How much does it cost to bring your favorite artist to your town's main festival?

BarcelonaThe arrival of August is synonymous with major festivals, popular culture, and music throughout Catalonia. From Ascó to Roses, passing through Granollers, Alcarràs, or La Seu d’Urgell, town councils are unfurling their musical posters these days before events like La Mercè or Santa Tecla put the finishing touches in September to a summer full of festivals, cycles, and concerts that, in many cases, will extend into the autumn.

But behind every poster there is much more than an artistic choice. Some names are repeated town after town, others are exclusive, and there is always room for a surprise. The choice of artists depends, above all, on each municipality's budget: the larger the council, the greater its capacity to accommodate a higher number of concerts and higher fees. As these contracts are made through public procurement, it is possible to know how much it costs to bring some of the most sought-after artists of the moment and to detect the musical trends that mark the country's major festivals.

La Mercè, Catalunya's most expensive music line-up

According to data analyzed by ARA from the Public Procurement Portal of Catalonia (PSCP) between 2024 and 2026, Barcelona's La Mercè is the festival with the most expensive musical lineup in the country. However, the total cost of the programming is not public. In many cases, especially on the main stages, the hiring of artists falls to sponsors or collaborating companies, while the City Council assumes production costs. This means that only a part of the fees is reflected in the transparency portals.

However, the main concerts at Bogatell beach do appear. In 2024, Oques Grasses was the big draw of the programming with a contract of 60,500 euros (VAT included), while La Ludwig Band received 17,545 euros. One year later, Rigoberta Bandini topped the bill with a fee of 121,000 euros, far above the 36,300 euros for Mushkaa and the 30,250 for Lia Kali.

For this year's edition, the public procurement platform reveals that Love of Lesbian – as announced by exclusively l'ARA– will be the highest-paid artist at La Mercè, with a contract of 151,250 euros (VAT included). Completing the main lineup are La Pegatina, with an amount of 72,500 euros, and Svetlana, with 12,100 euros.

The Institut de Cultura de Barcelona (ICUB), responsible for La Mercè's programming, has not responded to this newspaper's questions about the system for negotiating fees or the budgetary weight of proximity performances. In any case, these are unique concerts within the Catalan circuit, featuring top-tier artists and productions that are difficult to see at most local festivals in the country. In the justification reports on the public procurement portal, the ICUB assures that the artistic direction of La Mercè "has a configuration that reflects the pulse of current creation, showing trends and innovations in all artistic disciplines".

The Tyets, Mushkaa and Buhos, among the highest paid at the major festivals in Catalonia

Beyond the big concerts of La Mercè, data from the Public Procurement Portal paints a picture of a market with fairly consolidated rates. Although the fee varies depending on the format of the performance, the production, or the exclusivity of the concert, many artists maintain very similar amounts regardless of the municipality that hires them. This is the case for Buhos, who in 2026 signed five contracts for 30,250 euros for major festivals such as those in Granollers, Tossa de Mar, Torredembarra, or Santa Susanna, or for Ginestà, who charges around 18,000 euros for most of their performances.

The data also reflects the evolution of the Catalan music market. Artists who have experienced strong growth in popularity in recent years have seen their fees increase significantly. La Mushkaa, who in 2024 charged between 17,000 and 20,000 euros to perform at major festivals like Santa Tecla, Manresa, or Mollerussa, went the following year to exceed 36,000 euros at both La Mercè and Les Santes de Mataró. A similar phenomenon is observed with Figa Flawas, who has gone from contracts below 20,000 euros in 2024 to positioning themselves between 27,000 and 35,000 euros for a large part of their 2025 performances.

The Tyets are another example of the value acquired by some of the most sought-after names in the Catalan scene. This summer their contracts range from 33,000 euros for La Patum to almost 46,000 for the Festa Major de Rubí, while other municipalities such as Ascó, Cornellà, or Sant Joan Despí have paid amounts exceeding 40,000 euros to include them in the lineup.

Regarding the details of the contracts, the costs behind the tenders, and the reasons explaining price differences between municipalities, the management company managementÈxits.cat, which represents several of the artists analyzed in this report – selected for their listening volume and their activity on the major festival circuit – has not responded to this newspaper's questions. In any case, the public contract documentation specifies that the awarded amount includes the artists' fees – known as artistic fees – as well as per diems, travel, accommodation, maintenance, and administrative expenses arising from the contract, among others.