Latest news with #LostParadise
Time Out
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Five beloved music festivals in NSW are scoring a huge $2.25 million in funding
Splendour In The Grass? Cancelled. Falls Festival? Did not happen. Groovin the Moo? RIP. Music lovers across NSW mourned the day the music died for these fab festivals – but if you've packed away your gumboots and glitter, there's good news. The NSW Government has just stepped in to help five music festivals avoid the fate suffered by many others forced to fold in recent years – and the revival of Spilt Milk is proof that things are on the up. The first round of the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund, established in September 2024, has allocated a combined $2.25 million of emergency funding to five music fests. The lucky winners are Bluesfest in Byron Bay, Lost Paradise on the Central Coast, Yours and Owls in Wollongong, plus Listen Out and Field Day (both held in Sydney). Missed out on scoring funding for your favourite fest? Applications for the next round of funding open from May 1. Even before the pandemic, music festivals have felt the impact of rising costs, inflation, insurance nightmares, and changes in ticket buying, so this financial support has hit the right note in helping festivals manage costs while keeping the vibe alive. After all, music festivals aren't just fun – they're big business, too. NSW's festival scene supports over 14,000 jobs and pumps big bucks into local economies. Bluesfest, which was supposed to be in its final year this Easter long weekend, is proof of how ticket sales and financial help make such a big difference. Music lovers bought tickets thinking it would be their last chance to attend Bluesfest; this resulted in over 109,000 attendees – the third largest crowd in the event's 35-year history. For the promoters, it was proof enough that people want music festivals – and contrary to their 'last ever Bluesfest' marketing strategy for 2025, they're already planning for 2026. The Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy, John Graham who attended Bluesfest, explained: 'The post-Covid era has been a financial nightmare for music festivals in NSW… the feedback is that this fund has helped some of these festivals survive. People of all ages love the outdoor music festival experience and the artists they discover. The festival circuit is a vital part of the live music industry which employs almost 15,000 people. It's too important to lose, that's why we're backing festivals with emergency funding and reforms that bring down their costs.'
Sydney Morning Herald
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Hear that? It's the sound of live music dying for local Australian artists
While it's tempting to assume Australians have fallen out of love with live music, that theory falls apart when you look at the masses packing stadiums for Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, etc. The passion hasn't disappeared but instead has shifted. With rising living costs and post-COVID lifestyles, most people prefer to spend on one big, familiar show rather than take a chance on something new at their local venue. Even as a regular supporter of local live music, I'm still struck by how little attention it gets – despite the extraordinary talent emerging across the country. I don't blame audiences for gravitating towards what they know, but it's worth asking what impact these choices have. This week we heard Bluesfest, Lost Paradise, Yours and Owls, Listen Out and Field Day will be receiving up to $500,000 each in emergency funding from the NSW government, with Labor's expanded Revive Live pledge granting other festivals across the country $100,000 or less each, but they need more than that in expensive ticket sales if they're going to make back the $3.9 million it costs, on average, to host one. Costs global conglomerates like Live Nation – with festivals including Spilt Milk and iconic music venues across the country including Melbourne's Palais Theatre in its portfolio – and TEG, which owns festivals including Laneway and venues including Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, can theoretically afford to pay up front. After all, they're parachuting in international headliners like Post Malone, Stormzy and Charli XCX for (usually exclusive) appearances, guaranteeing fans will pay exorbitant ticket prices. So maybe the real question is, if the appetite for live music is still there, how do we redirect even a fraction of that attention back to our own talent? One way this used to happen was through international acts having to select local openers, but now that's optional and rarely the case. More often than not, when I've missed out on a touring opportunity, the support slot has been filled by an artist flown in from overseas or one backed by a major label team. Another suggestion often thrown at smaller artists is to focus on social media, as it's now seen as the new pathway to success. And while platforms like TikTok have helped artists connect with listeners beyond their local scenes, I don't think they've replaced the need for real-world opportunities – but instead only reinforced existing inequalities. Big artists have the marketing budgets to dominate the digital conversation. TikTok is strategically flooded by global players with concert clips that only help create FOMO, driving up demand and ticket sales – helping the biggest names grow even bigger. Meanwhile, smaller artists struggle to cut through the social media noise, and the pressure to go viral often shifts the focus away from the music itself and onto creating content just to stay visible. And, if they do go viral and then get played on the radio, outdated royalty caps mean they don't get much money from featuring on the airwaves. I don't believe there is a singular villain here, but instead a conversation to be had about the growing gap between the support we give international names versus how to better support our own. If we don't back the artists right in front of us, we risk losing the very live scene those stadium shows were built on. When I think back to that touring offer I was given, that left me torn between financial survival and artistic opportunity, I realise it was never just about myself as an artist but instead reflected a bigger story. One where emerging Australian artists are expected to work, sometimes in ways that may not align with their values, for exposure, fund their own growth, and hope for a break that's increasingly further out of reach. However, unless we create more space and opportunity for local talent to grow, we might one day find ourselves with nothing local left to champion.
