Caloundra Music Festival 2024 cancelled as organisers say high costs leave industry in ‘precarious’ position

Australia’s music festival crisis has deepened, with organisers of the latest event to pull the pin making clear that inflationary pressures “puts festivals like this in a precarious position”.

Caloundra Music Festival last year attracted 16,000 people to Kings Beach on the Sunshine Coast over three days, pumping an estimated $4 million into the local economy.

Organisers say the Sunshine Coast Council-funded festival has been “paused” for 2024 and may return next year.

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But increases in costs for equipment, security, labour, transport and other operating requirements — as well as tightening household budgets slowing ticket sales — made this year’s event untenable.

“The increasing expenditure required to deliver a safe and entertaining event while trying to keep tickets prices reasonable puts festivals like this in a precarious position,” Councillor Terry Landsberg said.

“We needed to make a decision early in the planning process to avoid the potential of costly cancellation fees.

“This is a real loss for our local event industry, and local businesses that have supported or benefited from this event for so many years.

“Hopefully, conditions will improve, and it can get back on its feet.”

The event joins Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, This That, Coastal Jam, MONA FOMA and Tent Pole: A Musical Jamboree as the music and arts festivals on the scrap heap this year.

Caloundra Music Festival director Richie Eyles issued a plea to music lovers on behalf of the festival industry.

“I encourage people to support other festivals, venues and artists by purchasing tickets often and early,” Eyles said.

“The Sunshine Coast has such a vibrant music community and the loss of CMF, alongside other events in 2024, like Groovin the Moo, will be felt deeply.”

Powderfinger, Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins and Jimmy Barnes are among the artists to have played Caloundra Music Festival over the years.

More than 25 music festivals across Australia have been cancelled since 2022, the Australian Festival Association’s Adelle Robinson told a Senate hearing in Canberra on Tuesday.

She called on the Commonwealth to introduce measures including a government-supported insurance scheme.

A report released last week revealed more than one-third of Australian music festivals are losing money as operational costs skyrocket, red tape becomes harder to wade through and people in their late teens and early 20s ditch events.

Creative Australia’s first Soundcheck report revealed it cost an average $3.9 million to run a music festival.

“We are absolutely in the thick of a real crisis — we’re not acutely aware of what’s going on,” Music Australia director Millie Millgate said.

“This is a very live and a very real conversation.”

Among 51 Australian music festivals surveyed, more than half turned a profit — but 35 per cent lost money, with a median deficit of $470,000.

– With AAP