Festivals have long been considered fertile ground for breaking artists – an invaluable platform for the latest rising stars to preach to the unconverted and expand their fanbase. But as the post-pandemic live business continues to evolve, there is a growing school of thought that the circuit now serves a different purpose.

UTA agents Tom Jones and Max Lee are well placed to comment, having secured chart-topping electronic/alt pop artist Kenya Grace slots on a record 11 of the 50 top European festivals analysed by IQ and music biz directory and data platform ROSTR last year. For the duo, the festival circuit remains an indispensable part of their booking strategy for new talent.

“When you go to new markets, it’s important to play in front of as many people as you can to earn yourself some new fans,” says Lee. “Then there are other benefits, like livestreaming – [Grace] was streamed at EXIT Festival, and Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds on the BBC, and that gave us professional footage to show to promoters and bookers. Also, those streams go far and wide and live online forever.

“Obviously, we would love to go and play our own shows everywhere. But the costs of touring are so high that if you’re trying to grow through headlines only, it becomes near impossible.”

Jones nods in agreement.

“Festivals are crucial, particularly early in an artist’s career,” he stresses. “If you deliver an incredible festival performance – whether it’s professionally filmed by a member of the artist’s team or by a fan in the crowd and then posted on social media – it has the chance to get in front of so many more eyes than just playing at a festival to 10-15,000 people. That is incredibly beneficial to an artist’s perception and building new fans.”

“Festival audiences are engaged music fans who are discovering new music whilst at the events”

Melbourne-based independent promoter Untitled Group enjoyed a sensational 10th anniversary season, hosting 35,000 attendees at its flagship camping festival Beyond the Valley and 85,000 fans across Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide for its one-day Wildlands event. It also sold out all three days of its AO LIVE festival, which took place during the 2025 Australian Open.

Unsurprisingly, Untitled co-founder Nicholas Greco maintains that festivals still offer the ideal lift-off point for rising stars.

“Festival audiences are engaged music fans who are discovering new music whilst at the events,” he says. “These moments are also shared online which contributes to the post event momentum for artists we often see. For example, at Stum’s closing set at Beyond the Valley in 2023, he performed to 35,000 people, which not only cemented his place in the scene but also drove massive momentum. He went on to sell out 5,000 tickets in Melbourne instantly for his next headline tour.”

Speaking to IQ last year, One Fiinix Live agent Jon Ollier offered a counterpoint – expressing scepticism over festivals’ role in breaking acts, while acknowledging other positives.

“I’ve never been of the belief that a whole lot of music discovery goes on at festivals,” he said. “As soon as festivals got beyond two or three stages, the idea that you have a captive audience isn’t really true.

“What they have always done is help you to establish that cultural identity that comes with having played festivals we consider to be a sort of rite of passage, or that some of the tastemakers and gatekeepers involved in the business would expect you to play in order to demonstrate your cultural relevance.”

“It’s hard to make the argument that festivals are intrinsic to breaking artists”

Runway Artists founder Matt Hanner offers an equally nuanced take.

“We’ve seen a lot of artists rise up that are playing to huge numbers of people now – thousands of people a night – but are not festival staples,” he argues. “So many of those artists can say they’ve developed a great audience without the help of festivals, so it’s hard to make the argument that festivals are intrinsic to breaking artists.

“What artists still like about them is that, in an age when it’s very easy to put music out, festival bookings are another feather in the cap. They’re another badge of honour, a recommendation that says, ‘I must be doing something right, because I’m playing these festivals over the summer.’ It’s a point of difference to separate them from the masses and that’s what we’re all looking for with artists now – and I think that is a big thing.”

Hanner, whose agency roster includes acts such as Highasakite, Cosmo Pyke, Future Teens and Bibi Club, says that a good festival slot can still help sell tickets.

“You still hear of artists amassing a great crowd for a mid-afternoon slot and it helps propel them on to the next stage,” he says. “So it’s not to say that festivals are without their merits and sit outside of everything we’re doing; there are just so many examples of artists that have got to a great point in their career without necessarily being what you would consider a ‘classic’ festival act. There are a lot of pathways to finding your audience now.”