The Age
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Hear that? It's the sound of live music dying for local Australian artists
While it's tempting to assume Australians have fallen out of love with live music, that theory falls apart when you look at the masses packing stadiums for Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, etc. The passion hasn't disappeared but instead has shifted. With rising living costs and post-COVID lifestyles, most people prefer to spend on one big, familiar show rather than take a chance on something new at their local venue. Even as a regular supporter of local live music, I'm still struck by how little attention it gets – despite the extraordinary talent emerging across the country. I don't blame audiences for gravitating towards what they know, but it's worth asking what impact these choices have. This week we heard Bluesfest, Lost Paradise, Yours and Owls, Listen Out and Field Day will be receiving up to $500,000 each in emergency funding from the NSW government, with Labor's expanded Revive Live pledge granting other festivals across the country $100,000 or less each, but they need more than that in expensive ticket sales if they're going to make back the $3.9 million it costs, on average, to host one. Costs global conglomerates like Live Nation – with festivals including Spilt Milk and iconic music venues across the country including Melbourne's Palais Theatre in its portfolio – and TEG, which owns festivals including Laneway and venues including Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, can theoretically afford to pay up front. After all, they're parachuting in international headliners like Post Malone, Stormzy and Charli XCX for (usually exclusive) appearances, guaranteeing fans will pay exorbitant ticket prices. So maybe the real question is, if the appetite for live music is still there, how do we redirect even a fraction of that attention back to our own talent? One way this used to happen was through international acts having to select local openers, but now that's optional and rarely the case. More often than not, when I've missed out on a touring opportunity, the support slot has been filled by an artist flown in from overseas or one backed by a major label team. Another suggestion often thrown at smaller artists is to focus on social media, as it's now seen as the new pathway to success. And while platforms like TikTok have helped artists connect with listeners beyond their local scenes, I don't think they've replaced the need for real-world opportunities – but instead only reinforced existing inequalities. Big artists have the marketing budgets to dominate the digital conversation. TikTok is strategically flooded by global players with concert clips that only help create FOMO, driving up demand and ticket sales – helping the biggest names grow even bigger. Meanwhile, smaller artists struggle to cut through the social media noise, and the pressure to go viral often shifts the focus away from the music itself and onto creating content just to stay visible. And, if they do go viral and then get played on the radio, outdated royalty caps mean they don't get much money from featuring on the airwaves. I don't believe there is a singular villain here, but instead a conversation to be had about the growing gap between the support we give international names versus how to better support our own. If we don't back the artists right in front of us, we risk losing the very live scene those stadium shows were built on. When I think back to that touring offer I was given, that left me torn between financial survival and artistic opportunity, I realise it was never just about myself as an artist but instead reflected a bigger story. One where emerging Australian artists are expected to work, sometimes in ways that may not align with their values, for exposure, fund their own growth, and hope for a break that's increasingly further out of reach. However, unless we create more space and opportunity for local talent to grow, we might one day find ourselves with nothing local left to champion.
Perth Now
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
The beat goes on as Bluesfest back in business
Thousands of adoring music fans will see their favourite bands take centre stage again as the iconic Byron Bay Bluesfest confirms it will return for an encore despite fears it was folding for good. More than 40 music festivals across Australia have been cancelled since 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the live music sector. Bluesfest appeared set to join the list when it announced its artist line-up in August, with bombastic festival director Peter Noble declaring the 2025 event would be the last. The "last ever" announcement ignited demand, with 97 per cent of tickets snapped up - and Saturday entry sold out - before gates opened on Thursday afternoon. "We've had the highest attendance of any Australian festival since pre-COVID at 109,000 attendances - the third-biggest event we've done in the history of the festival ... festivals are back," Mr Noble said in a statement on Tuesday. "Bluesfest fans have kept this dream alive. It's a clarion call for me. People want this event. People want it to continue." The NSW government has also stepped in to disburse $2.25 million in emergency funding as part of its Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund, with five festivals including Bluesfest to receive up to $500,000 each. "The festival circuit is a vital part of the live music industry which employs almost 15,000 people," Arts Minister John Graham said on Sunday. "It's too important to lose, that's why we're backing festivals with emergency funding and reforms that bring down their costs." The festival funding will also benefit Lost Paradise on the Central Coast, Your and Owls in Wollongong and Listen Out and Field Day in Sydney. Australian Festival Association managing director Olly Arkins said the financial shot in the arm could not have come at a better time. "At a time when costs are up and ticket sales are down, there was a huge risk we wouldn't see some festivals continue in NSW," they told AAP. "This funding package is really about trying to keep as many of our favourite and loved festivals going but ... hopefully that provides an environment for new and upcoming festivals where the regulatory burden will be lower." A report from the Bluesfest organisers estimated the 2024 festival alone contributed more than $230 million to the NSW economy. Credited with breaking artists including Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Michael Franti's Spearhead in Australia, Bluesfest relocated from the centre of Byron Bay to a permanent home at Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm in 2010. This year's line-up featured headliners including Crowded House, Tones and I, Gary Clark Jr, Tom Morello, Hilltop Hoods, Missy Higgins and Rag'n'Bone Man.
