Festivals Don't Build Careers, Say Agents

Festivals shouldn't be the focus for Australian artists – or their agents – said a panel of agents at today's Face The Music conference.

Discussing the allure of festivals to emerging artists, Scotty McKenzie from Premier Artists said, “I don't think they should ever be a focus. If you've got a band that just wants to play festivals, then it's very, very hard to establish a solid fanbase around the country… You're much better off to grow your own fanbase and have your own story, because then you'll find that festival promoters come to you.”

He added, “If you say 'I just want to play festivals', I don't think there's as much long term value for you as an artist.”

Stephen Wade of Select Music admitted that they, “Sat down with Boy & Bear at the start of the career and worked out that festivals weren't a priority for them, they wanted to sell tickets to people who wanted to see their band.”

That said festival were really a, “Nice little cash earner if you can get them when they happen.”

The panel also covered the value of an agent in regulating the growth of an emerging band and Wade conceded it would be very rare for an unknown band to be picked up for a national support without representation.

“It's just the undertaking,” he said. “A tour like [a Boy & Bear tour] could have 20 dates around the country… What happens when you ask a younger act at that sort of [emerging] level is the enthusiasm inside them says, 'This is going to break us', until they realise how much it's going to cost. Then they go bankrupt and cancel – which is diabolical for everyone – or go broke trying to do it."

He continued, “If you're within an agency environment there's a good chance you can be pitched within that environment. But it's unlikely that a band that is unknown would be pitched on a national tour, if I'm being honest about it.”

With Harvest currently touring the nation, Maddah touched on the disappointment of last year's Melbourne fest – when a bar bungle left the festival with large queues and without beer.

He said that while he and the team did everything to fix the situation, he described it as a “catastro-fuck” and described it as the “the most heartbreaking day of my life”.