“I try and say to my artists that you shouldn’t build through festivals”

Moreover, Mother Artists co-founder Natasha Gregory senses the current lay of the land has resulted in fewer festival opportunities for nascent artists.

“I think that agents need to have empathy for what festivals and bookers are going through at the moment, because it’s not necessarily an easy sellout, aside from your Glastonburys of the world,” says Gregory. “So I try and say to my artists that you shouldn’t build through festivals and that I understand why festivals are booking a certain artist – and why they’re not – because they have to survive through the years.

“Production costs have quadrupled since Covid and I don’t think everybody necessarily has an understanding of the sheer cost of putting on a festival, nor should they, unless you’re in the business. So I think it’s a really, really hard time for new bands that don’t have teams, that don’t have those viral moments and that don’t have radio. I do think the opportunities are less across festivals.

“However, I also think that if you build the artist as a headline artist in their own right, then when the festivals come, the slots will be better, the budgets will be better, and there will be more people watching.”

Gregory cites the fortunes of one of her most famous acts as evidence.

“When IDLES started, we couldn’t get festivals,” she recalls. “But we didn’t sit there and go, ‘Oh God, what are we going to do? Let’s wait.’ We were like, ‘Fuck, we have Brutalism, this amazing [debut] album. Let’s go out and talk. Let’s play to people.’ And it just built off that.

“They headlined the Other Stage at Glastonbury [last year] and smashed it. Again, those slots need to come at the right time in an artist’s career to really help their next steps.”

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The launch of a landmark new pill-testing trial at Australia’s Beyond The Valley has been hailed as a huge success by promoter Untitled Group.

The festival – which took place from 28 December to 1 January at Hesse’s Barunah Plains Homestead some 125km from Melbourne’s central business district – was chosen as the first of ten events that will host the estimated $4m trial over the next two summers.

The pill-testing service was available to an estimated 35,000 festivalgoers who attended Beyond The Valley across the four days, making it the largest-ever event in Australia to provide access to pill testing.

The mobile site was staffed by 16 chemists, health and support workers who utilised “world-leading technology to test the make-up of most pills, capsules, powders, crystals, or liquids and identify harmful chemicals that can lead to death”.

Festivalgoers could drop by a testing tent between 1 pm and 7 pm each day, where their substances would be tested and they’d receive health information to help them make “better decisions”.

More than 700 people accessed the confidential service, with early data revealing that nearly 40% planned to take less of their drugs after testing. Over 70% reported it was their first “open, judgment-free discussion about drug and alcohol safety with a health professional”.

“The feedback from the BTV community has been resoundingly positive”

“The feedback from the BTV community has been resoundingly positive,” Nicholas Greco, co-founder & managing partner of Untitled Group, tells IQ. “We are proud to have facilitated this in collaboration with the Victorian Government, the Department of Health, YSAS, The Loop Australia, and Harm Reduction Victoria.”

In the wider industry, the Australian Festival Association hailed the trial a “significant win” for harm reduction strategies and festival safety.

“Victoria’s first pill-testing trial at Beyond The Valley has set a new benchmark for harm reduction at festivals, delivering outstanding results,” the association said.

With a successful trial under their belt, Greco says Untitled Group “would welcome drug-checking at our festivals in the future, including in Victoria”.

Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan has already announced that a fixed pill testing site is set to be established and opened by mid-2025 in inner Melbourne.

“This is not a trial to decide if Victoria will implement pill testing. It’s a trial to understand how to implement it,” she said in a statement.

Beyond The Valley organisers touted the sold-out 2024 edition as the “best festival yet” with standout performances from Natasha Bedingfield, Royel Otis, Tinashe, Lola Young, Teenage Dads and The Rions.

The Australian Festival Association hailed the trial a “significant win” for harm reduction strategies and festival safety

“The incredible turnout at Beyond The Valley this year is a huge validation of what we’ve been building over the years,” Greco tells IQ. “With our 10th anniversary coming up next, it’s deeply satisfying to see all the hard work pay off and to witness the impact the festival has had on culture and trends.

