and our take was down 35%. A devastating amount for a tiny, independent party.
How we save FM…
- We could have *just* about survived with the 1000 people on site, but only if those 1000 had each spent an extra £40 at the bar to make up for the people who didn’t attend.
- Now we need £40,000 to cover our losses *gulp*. So…
- If every single person who attended FM2022 copped a t-shirt or a jumper then we would be sorted…
- Or if every single previous attendee from over the years copped a sticker & pen bundle we would be sorted…
- And if you have ever been on our guestlist or hit us up for a few extra meal/drinks tokens, then now is a good time to return the love.
- And if you ever met your BFF or significant other at FM then you know what to do ;)
To reiterate, we’re festival promoters by accident. We have our own full-time jobs, responsibilities, and children, despite which, we still focus almost entirely on this event for three months of the year, and beyond a few drink tokens and meal vouchers, we rarely pay ourselves. We don’t wanna be vibe assassins but it’s a lot to shoulder, at times too much, but it still all feels worthwhile when we hear our favourite DJs play to a dancefloor full of beaming faces.
But, in probably the first sensible move we’ve ever made, we’re drawing the line at financially crippling ourselves to keep going! For Field Maneuvers to survive we really do need your help. We know times are tough and if you can’t afford it, please don’t even think about donating, but if you can chip in to this Save FM Crowdfunder, you’d make some exhausted and genuinely worried people very happy indeed.
So if you ever wanted to buy a T-shirt or a bomber jacket or get keys to your own luxury FM portaloo then now is the time.
And who knows what the future holds. But if we can make it through this bump in the road, we promise to make it worth your while!
Love to you all. FMHQ.” – Field Maneuvers
SAVE FM CROWDFUNDER: Click here
“In the saturated UK festival market, you have to do something different to stand out. Many go bigger, more polished, more commercial, but Field Maneuvers has remained defiantly small and anti-corporate, channelling the spirit of ’90s free parties.”- Resident Advisor ~ Read the full RA review.
“I hesitate to even call @fieldmaneuvers a festival cause really the vibe reminds me more of the outdoor raves I went to in the 90s—a big but intimate party in a field for days. When I was asked to play the first time it was like a dream come true.” – Eris Drew
“The community spirit of Field Maneuvers is unrivalled. In a dance music scene that is too often driven by commercial interests, Field Maneuvers is a beacon of what festivals can and should be. Their lineups are creative, considered and diverse. It was such a privilege to collaborate on the program and bring Superstore’s raw queer chaos to the field. Having the space to celebrate and centre queer artists on the final day of the festival was a beautiful thin. If every festival was run with such passion and care, the electronic music scene would be a much better place.” – Emma Kroeger, Head of Bookings at Dalston Superstore
Image credits:
Courtney Frisby
Drew Eckheart
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