Big Chill goes hyper-corporate

The Guardian calls the takeover of the Big Chill by Reading-Leeds promoter Festival Republic "quiet" - which is true; it happened in September after the owners went bust.

Still, I don't see what everyone's worried about - it's not like Glastonbury got noticeably more corporate and lost touch with itself after FR got involved there, right?

[Co-founder Katrina] Larkin said Festival Republic would provide much-needed financial security and logistical knowhow, leaving her to focus on the creative side of the festival. "I needed to protect the Big Chill, I needed to take it into a family that would look after it. There is an umbilical cord between me and that festival. I have given up too much to see it fail."

Hmm. Wasn't this pretty much the deal when Melvin Benn got involved down at Worthy Farm, too?

One of the big creditors of the Big Chill parent company was PRS - you do wonder if they were really acting in their members' best interests by not trying to work out a deal. Is it really better for musicians that Reading, Leeds, Latitude, Big Chill and Glastonbury are all in the same hands?