“We’ve never witnessed such an impact of this scale in post-event user-generated content, we’re seeing Beyond The Valley trending globally on TikTok right now. Ultimately the attendance reaffirms that we’re on the right path and drives us to keep elevating the experience year after year.”

This year, BTV organisers focused on evolving the festival experience by reimaging the site layout and elevating their partnerships and activations.

“It’s been rewarding to see how well those changes resonated,” adds Greco. “New hubs like the expanded Dr Dan’s area, and hosted activations like Poof Doof Pride parties and the Schmall Klub, were always busy and had a lot of energy throughout the entire weekend.

“Schmall Klub was reimagined with Smirnoff as a hidden party behind fridge doors in an aesthetic Cornerstore, featuring DJs and surprise sets and Red Bull also delivered with their ‘Unforeseen’ activation – a train station where attendees could discover a party behind the carriage doors.”

Beyond The Valley’s 10th anniversary edition will take place between 28 December 2025 and 1 January 2026.

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Australia’s Untitled Group has vowed to keep “pushing boundaries” as it celebrates its first 10 years of operations.

The Melbourne-based independent promoter’s camping festival Beyond The Valley is coming up in Hesse, Victoria from 28 December to 1 January, with acts such as Fisher, Ice Spice, Chase & Status, Marlon Hoffstadt, Tinashe and Royel Otis.

“We wanted to create a four-day camping festival over New Year’s Eve that stood apart from others in the market,” explains Untitled co-founder and managing partner Nicholas Greco. “Our focus was on creating a highly curated experience centred around electronic music, combined with an elevated emphasis on production, staging and immersive site design.

“We wanted every aspect, from the lineup to the overall creative direction of the site to feel intentional.”

The event’s 2014 launch actually preceded the formation of Untitled.

“Untitled Group back then was just Beyond The Valley and a single club night,” explains Greco. “Now it’s grown into a national festival touring circuit over New Year’s Eve featuring flagship events like Beyond The Valley and Wildlands.”

“The decision to start touring our own artists was a major turning point”

A sister festival to Beyond The Valley, Wildlands will visit Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide in late December/early January. Greco considers its launch a “key moment”.

“It allowed us to establish a national festival touring circuit over New Year’s Eve, which has enabled us to bring bigger international talent into Australia during that period,” he says.

A second multi-day camping festival, Pitch Music & Arts, returns to the heart of the Grampian Plains in Victoria for its eighth edition from 7-11 March, while the firm has also developed a major touring division, bringing artists such as Dom Dolla, RÜFÜS DU SOL, Kaytranada, Christina Aguilera and Zach Bryan to Australia.

“The decision to start touring our own artists was a major turning point,” contends Greco. “It transformed us from festival promoters into globally recognised concert promoters. In the beginning, we were building momentum and riding the wave without a clearly defined vision. We were somewhat winging it and figuring things out as we went along.

“Today we have a much more deliberate focus. Our vision is more refined, we know the markets we want to target, the artists and genres we want to hone in on, and what our core business offerings are.”

While the pandemic shutdown was a devastating period for many within the live industry, the company maximised the unexpected downtime.

“Covid was a real catalyst for growth,” he says. “For the first time, we were forced to pause running events and reflect on our business, where we wanted to go, and how we wanted to grow. Although it was an incredibly tough two years, it allowed us to build a strong foundation for the future.”

“The collapse of so many major festivals over the past year has been a stark reminder that we can never afford to be complacent”

The Australian festival scene has endured a turbulent year, with several major festivals like Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, and Return to Rio calling it quits for the 2024/25 season.

“The collapse of so many major festivals over the past year has been a stark reminder that we can never afford to be complacent,” remarks Greco. “It’s reinforced the importance of constantly striving to improve and adapt. Audiences are evolving faster than ever whether in terms of their expectations, tastes, or how they engage with events. If you don’t keep up with those shifts, you risk falling behind.

“It’s a challenging landscape, but it’s also an opportunity to innovate and raise the bar across everything we do.”

Greco has detected a growing shift towards electronic music at festivals and events across Australia.

“This surge in demand has made booking electronic talent increasingly competitive, creating challenges in securing the right acts and driving up costs,” he observes. “Another trend is the rise in artists opting for headline tours rather than festival appearances which can reduce the talent pool available for festival programming, forcing festivals to rethink how they build their lineups.”

