The Isle of Wight Festival, not unlike Woodstock a year earlier, revolved around the battle between the organizers and promoters who took major risks financially, and a large portion of the audience who felt that the festivals should be free. This ultimately lead to an ugly conflict that resulted in the organizers and some of the musicians performing at the festival losing money or not getting paid. The act of fans physically tearing down walls at Isle of Wight in 1970 is not dissimilar to the attitude that has led to the collapse of the traditional music business. Despite a rock bottom price of £3 for a three day festival featuring the top talent of the day (Hendrix, Doors, The Who, Joni Mitchell), only one out of 10 people paid. Obviously this was a sign of the turbulent times. But still, talk about disrespect.
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