This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/acceptedfor publication in the following source:

Arthurs, Andy(2013)Music festivals are in trouble but the shows must go on.The Conversation, pp. 1-4, 2013.[Article]

This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/70141/

c© Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters

This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under aCreative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use andthat permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu-ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then referto the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recog-nise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe thatthis work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au

License: Creative Commons: Attribution-No Derivative Works 2.5

Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record(i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub-mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) canbe identified by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear-ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source.

https://theconversation.com/music-festivals-are-in-trouble-but-the-shows-must-go-on-21035

Andy ArthursProfessor, Music and Sound at Queensland Universityof Technology

12 December 2013, 6.40am AEST

Music festivals are in trouble but the showsmust go on

AUTHOR

It’s no secret that the music festival scene in Australia has recently hit some troubled waters.Harvest festival has been cancelled this year, unpaid performers are still chasing theorganisers of the failed Peats Ridge festival and Britpop superstars Blur recently pulled out ofthe Big Day Out, saying festival organisers “have let us down”.

What factors are driving this upheaval, and why do some festivals survive where others fail?

Little ripples, big consequences

Music festivals range from one-day events to even month-long events and the festivaleconomy is like a fresh-food economy. Demand for an event the day after it has taken place isworthless. Rain, floods and competing blockbusters can destroy a festival, even if it hasthrived for years. Contingency plans are needed to ensure all those risks are mitigated.

Reserve funds accumulated over years is one of the best strategies, and that’s why the most

Blur recently pulled out of the Big Day Out, citing problems with festival organisers. EPA/BrittaPedersen

vulnerable festivals are often the recently formed ones.

Merely calling yourself “sustainable”, like the ill-fated Peats Ridge Festival, is not enough. It’sfine to work with volunteers and semi-professional artists, but it’s essential that asustainability program does not involve the non-payment of professional artists or suppliers.

As we know, harvests can differ from year to year and the aptly named Harvest Festival hadsuch a bad year for ticket sales in 2013 the event was cancelled.

Buy early, buy oftenFinancially, a festival needs to collect money up-front to underwrite the risk, so there needs tobe pressure for punters to buy early. The release and pricing of tickets is sensitive. If a line-upis not so attractive, or a high profile act has already booked in advance for another largefestival, demand can fall away very quickly.

This has a knock-on effect. If members of the public sense they need not commit until later,they will hold off. If this happens a couple of times, the festival’s financial plan can be severelywounded. There is a tipping point after which people don’t commit easily, leading to aconfidence drop.

Crowded market, higher costsThere has also been a glut of new festivals in the market, crowding the space. The amount ofdisposable income people set aside for entertainment remains more or less fixed but is now

Adelaide hip hoppers the Hilltop Hoods on stage at the BigDay out last year. AAP Image/Paul Miller

Big Day Out in Sydney this year. AAP Image/Paul Miller

spread more thinly across a greater number of events. Additionally, this market crowding

comes at a time when a small event, such as a bad weather forecast, can discourage the

punters from going at all.

There has also been a move

to only allow mid- and low-

strength drinks at festival

bars and to reduce the

number of mixed-age events.

Cutting out the younger

audience means the festival-

going habit is not ingrained

so early, and other

entertainment sources may

take priority.

Those over 18 now “pre-load”

on alcohol by drinking before

arriving, thus spending less at

the festival bar. That, in turn,

leads to a hike in the ticket

price to offset the drop in

income for the festival

organisers.

Costs have rocketed in other

areas too. Policing and

security prices rise yearly with

little evidence of there being

any breakdown in law and

order.

And one person’s music is

another person’s noise. In Perth, the metal and rock-themed Soundwave festival faced a

10pm curfew after a single resident complained about noise.

A winning formulaEqually, one festival organiser’s bad news may be another’s good news. Queensland’s

Woodford Folk Festival director Bill Hauritz said in a interview with me recently that they are

“on a path of growth in excess of 10% this year”, adding that:

The global financial crisis cleared out some festivals. Add to that rain and floods, and itliterally was a perfect storm. Some festivals were too new. Like young trees, they needto be established. Festivals are very difficult to do. You need a ten-year apprenticeship.What a festival needs is a strong supporter-base of loyal patrons. Thousands ofpeople come at the same time and they all want something different. Try having a partyfor 100 people. Then multiply that by 1,000.

He said many festival organisers underestimate the task:

Many Peats Ridge Festival performers are still chasing

payments. AAP Image/Bella Ann Townes

A lot of people think it’s easy. Woodford builds a town the size of Nambour –- the 57thlargest in Australia – for one week of the year.

The Woodford Folk Festival works because it is a great big social event, where friends, family,

sideshow entertainers and the festival’s community “vibe” are as important as the music acts.

So these festival organisers are not living in such fear of the big acts pulling out, as has

happened with Blur and the 2014 Big Day Out.

Into the futureThe festivals economy is fragile, and is often the canary in the coalmine for broader economic

woes. Festivals take the temperature of people’s spending power and, when times are tough,

the entertainment dollar is the the first to retreat.

But the seasoned festivals will weather such storms; and, in many cases, despite the

problems, will be around for years to come.

People’s need for music won’t go away. People’s need for the social enjoyment of music

won’t go away. If one festival falls over, another will emerge.

Patrons at Woodford Folk Festival AAP