In the 2000s, the festival saw an increase in the number of bands and venues as well as public attention - a transformation that has not escaped criticism. In 2005, the festival included 107 acts featured on 10 stages across town, a number that led the festival manager, to call for a scaleback. Critical voices have focused more on the choice of venues and artists, claiming that venues have been spread too far out and the choice of musicians has gotten safer and less varied. Political interest in the festival has grown with the commercial successes of acts such as Mew, The Raveonettes and Junior Senior. In 2005, the minister for culture, Brian Mikkelsen, proclaimed it "the most important musical event in Denmark" due to its potential as a vehicle for "networking and musical export". However, this attention has prompted questions about the relative weights given to artistic merit and marketability as criteria for band selection and claims that the new focus on big business has alienated the local music scene. The inclusion of by now well-established names (or at least names that were felt to have had their chance of international recognition) such as Saybia and Outlandish was greeted with muted enthusiasm in the music press and occasional hostility from audiences.