$1m funding for Adelaide Fringe: lower ticket prices, higher artist margins

The Adelaide Fringe has been given a surprise $1 million funding boost from the South Australian Government – and in what the festival claims is an Australian first, the extra cash will be passed onto audiences and artists.

From 2018, the Fringe will scrap the inside charge to artists for tickets costing $35 and below. Currently, this charge is between 8% and 12% a ticket. An 8% charge works out to $3 less per ticket for each artist, many of whom operate on lean margins.

The aim is to encourage artists to maximise their savings by keeping tickets at $35 or below.

This will encourage artists to keep their tickets under the price point – a boon for attendees – and draw more top-shelf artists to play the Fringe.

“This will make the Adelaide Fringe more affordable for artists and will keep ticket prices low so that it’s more affordable for audiences as well,” said Fringe CEO and Artistic Director Heather Croall.

“We set our sights on becoming the most affordable Fringe for artists, audiences and venues and with support from the State Government we’ll be able to achieve that goal.”

Croall added that the Fringe aims to grow ticket sales from 604,000 in 2016 to 1 million by 2022, increasing the number of visitors from outside South Australia, and growing the event’s economic impact.

The Adelaide Fringe is the second largest festival of its kind in the world, after the Edinburgh Fringe in Scotland. The two events have close ties to each other, and have exchange initiatives for their artists and arts workers.

Adelaide Fringe directly employs 200 people.

A portion of the $1 million will also be used to build a targeted interstate marketing campaign in collaboration with the South Australian Tourism Commission.

“South Australians are justifiably proud of our reputation as Australia’s best festival city.

“Listening to artists and making the Fringe more viable for them and more attractive to audiences is what this initiative is all about,” said Minister for the Arts Jack Snelling, when making the funding announcement at the start of the 2017 Fringe last week.

“The Fringe and our other renowned festivals make us a national hub for culture and the arts and generate huge amounts of revenue for our economy, help drive increased employment across a range of businesses such as those presenting Fringe acts and running Fringe hubs, and their suppliers and through bricks and mortar establishments.

“The Government is very pleased to support this much-loved annual event and the artists who make its success possible.”

Performer and Fringe Ambassador Hugh Sheridan also praised the $1 million injection.

“I feel like South Australia is back on the map worldwide as the Festival State, a title we earned because our government and public support the arts.

“Removing the inside charges is huge news for artists, who year-round chase their own creative dreams to entertain and intrigue people but as a result live life largely out on a financial limb.

“An extra few dollars per ticket will mean a lot for artists to both grow their artistic contribution to the festival and at the same time make tickets cheaper for their audiences.

“Both ways, this is a win in keeping with the true spirit of the Fringe.”

Last year’s Adelaide Fringe injected $21.7 million into the South Australian’s economy. Gross economic expenditure is estimated at $77 million. Gross economic expenditure is estimated at $77 million, according to the Economic Evaluation of the 2016 Adelaide Fringe study prepared by Barry Burgan on behalf of Economic Research Consultants.

The 2017 Adelaide Fringe runs until March 19.