HOW HAVE AUDIENCES CHANGED AT MUSIC FESTIVALS?
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* People aged 18 to 29 account for the majority of those buying music festival tickets. Before the COVID-19 pandemic it was fans aged 18 to 24
* Those aged 25 and 29 have taken over as the most prolific music festival goers in Australia, accounting for 35 per cent of all ticket buyers
* Creative Australia researchers can't explain the change yet but they are planning on looking into the reasons with Music Australia in 2024
* The cost of tickets stops 55 per cent of people from attending music festivals, while broader cost of living pressures are also a factor
* There's a persistent trend for buying tickets later, something that surfaced during the pandemic, likely because of the uncertainty around lockdowns
* In 2018/19, 72 per cent of customers bought tickets at least two months before a festival but in 2022/23, that had dropped to about 65 per cent.
WHAT OTHER FACTORS ARE AFFECTING THE FESTIVAL SCENE?
* Creative Australia executive Georgie McClean said: "It's an intense time for the music festival industry at the moment with rolling cancellations ... and there are a lot of unresolved questions"
* She said cancellations have generated "a growing sense of crisis" around the festival sector, which has been an important part of Australia's live music landscape
* The average cost to run a music festival in Australia is $3.9 million
* While more than half of festivals are turning a profit, 35 per cent are losing money
* Festival organisers say the strengths of music festivals are supporting tourism, creating a sense of community, creating jobs, supporting the music industry and giving artists exposure
* Almost half flag rising operational costs as having a severe impact on their festivals, and 39 per cent say a lack of funding and grants is also having a major effect
* Among festival organisers, 31 per cent cite rising insurance costs as an issue, 27 per cent flag navigating bureaucracy as a challenge and 22 per cent say extreme weather impacts their events
WHAT'S THE CONTEXT OF THE SOUNDCHECK REPORT?
* The federal government tasked Creative Australia - formerly the Australia Council - with analysing the country's music sector
* In 2022/23, 535 music festivals were held in Australia
* One in 10 music festivals have been in operation for at least 30 years, while 75 per cent were first held in or after 2010
* Electronic music festivals make up almost one-quarter of events, and most were first held in or after 2010
* Four in five acts that play at Australian music festivals are local. The remainder are international
* The Soundcheck report follows multiple recent festival cancellations
* In March, Splendour in the Grass announced it was "taking the year off", citing unexpected events
* Falls Festival - also organised by Secret Sounds alongside Splendour and hosted in Byron - was cancelled in 2023
* Groovin the Moo organisers were forced to ditch the event's 2024 tour in February because of insufficient ticket sales
* Music Australia director Millie Millgate said: "This has to be a whole-of-government conversation. We're just moving through it right now"
Source: Soundcheck: Insights into Australia's music festival sector, Creative Australia
Australian Associated Press