In addition, Greco suggests the business is still adapting to the tastes of the new generation of festivalgoers.

“The 18-25 demographic is drinking significantly less at shows, which is impacting margins,” he notes. “This shift is making it harder for venues to remain profitable and as a result we’re seeing more closures in the industry. This trend highlights the need to explore alternative revenue streams and rethink the traditional venue business model to ensure sustainability.

“Young people are increasingly spending time online and therefore discovering new music and experiences through digital platforms. This shift in mindset means our events need to adapt to meet them where they are. TikTok, in particular, has rapidly accelerated the globalisation of music trends, making it essential for us to stay ahead of the curve not just locally in Australia, but on a global scale.”

“Ten years ago, we could never have imagined the company would grow to where it is today”

A standout moment for the promoter in 2024 was the Dom Dolla b2b Solomun show at Melbourne’s 5,000-cap The Wool Store.

“It took us five years to get the venue permitted again, so to host such an iconic event with two artists who have played pivotal roles in the Untitled Group story was a full circle moment,” says Greco. “Dom has been part of our journey from the beginning, playing our club nights before we were festival promoters, performing at the very first Beyond The Valley, and returning for eight more editions since then.

“Solomun also holds a special place in our history. He was the very first artist to play The Wool Store back in 2018. That event has become legendary and part of Melbourne nightlife ‘lore’. From his set to the afterparties where he DJed on an ironing board at one of our interns’ houses until the power had to be switched off.”

Looking ahead to 2025, Greco says Untitled is excited to continue to build on the legacy it has created over the past decade.

“Our goal is to keep pushing boundaries while staying true to what we do best,” he adds. “Ten years ago, we could never have imagined the company would grow to where it is today, so the prospect of where we could be in another decade is incredibly exciting.

“We’re committed to continuing to deliver world-class experiences with world-class artists, constantly evolving to meet the changing demands of audiences and the industry. The focus will always be on creating unforgettable moments and maintaining our passion for pushing the live music scene forward.”

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Australia’s Beyond The Valley is set to launch the Victoria government’s pill-testing trial at the end of this year.

The festival – which runs from 28 December to 1 January at Hesse’s Barunah Plains Homestead some 125km from Melbourne’s central business district – has been chosen as the first of ten events that will host the trial over the summer.

The pill testing service will be available to an estimated 35,000 festivalgoers who attend Beyond The Valley across the four days, making it the largest-ever event in Australia to provide access to pill testing.

It comes after Victoria last month became the first state to enshrine pill testing into law thanks to The Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Amendment (Pill Testing) Bill 2024.

Alongside the Bill, the state has activated a $95 million action plan to reduce opiate drug deaths and harm.

While the new law does not legalise illicit drugs, it does allow for mobile and fixed pill testing throughout the state, and means that those who use and operate such services are protected by law.

“Beyond The Valley has a decade-long history of working with authorities to deliver safe events,” says a spokesperson for Untitled Group, which produces the festival.

“We are constantly exploring ideas, trialling new innovations and bolstering proven initiatives that increase the safety of festivalgoers, so they can have a good time and also make it home safely.”

“Let’s be clear: no drug is safe, but people deserve to know if that one pill will kill”

“We look forward to working alongside our community, health agencies, the Victorian Government, and the wider festival industry to ensure this initiative reaches and supports the right people.”

The confidential pill testing service will utilise “world-leading technology to test the make-up of most pills, capsules, powders, crystals, or liquids and identify harmful chemicals that can lead to death”.

Staffed by a multidisciplinary team of experts, they will not only test substances but also provide confidential health information which aims to ensure those in attendance make better, safer decisions.

“This is a simple and common-sense way to save lives,” said Premier Jacinta Allan in a statement. “Let’s be clear: no drug is safe, but people deserve to know if that one pill will kill.”

While a fixed pill testing site is set to be established and opened by mid-2025 in inner Melbourne “close to nightlife and public transport,” a statement asserts that, “this is not a trial to decide if Victoria will implement pill testing. It’s a trial understand how to implement it.”

