EXCLUSIVE: Why Australians Don’t Go To Festivals

Australians love festivals, but when they don't go to festivals its because they don't like the line-ups and they cost too much.

They're the conclusions we can take from the Moshtix State Of The Industry 2013 report, which The Music has exclusively got its hands on this week. Covering festival habits to local gigs (“But there are no venues near me!”), the report's latest edition surveyed 5,000 people from around the country.

The festival stats are incredibly interesting given the upheaval in the market at the moment (Harvest cancelled, AJ Maddah buying in to Big Day Out) and confirm that at the end of the day it's the music that matters.

“When we started the survey we hadn't been exposed to some of the stuff that has come out recently,” says Moshtix CEO Harley Evans. “We didn't have the context then that we have now.”

Recent festival market incentives, including an event's decoration or theme, food and drink variety and after parties, ranked low in the poll, with few saying they had any affect on the festival experience. Out of the respondents, a whopping 93.7 percent have been to a festival in the past two years.

“It's difficult to come up with an all encompassing festival statement,” says Evans. “Some festivals are known for their line-ups and headliners and others are hoping to have a mix of artists and may not need a headliner… I think nirvana is for a promoter to announce their festival without a line-up and still get a response.”

Compare the reasons not to go to a festival over the past five years to the same question over the past two years and both costs and sub-par line-ups are growing concerns. Evans says, “Artists aren't getting cheaper, but [promoters have] got to keep ticket prices in check. We've seen that once prices get to a certain point people start to fall off.”

Alternatively, the talent and costs aren't the biggest hurdles to local shows in Australia – it's the lack of venues. With the sustainability of live music venues and the perceived illegality of small 'warehouse' venues ever in the news, 68.7 percent of Australia believe there's no local venues in their area.

“The reality is not every town can have a high quality commercially viable venue, so venues are getting people to travel,” says Evans.

Out of the respondents only 1.9 percent said they go to local gigs a few times a week, while 42.2 percent – the highest percent – said they went a “few” times a year. 53.1 percent said they went to those local gigs with two-to-three people, with the majority of people buying their tickets well in advance. 35.8 percent said their bought local show tickets as soon as it goes on sale, just ahead of the 33.2 percent who said they purchase weeks before. Only 13 percent wait until the door. An overwhelming 75.2 percent of local gig goes checked with friends to see who else wants to come before buying tickets.

Facebook is still the dominant social media platform for local shows, with 96.2 percent saying they discovered gigs through the service. Only 21 percent have found gigs on Twitter and 16.4 percent on Instagram. Any other social platform was under 3 percent.

And just like festivals, it's the artists who matter. The ultimate decision to go to a local show is the artist, with 98.1 identifying them as a key influencer. At the other end of the spectrum only 39 percent said they'd go and see a gig just for something to do.

From an industry point of view Evans said that the feedback from their clients – primarily venues and promoters – was that mobile ticketing needs to be a key area of development. By using information and habits of punters to provide targeted EDM and mobile services he said, “Mobile feels like the right place for that last minute conversation and purchase.”

All figures published with permission from the Moshtix State Of The Industry Research Report 2013, carried out by CoreData