Aussie music lovers have suffered more devastating news after BluesFest festival director, Peter Noble, announced that the legacy of BluesFest will end after its 2025 event.
After 35 years of live music the festival has decided to call it quits, with many not surprised by another cancelled festival amongst the dire state of Australia’s music festival scene. A common theme we can see amongst all the cancellations is the lack of explanation for the failure of festivals, leaving Aussie music lovers and artists frustrated and disappointed.
Splendour in the Grass was set to return to NSW in July this year with headliners Kylie Minogue, Future and Arcade Fire. However, after only one week of tickets being on sale, Splendour’s chief executives cancelled the event “due to unexpected events”.
The cancellation of Splendour added to the growing list of setbacks in the already struggling festival scene. The announcement came only a month after the regional festival, Groovin the Moo, was cancelled two weeks after tickets went on sale. Allegedly, the cancellation was made after the event did not generate major ticket sales. This comes as a massive blow to regional communities, who often don’t get the opportunity to see headliners perform.
These cancellations have come as a result of rapid increases in overhead costs, such as expensive public liability insurance, the high costs of police presence, and low ticket sales due to higher costs and audience habits changing. The cost-of-living crisis and the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic also seem to play a part in the struggles that festival directors and event organisers experience.
What does this mean for Aussie Artists?
Music festivals have always played a significant role in the discovery of emerging artists by providing a platform for them to gain exposure and expand their fan base. Festivals can shape and transcend artists’ careers. Thus, a lack of music festivals in Australia is contributing to the decline in upcoming Aussie artists and the discovery of their music.
Following recent news, journalist Maddison Leach has deemed that “Music festivals are a dying breed Down Under”.
But there is still hope…
There is a growing appetite for genre specific festivals rather than multi-genre events which were once the way of life within Aussie festival culture. Cancelled classics, like Splendour and Groovin the Moo were set to have ambitiously varied lineups, which evidently in their ticket sales didn’t seem to satisfy festival goers. The new modern R&B festival, Souled Out, brought massive success earlier this year, selling over 75,000 tickets across 5 cities in Australia and New Zealand. Headliners were specific to the R&B genre, being Summer Walker, Bryson Tiller and PARTYNEXTDOOR.
Another example is Pitch Music & Arts, a festival specialising in electronic, house, and techno music that consistently sells out or comes close to selling out each year.
Many Aussies feel that spending money on a multi-genre festival to see a specific artist or genre is no longer justifiable within the current economy. The current cost of living crisis plays a major role in what we spend our money on these days.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the festival scene, could genre-specific events and festivals be the solution to this musical drought? Might they provide Australian artists with better opportunities to showcase their talents and gain recognition?
For advice on music or entertainment law, contact the team at Sanicki Lawyers.
Contact: Chelsea Donoghue | Solicitor | [email protected]