Victoria becomes the second state in Australia to trial pill-testing following a programme at Queensland’s Rabbit Eats Lettuce festival over the Easter long weekend earlier in the year.

Pill testing was first put into action in April 2018 at the Groovin the Moo festival in the Australian Capital Territory.

Organisers later confirmed two potentially deadly samples were identified and half the drugs tested were found to contain no psychoactive substances.

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Australian independent promoter Untitled Group has announced a series of strategic promotions within its ranks.

Laura Hughes, who has been with Untitled for seven years, has been elevated from head of public relations to director of communications, and also joins the senior leadership team.

Hughes will oversee a newly consolidated communications department that encompasses corporate communications, customer relations, PR and social impact. The change is expected to further streamline Untitled Group’s brand messaging and external relations.

In the touring team, Chris Sheppard has been promoted to head of programming, Jim Henessey has been elevated to head of marketing and Ellen Sproule rises to head of operations.

“The changes we have announced today come off the back of a sustained period of growth for Untitled Group”

A newly created department, commercial growth, will be under the leadership of co-founder and managing partner Christian Serrao. The new department encompasses the partnerships team, led by former Red Bull executive Dwayne Thompson, alongside the ticketing team, with Courtney Tahar also elevated to head of ticketing.

“I am consistently amazed by our team’s intrinsic motivation for growth and development – particularly into senior and leadership roles,” says Untitled general manager Andrew White. “The changes we have announced today come off the back of a sustained period of growth for Untitled Group and are proof that understanding your audience is the key to success in this fast-paced and often challenging industry we are a part of.”

The moves follow a bumper 2023/24 summer season for Untitled Group, with more than 500,000 tickets sold.

The company has also confirmed the expansion of Ability Fest, its fully accessible festival, to two states in Australia in Melbourne and Brisbane, and is currently gearing up for the ninth edition of its flagship four-day camping festival, Beyond The Valley, set for 28 December to 1 January.

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Australian independent promoter Untitled Group has told IQ how it capitalised on a late surge in ticket sales to deliver its biggest summer season yet.

The Melbourne-headquartered company, which hosted 112 events around the country, sold more than 250,000 tickets during the 2022/23 summer period – a 25% increase on the previous 12 months.

Highlights included the first post-Covid camping edition of its Beyond the Valley festival, Dom Dolla’s New Year’s set and Nelly Furtado’s first Australian show in over 20 years.

“We’ve noticed a trend where people are more cautious with their spending and are only attending events that they deem as a non-negotiable,” Untitled managing partner and co-founder Nicholas Greco tells IQ.

“The challenge is to create a concept that offers a unique experience. In the current climate, trusted event brands have shone through, particularly those who are actively engaged with their audience.

“We’ve also seen that camping festivals which offer an immersive experience have a significant advantage over other festivals. The unique nature of the camping format sets it apart, and being able to see so many artists across multiple days makes it a more cost effective option.”

Greco says there has been a noticeable shift towards fans waiting longer to buy tickets for events.

“The current economic climate is impacting attendance numbers”

“We are seeing a strong uplift of ticket sales in the final four weeks leading up to the event date, even more so in the final week, which hasn’t really been the case for us in the past,” he observes. “So a key focus of ours is developing strategies to sustain the momentum all the way throughout our campaigns.”

He continues: “The current economic climate is impacting attendance numbers. With the cost of living increasing, our audience have a lot less disposable income to spend on entertainment. This also comes with the costs for artists to tour increasing, making it more challenging for music festivals to attract top tier talent. Festivals need to remain agile and adapt to survive.”

Untitled’s touring team has worked on tours for the likes of Glass Animals, The Kooks, Hayden James and Wu-Tang Clan, as well as its established festivals such as Beyond The Valley, Wildlands and Grapevine Gathering.

“Curating our festival lineup is definitely a team effort,” adds Greco. “We attend shows to get a firsthand experience of a wide range of artists, catch up with labels and other touring companies to get the pitches on upcoming acts, and have regular discussions with agents from around the world to keep up to date with who’s on cycle and wants to come to the region.

