OK Conrad Will you listen.
Faversham is a small market town near Canterbury in Kent. Home of the Shepherd Neame brewery.
I lived there for many years and was a member of the festival band who would play at the start of the two days (a sort of overture for the day).
Apart from maybe 1 or 2 headliners, virtually every performer lives locally, (and that includes some pretty well known names) and performs for free, so that the towns businesses benefit from the visitors (normally about 1500 people a day at a guess)
Little money is spent on advertising. it's not needed. The town is pretty heaving the whole weekend.
Every shop and bar is festooned with freshly harvested Hop Bines (Hence the name of the festival)
It is always a pleasure to give something back to a beautiful town by providing our musical services for nothing, and all the shops and pubs show a profit. I say again, Where is the exploitation there?
You really shouldtry it. It works, and works well.