Torrential rain, flash floods, last-minute cancellations and cars trapped in a sea of glutinous mud: the summer music festival season got off to a traditional start this weekend.

Britain’s leading sustainable music festival, the Sunrise Celebration, was cancelled at the last minute after torrential rain turned the festival site near Yeovil, Somerset, into a quagmire. Early arrivals had to be towed off the site, while police and stewards turned away many of the 6,500 festival-goers who had not heard the news.

Despite our notorious weather, festivals have never been more popular. The bijou music festival is gaining ground on huge events such as Glastonbury as a new generation of discerning music lovers opts for quality over quantity.

The Summer of Love may be a distant memory, but the number of music festivals in Britain has doubled over the past few years, with 555 events listed by the online database efestivals.com this year. The majority take place between now and the middle of September, attracting millions of concert-goers who would not be seen dead with flowers in their hair.

The popularity of the festivals, most of which combine music with camping, has been boosted this summer by the credit crunch and the strong euro, which has made foreign holidays an unaffordable luxury for many.

Some of the larger festivals have suffered slow ticket sales. Glastonbury, the grandaddy of them all, has tickets available three weeks before the event for the first time this millennium. There has been speculation that Glastonbury festival-goers had been put off by the choice of the rapper Jay-Z as the headline act. However, others believe that a more plausible reason is the “mud issue” and competition from smaller events, with many people preferring to attend two or three small festivals instead of one big one.

Unlike Glastonbury, the Larmer Tree Festival near Salisbury sold out weeks ago. The five-day event, which has been running for 18 years, takes place in a garden established by the Victorian archaeologist General Augustus Pitt Rivers, whose family still owns the estate. James Shepard, the festival’s co-founder, says that the event in mid-July has grown steadily from 100 people to 5,000 people this year. They will be listening to groups ranging from Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra to the boisterous folk band Bellowhead.

Katrina Larkin started the Big Chill 14 years ago at the Union Chapel in Islington and has since expanded to run two Big Chill bars in the East End and a summer music festival at Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire, that attracts 800 acts. She said: “There are now so many music festivals you have to book acts earlier and earlier or someone else will get them.”

Competition has caused the cancellation of at least 15 events this summer besides those hit by the weather, such as the Sunrise Celebration.The festival circuit has become increasingly important to the bigger bands, thanks to the drop in sales of CDs — down 11 per cent last year to £151.8 million. In contrast, rights for live performances rose 20 per cent to £17.5 million.

Many of the largest festivals are controlled by the American promoter Live Nation, which signed up acts including Madonna for $120 million (£60 million) and Jay-Z for $150 million. In April it bought a majority share in the promoters of Download, Wireless, T in the Park and Hard Rock Calling. Live Nation also has a controlling stake in Festival Republic, formerly the Mean Fiddler, which runs the Reading and Leeds festivals, as well as Glastonbury.

Hamish MacBain, festivals editor of the music magazine NME, said:“When Noel Gallagher was asked why he’d chosen to play a particular festival he replied he been given ‘2.7 million reasons’.” He added: “There are more and more festivals year on year. It is a source of constant bafflement how they are making any money.”

“It is telling that Glastonbury hasn’t sold out. There are so many other festivals with equally strong line-ups. It’s also the mud thing — there’s been a huge backlash against that.”

Best of the fests

Glastonbury June 27-29. Kings of Leon, the Verve and the rapper Jay-Z are the headliners. Tickets costing £160 for the three days are still available

Hard Rock Calling Hyde Park, June 28-29. Eric Clapton, the Police and the Stranglers. Tickets range from £50 for Saturday to £460 for Weekend VIP Experience

Zoo Thousand and Eight Port Lympne Wildlife Park, Kent, July 4-6. New event with Mark Ronson headlining. The three days will cost £99 for the standard ticket (VIP £135). One day is £45

Womad Charlton Park, Wiltshire, July 25-27. World music celebration hoping for better weather than last year’s mudfest. The weekend costs £125 (£100 concession) and £50 for one day

The Big Chill Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire, August 1-3. Lakes, woods and an arboretum so if Leonard Cohen, the Mighty Boosh and Camille leave you cold there is plenty to enjoy. Adults £129, full-time students £110 (including membership of Amnesty International)

Source: Times research

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of 2009
• The 100 Worst Movies of 2009
• The 100 Best Films of the Decade