“This part is a lot less glamorous but the team analyses statistics on a daily basis to determine the popularity of artists and gauge our audience’s interest. It’s all just information gathering and it allows us to make the most informed decisions on which artists to include in the festival lineup, ensuring a diverse lineup that feels fresh every time.

Untitled Group recently hired former Live Nation and Three Six Zero veteran Andrew White as its new general manager. The firm restructured its booking team following its expansion to Asia Pacific and Europe in 2022, upping senior touring agent Monty McGaw to head of electronic, and went on to announce a further spate of new hires and promotions earlier this year.

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Australia’s Beyond the Valley festival has revealed a new site, official dates and full lineup for its comeback edition.

The Victoria-based event was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and last year was reimagined as a two-day event in Melbourne dubbed Beyond The City.

This December, the four-day camping festival will return but at a new location, Barunah Plains in Hesse, some 125km from Melbourne’s central business district.

The scenic site boasts a natural amphitheatre spanning 100,000 square metres with “sweeping trees, rolling hills, a wool shed, mystic bridges and a winding creek”.

All three of the festival’s signature main stages will return, albeit with various upgrades.

The scenic site boasts a natural amphitheatre spanning 100,000 square metres

In addition, this year’s edition will host its first-ever podcast stage, as well as a secret stage installation called the Schmall Klüb where artists will perform impromptu DJ sets on no fixed schedule.

There will also be a heightened focus on accessibility for the 2022 event. Main stage performances will feature Auslan interpreters and dedicated viewing platforms, while a designated accessible campsite will be positioned closer to the main arena.

Other new features include a Beach Club with swimming pools, a series of interactive art installations, an open mic stage, sessions for yoga, pilates and meditation, and a range of other non-musical programs.

News of the relocation comes as Beyond the Valley announces this year’s lineup, led by Nelly Furtado, Kaytranada and Denzel Curry. Diplo, Bicep, Honey Dijon, Aussies Dom Dolla, HAAi and Flight Facilities are slated to join them.

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The New Bosses 2020 – the latest edition of IQ’s annual celebration of the brightest young talent in the live business today, as voted for by their peers – was published in IQ 93 this month revealing the twelve promising promoters, bookers, agents, A&R and production experts that make up this year’s list.

To get to know this year’s cream of the crop a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2020’s New Bosses, to discover their greatest inspirations and pinpoint the reasons for their success. Catch up on the previous New Bosses interview with Joe Skarzynski, a production co-ordinator in the US, here.

Filippo Palermo (27) is co-founder of Untitled Group, one of Australia’s largest independent music and events companies. After cutting his teeth on the Melbourne nightclub scene, aged 18, Palermo co-founded Untitled Group, which has grown to encompass a portfolio that includes music festivals and artist management, along with a booking agency, record label, international touring division and a music-tech investment arm. Since its first music festival in 2014, the group’s festival roster has grown to over ten touring and camping properties and bespoke metropolitan events, selling more than 250,000 tickets annually.

What are you working on right now?
We’re working on a number of new projects within the music, artist management, recordings and music tech industries, as well as using this “breathing space” while we don’t have a music festival on every second weekend, to brainstorm new event experiences for Beyond The Valley and Pitch Music & Arts in particular.

I’m currently in the process of hunting down, negotiating terms and actioning compliance and feasibility studies on new, exciting locations which have yet to be seen by the Australian music industry, in preparation for our return.

I’ve enjoyed discovering new breakthrough talent and brainstorming all Australian lineups with my UG team for when mass gatherings return but before travel sanctions update to allow for international touring again. I’ve also been assisting in the career growth of artists on my personal talent management arm such as Big Words, Cassettes For Kids and Bertie.

What are some of the highlights of your career to date?
Five years ago, when we were new to the industry, we flew to London, LA and New York in an effort to introduce ourselves to every major music talent agency in the globe. We found after a couple of meetings that a pattern had emerged; we would arrive nice and early with a company deck on hand and a big list of headliners we wanted to tour only to discover we were actually meeting the agent’s assistant to discuss emerging talent and the deck was a pointless accessory no one wanted to read.

