Asia The Next Battlefield For Australia’s EDM Festivals

Asia is going to be the next battle ground for Australian dance music festivals, according to top promoters, as the race to push into the burgeoning scene heats up.

Speaking on a panel at the Electronic Music Conference today Stereosonic's Richie McNeill admitted that as part of his company's recent buy-out by American giant SFX, the Australian office has an increasing interest in Asia.

Although he didn't reveal specifics, McNeill said, “We're going to do a lot more shows over there… with Asia it's like America five years ago when it exploded.”

Motioning to the panel's Brett Robinson and Jason Ayoubi, both Directors of the Future Music Group, he added, “This is going to be the next battleground between these guys and us.”

Future Music's Asian event will take place in Malaysia once again in 2014.

“We're already there,” Robinson replied, Ayoubi later adding, “You guys should hurry up and get over there.”

On the lively panel, that often featured friendly arguments between panellists, panel-hardened CEO of Big Day Out Adam Zammit w

as quick to stop others from blaming the industry for rising ticket prices.

“This industry is not guilty of profiteering through ticket prices,” he said, adding that a number of factors – including competition between promoters – were to blame for annual price increases. “Our industry can be fucking retarded in the way we communicate,” he said.

Future's Ayoubi said that there was an “Ongoing pressure between the competing forces in the market place which have driven the costs up, particularly in artist procurement.”

Stereosonic's Dror Erez admitted he would be interested in taking a festival to Israel, "to see what happens".

Zammit dubbed it "Groovin The Jew".