Verknepet responds to uproar over 'disappointing' lineup: 'The arena is an expensive site'

'What a disappointment!' “When will the headlines be announced?” “You'll only pay €130 for the same party every month!” Ai, a selection of reactions when hard tech giant Verknipt announced the lineup for the event at the Johan Cruyff Arena. It will take place on July 20, tickets have been sold out since October (long before the program was announced), and ticket prices range from eighty to one hundred and thirty euros. Clearly some ticket buyers were hoping for bigger headliners for that amount of money, and Verknipt would like to respond to that. “Well, the headlines vary from person to person,” says co-founder Mir Hajbrati. He sees how the hard techno music scene has exploded beyond the eyes of the techno world, giving rise to superstars like OGUZ, Sara Landry and DYEN. Names that ordinary awakening patrons have never heard of, but who have hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram and are performed in halls of tens of thousands of people. “There are ticket buyers who have never been to Verknipt and have certain expectations about the lineup, but in our scene these artists are the headliners. They have been with us since the beginning of their career and have grown up with us. We think it's right to give these artists a stage in the arena.”

In addition, Jabrati says, the assortment is not the only cost element, but mainly the display elements, which are an important part of the Verknipt experience and with which the hard tech giant makes an additional appearance on the field. “And the Arena is an expensive site: it involves a lot of technology, a record number of lasers, screens, special effects and special time-coded shows. A lot of staff are needed to set it up and take it down in a short time. The costs are rising dramatically. We were shocked by that, too.” .

Then there was online rumblings about so-called VIP tickets. “We don't sell VIP tickets but premium tickets, and that's where the confusion arises. There are no VIP floors and no tables. What do you get with that premium ticket? Access to a part of the stage around the artist. We usually open that up at our other events.” The arena has some safety regulations regarding capacity, which means this is not permitted.Premium tickets are included with merchandise, a separate entrance and facilities at the arena.