In hindsight, it was a necessary reality check to help us reprioritise fostering emerging talent at the time, and it’s been a highlight walking into the same buildings in recent years to discuss the once-considered “unrealistic” headliners as real opportunities for us to work with in Australia.

“I’ve learned it’s important to find your own niche and bring something unique to the public”

Other highlights include receiving the bureaucratic green light on introducing our bespoke stage structure known as the Dance Tent to Beyond The Valley in 2018. It’s 80 metres long, 50 metres wide, covered in Mecano fabric rich in a colour gradient I chose myself, features 120 LED par ceiling lights and is paired with a 50 metre wide LED wall which intimately hosts some of the world’s most talented DJs and producers every New Years Eve.

Receiving government approval to activate a colossal, heritage listed, 70-year-old Wool Store warehouse to host artists such as Solomun and Jamie Jones since 2017 was also a special moment, especially considering at one point all signs were pointing towards cancelling the first event due to permitting issues. Highlights in more recent years include selling out Beyond The Valley 2019 in a record time of five minutes, marking it one of Australia’s most in-demand music festivals, as well as launching and selling out the inaugural Wildlands Festival in Brisbane which shared BTV’s 2019 headliners Rüfüs Du Sol and Tyler, The Creator.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt working in live music?
Whether you work in recordings, festivals, touring or artist representation, I’ve learned it’s important to find your own niche and bring something unique to the public. It’s also equally as important to acknowledge that innovation always means some level of risk, but if you educate yourself on every facet of your industry and work hard on mastering your craft, you can not only limit your exposure to this risk but also pull off something that will be genuinely enjoyed and appreciated by people.

Did you always want to be a promoter?
No, as a child I was a passionate guitarist and drummer playing in some pretty questionable cover bands. When I hit my teenage years, Mum shared with me her One Love and Ministry Of Sound compilations, introducing me to electronic music which was really influential.

“Our stunning Aussie outback, unique architecture, pristine wineries and CBD parks  make fantastic festival locations”

At the time, I had my now business partner and best mate Michael make me a fake ID using nail polish remover, a toothpick and a printer (don’t try this at home kids) so I could DJ at nightclubs around Melbourne underage. I always wanted to be the star up on stage until I started promoting clubs at 18, discovering my true passion was in project managing and curating an event experience holistically from behind the scenes.

What’s it like working in the Aus market?
It can be challenging. We’re very far away from the rest of the world, so when it comes to touring, we’re traditionally an afterthought for a lot of artists. However, our stunning Aussie outback, unique architecture, pristine wineries, CBD parks and state of the art live music venues provide us with some fantastic festival location opportunities that I, personally, haven’t discovered abroad.

What impact has Covid-19 has on your job?
It’s had a massive impact. Simply put, mass gatherings is the core of our business, and this has come to a complete halt. It has however allowed us to refocus some of our time and energy towards growing our artist roster, the music tech arm of our company, our record label, and expanding on new ideas for our major festival properties for 2021 onwards.

Do you have a mentor in the industry?
There are many industry professionals I’ve admired and learned from over the years, but I don’t have one particular “mentor” who has been there with me along the journey. I would say I idolise the work of Ed Banger records owner and Daft Punk manager Pedro Winter most.

“Th industry needs to improve diversity in programming and subsidising costs associated with accessibility infrastructure”

What does the live music industry do well, and what can we do better?
Live music enriches the lives of its fans globally. As a massive live music fan myself, I would say I live a more fulfilling and happier lifestyle as a result of its existence. The live music industry needs to improve on its diversity in programming and subsidising costs associated with accessibility infrastructure.

At Beyond The Valley we’ve pledged for a 50/50 gender balance on our lineup from 2022 onwards and we’re proud co-owners of Australia’s first all-inclusive festival, Ability Fest. However, I know that there’s a lot more we, and the rest of the industry could be doing.

What advice would you give to someone who’s new to the business?
It really does take persistence to make it in the music industry, for most people it’s years of hard work. Stick at it and don’t give up when the going gets tough!

What are the biggest challenges you’re facing currently?
Trying to get creative with a temporary live music solution to Covid times. It’s very difficult to make a socially distanced gig commercially viable, to the point where I feel it’s worth waiting until mass gatherings can return safely.

Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?
I hope to see my team and I still proudly waving the Untitled Group flag, as Australia’s most influential live music promoters.

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The newly formed Australian Festival Association (AFA) has written to government urging urgent drug policy reform following the deaths of several Australian festivalgoers over the Christmas period.

Suspected drug-related fatalities over the festive period – mid-summer in Australia, and the height of its festival season – include a 19-year-old man, Callum Brosnan, at Knockout Games of Destiny in Sydney, a 20-year-old man at Beyond the Valley in Larnder, near Melbourne, and a 22-year-old man, Joshua Tam, at Lost Paradise in Glenworth Valley.

Despite the deaths – and a pill testing trial at last year’s Groovin the Moo that was hailed an “overwhelming success” by harm-reduction campaigners – the government of New South Wales (NSW), which contains Sydney and the Glenworth Valley, has once again rejected industry calls for permitting drug testing at live music events.

“The government position is quite clear on pill testing: We oppose the use of illegal drugs at these festivals,” NSW planning minister Anthony Roberts told reporters in Sydney. “We appeal to you, just enjoy the festival and do it without taking drugs.”

“Encouraging drug abstinence instead of education is out-of-touch, proven to be ineffective and unnecessarily risking lives”

In an open letter to Australia’s six state premiers and two chief ministers, the AFA today warned that by continuing to “encourag[e] drug abstinence instead of education”, the country’s decision-makers are endangering festivalgoers’ lives.

The AFA, which launched in December, represents Australian festival producers, promoters, organisers and operators. Its 2019 board is Jessica Ducrou (Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival, Download), Adelle Robinson (Listen Out, Listen In, Field Day, Harbourlife, Curve Ball), Danny Rogers (Laneway), Matthew Lazarus-Hall (CMC Rocks) and Rod Little (Groovin the Moo, the Plot).

Read the AFA’s open letter in full below.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the deaths at Australian festivals during the recent holiday period and our thoughts are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives. Our thoughts are also with the medical, festival, production, security and law enforcement staff who were on the ground when these tragedies occurred.

Drug use is a complex issue and the current policies and strategies of our state and territory governments are needlessly endangering lives. Be it abuse of prescription medications, MDMA use at festivals or the devastating impact of ice [methamphetamine] on some of our regional communities, drug use is a national health issue that impacts many Australian families. We need to better understand drug use behaviour, identify significant intervention points, better coordinate between regulators, health, police, businesses and broader communities, and make sure that the health and safety of Australians is the ultimate priority.

As festival promoters, the last thing we want is someone to be hurt under our care. We need to be able to legally implement preventative strategies, not just reactive ones, and include any harm minimization [sic] tools that are available. We believe, and have evidence to support, that a combination of robust harm minimization strategies will help Australians make safer choices and reduce the harmful impacts of drug use on festival-goers and the broader community. This necessarily involves a collaborative, multi-layered approach of drug education, peer-to-peer support, pill-testing, health services and policing.

We ask state and territory governments across Australia to:

• Establish on-going state-based Music Festival Regulation Roundtables to ensure better relationships between regulators, medical experts, promoters, emergency service providers and law enforcement
• Utilise the significant experience and expertise of the Australian Festivals Association (AFA) – the national festivals representative body – and appoint AFA members to Regulation Roundtables across the states and territories
• Work with health, festival and drug experts to develop pill-testing trials
• Adopt an evidence-based, health-focused approach to drug regulation and commission further research into recreational drug use
• Collaborate to convene a national drug summit to allow in-depth, meaningful, expert-led discussion around drug use

We do not believe that pill-testing is the only answer. But it is a crucial part of a broader harm reduction strategy that prioritises people’s health and safety, over criminality or laws. Encouraging drug abstinence instead of education is out-of-touch, proven to be ineffective and unnecessarily risking lives. Young people deserve better. Older people deserve better. Families deserve better.

We implore Premier Berejiklian, Premier Andrews, Premier Marshall, Premier McGowan, Premier Palaszczuk, Premier Hodgman, Chief Minister Gunner and Chief Minister Barr to be open to better ideas and to work with experts on making festivals safer for everyone.

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