Crisis time: WA event suppliers owed almost $3m by festival promoters

Western Australia’s live music scene is in crisis, due to millions of dollars in debts owed by promoters of summer festivals.

The President of the Events Industry Association of WA, Cassandra Brennan, claims individuals are suffering badly due to the financial fallout.

“I’ve been contacted by numerous creditors who are owed, collectively, almost $3 million from events that have been held in WA since September,” Brennan told The West Australian. “I’ve spoken to one guy who has had to sell his house, another guy who has had to borrow money from his family and several who are facing going bankrupt because they simply cannot continue.”

One such festival is Southbound, whose organisers have reportedly asked creditors to waive outstanding debts after disastrous ticket sales in December.

 “A settlement has been reached with most suppliers and the company is hopeful of reaching agreement with the remainder in the near future.” Southbound director David Chitty told the paper.

The festival’s struggles were clear in January, with Chitty telling Perth Now at the time, “The event ticket sales were down significantly this year and obviously we’re not in a position to pay all the accounts at this point in time.”

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.