Bluesfest, Yours and Owls Among Beneficiaries of NSW Government’s ‘Financial Lifeline’
Bluesfest, Yours and Owls, Lost Paradise, Listen Out and Field Day were the five music festivals that collected a “financial lifeline” from the New South Wales government, worth a combined $2.25 million.
Announced Sunday, April 20th, on the final day of Byron Bay Bluesfest 2025, state government revealed the first round of the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund, established by Sound NSW, with up to $500,000 available to each fest to alleviate the pressures of doing business.
Less than a day after the announcement, Bluesfest announced 109,000 attendance for its latest edition, well up from 65,000 last year and good enough for a third-best result since the inaugural show, back in 1990.
The funding was a lifesaver for Sydney’s Listen Out and Field Day, says Adelle Robinson, managing director Fuzzy Operations.
“We were seriously considering not moving forward with Field Day as the market was so precarious at the end of last year,” she comments. “A reset with our programming and the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund were the two reasons the show went ahead.”
The festival circuit is “too important to lose, that’s why we’re backing festivals with emergency funding and reforms that bring down their costs,” comments John Graham, minister for music and the night-time economy.
“With the lockouts under the previous Liberal government, the pandemic and then the cost-of-living crisis it’s been a really tough time for the music industry. That’s why we’re backing it in any way we can.”
The fund was established in September 2024 to prevent events from going the way of Splendour in the Grass, Falls Festival, Spilt Milk, and Groovin’ the Moo, due to a combination of ticket buying behaviours, inflation, insurance, freight costs and currency exchange.
The aim of the fund “is to help improve short-term viability for festival operators,” reads a statement from Sound NSW issued last year, “reduce burden and risk, and boost confidence across audiences and the live music industry at large.”
The fund offers support to existing large-scale contemporary music festivals (with a 15,000 capacity or greater) with a track record of delivering significant outcomes for contemporary music.
The package works in combination with reforms to the Music Festivals Act, announced last September and designed to reduce costs and prioritise health considerations in festival planning.
“The funding is providing critical support to iconic festivals,” comments Head of Sound NSW Emily Collins, “and helping ease the burden of a rapidly changing landscape and supporting businesses while they adapt.
The Contemporary Music Viability Fund opens its second round ahead of the next summer festival season. Applications open from May 1 for eligible festivals on an as-needs basis.