Australian music insiders take aim at ‘tick-a-box’ government funding for festivals

Live music industry operators have called for Australian governments to pause funding for the festival sector in the aftermath of several cancellations.

Brian “Smash” Chladil, co-founder of Oztix, Australia’s largest independent live music ticketing company, said no multinational should be being propped up by Australian taxpayers.

“I don’t know how this happened, but there is no reason at all that any government should be financially supporting any festival, venue or event that is being promoted by these large foreign owned companies,” he said.

Paul Sloan is a producer and agent for artists including Nick Cave, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Bon Iver and Amyl & the Sniffers.

Another agent, who declined to be named because “we all want to keep doing business … no one is going to challenge a Goliath like Live Nation”, said a band they represented was left with a huge hole in their schedule when this year’s Splendour was cancelled.

Sloan is one of a number of music industry professionals who have been forwarding allegations of anti-competitive behaviour by Live Nation to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).