Australian festival scene ‘in crisis’ as cancellations rise

At least six Australian festivals have been called off since the beginning of this year, in what some executives are calling a crisis.

Groovin The Moo, an annual festival that has booked acts including Billie Eilish, alt-J and Wolf Alice during its 19-year history, became the sector’s latest casualty earlier today.

“Ticket sales have not been sufficient to deliver a regional festival of this kind,” reads a statement from Groovin The Moo organisers.

“All tickets will be refunded automatically. Thank you to everybody who has supported the festival. We hope to be able to bring Groovin The Moo back to regional communities in the future.”

The festival had tapped Mura Masa, The Kooks, Melanie C, Mallrat and more for this year’s festival. It was set to begin in late April and run through until mid-May, hitting venues in Canberra, Bendigo, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast and Bunbury.

“Costs are up 40% across the board, and we’re just not able to raise ticket prices to the same level”

The news comes days after Groovin The Moo programmer Rich Moffat announced that he is stepping away from the music industry after 30 years.

Other festivals that have cancelled 2024 editions include Coastal Jam, Summerground, Vintage Vibes, Tent Pole: A Musical Jamboree and ValleyWays – all of which cited financial difficulties amid the cost-of-living crisis.

“Costs are up 40% across the board, and we’re just not able to raise ticket prices to the same level,” explains The Australian Festival Association’s (AFA) managing director Mitch Wilson. “So the economics of festivals are becoming more difficult in this environment. The margins were already so tight, and the substantial increase in costs has made them even tighter.

Gold Coast-based Apex Entertainment’s Andrew McManus asserted, “If we’re looking at five festivals closing within weeks of each other, and one just days out before gates opened, then obviously the festival scene is in a crisis.”

“At the end of the day, our government is not addressing the cost of living crisis. Until it does, the future is a little murky for the live sector except for recession-proof superstars.”

“The margins were already so tight, and the substantial increase in costs has made them even tighter”

Even promoters that are enjoying record-breaking attendances are concerned about how the festival cancellations will impact the market.

The Untitled Group, Australia’s biggest independent promoter, enjoyed its most successful New Year’s festival run with 150,000 tickets sold for Beyond The Valley, Wildlands and Sun Cycle.

However, Untitled co-founder and managing partner Michael Christidis admits to concerns over the “vulnerability” of smaller festivals.

“Seeing many of them cancel and postpone could impact market confidence in consumers tying up funds with new or smaller events,” he says.

“Particularly with the cost of living going up so much, it’s not as easy for patrons to continually make plans and invest in as many shows that are often several months out. This concern will simply see us introduce less new events and concepts, and focus on developing what is already working in market.”

“If we’re looking at five festivals closing within weeks of each other, obviously the festival scene is in a crisis”

This year’s cancellations follow a patchy 2023 season in which Bluesfest lost 30,000 punters, Splendour In The Grass failed to sell out, and Falls (multi-state), Dark Mofo (Tasmania) and Goomfest (Victoria) took a year off.

Several festivals last year called it quits for good, including Newtown Festival in Sydney after 40 years and Play On The Plains in Deniliquin. Victoria saw the end of Wangaratta Jazz & Blues, Music In The Vines and Goldfields Gothic.

In addition, the parent companies of Now & Again, Grass Is Greener and Lunar Electric, went into voluntary administration or put in liquidation.

Hoping to avoid the same level of catastrophe as last year, the AFA is urging the Commonwealth government to extend its Live Music Major Events Fund for another four years, for the Victorian government to open applications for its similar fund, and for NSW to provide more specifics about its $103 million commitment.

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