Financial issue with festival promoter

[subpixel]

How about 'pay to play'?.. The punters have to pay to get in, so you could ask to e paid before you turn on the lights.

-spxl

[devonmiles]

that used to be common practice, and serious promoters still do business this way but when the bigger festivals started to rent out tents to subpromoters, which act completely independent, the festival business has become somewhat a playground for gamblers...

[sleepytom]

50% On conformation of booking
remaining 50% due at start of event.

Used to be standard practice.

These days 50% on conformation of booking and 50% on 30 day invoice (dated same day as event) is more common.

Either way you want to get at least half the money in your hands before you do any work.

[madsmeskalin]

This festival is a fucking joke! Maybe I´m expecting too much, let me explain:

1. When we were booked, we were promised that we would only need to setup the projectors. Screens, cabling, and everything else should be done by the technical responsible and some volunteers.

2. We were supposed to set up everything on wednesday. Since I couldnt make it wednesday (I was babysitting some kids) I told the person in charge of the mainstage that they should just set up the lightning rig, soundsystem and everything, then I will be there thursday.

3. When we got there thursday, nothing was done. The tent was up, but the lightning rig wasnt assembled, all of my stuff was locked in a truck and the truck driver was going for a walk with his dog so I couldnt get in for 2 hours. After waiting 6 hours, the lighting rig was still not put up, and I had to go back home to make dinner for the kids. I agreed with the person responsible for the mainstage that they should set up the screens, make the cable runs to the rig, and setup up the screens until the day after.

4. When we get there the day after, Friday, the day of the event, nothing still hadnt been done. The lightning rig was assembled and my projectors were put on the rig, but no cabling and no screens. The festival was already opened, and the first act on the mainstage was on in less than four hours. We tried to get some volunteers to help us out, but they were useless. Two girls spent half an hour putting up a 2x3 meter screen made out of paper, then they ran off to check out the guys and eat burgers. So we had to setup up 30 x 3 meters screen by ourself, on the day of the event. Luckily we got some better volunteers an hour after the mainstage was supposed to open, bribing them with (our own) beers. We played our set fine, with some technical problems (they connected us to the wrong power source) so at times the projectors would turn off.

5. During the night it was a storm, so all the screens blew off. Nobody told me anything about it, until I arrived the next day. I arrived earlier, since I knew that something was probably wrong. I called the person responsible for the mainstage to get more paper for the screens, and he said that it should arrive in half an hour. Two hours later it arrives, but by then the festival has run out of duct-tape. We managed to scavenge some white tent sheets to cover parts of the wall. I got pretty upset, and told the person responsible for the mainstage that we already worked way more than agreed in the contract, and that he should get some volunteers to put up the rest of the screens if he wants it better. It wasnt our job to begin with, which he agrees on. He says he will get volunteers to do it by the hour. Three hours later, nothing has been done and our set is about to start. The set went okay from our side.

6. The festival told us they sold 1700 tickets. At the peak of the festival yesterday, it was maybe 500 people there tops. Most of the people heard of the festival from friends, and nobody had seen any kind of advertisement for it.

This is the last day of the 3 day festival, but I had enough. I will play, but I wont feel good about it. What do you guys think? Is this really common? Do you have similiar experiences?

[madsmeskalin]

Not directly VJ related, but one of my friends was supposed to supply food for the whole festival. They have a concept called the picnic sound system, where they make food and mix music to complement the food. They were told they would be the only supplier, apart from a kiosk outside the festival area. When he arrives, he sees no less than three food stands at the festival area, apart from the kiosk. He had spent 3000 quid on food! Luckily he could deliver parts of it back, losing only 300 quid. The organizers lost his stage tent during transport (400 quid) but after a day of searching he found it in a corner of the festival area. Talk about being royally buttfucked!

[PCProject]

Originally Posted by madsmeskalin

What do you guys think? Is this really common? Do you have similiar experiences?

Average. Had much better. Had much worse

[stickygreen]

3 days to set up a stage for a few hundred people, and it's all messed up..

not very well managed eh.?

but you live and learn, right.

[deepvisual]

sadly it takes a little more than good intentions to make a festival work.

[asterix]

3 day festivals you rarely ever see the whole attendance on the dance floor though. Maybe about 1/4 at a time.

Who's idea was it to make a screen out of paper lol

[madsmeskalin]

Actually, that was my idea to make the screens out of paper. They worked wonders on all the inside venues I played at, cheap and can be cut into different shapes. But yes, they were a disaster outdoors when the wind started to blow.

I didnt quite understand what you meant about that you dont see the whole attendees on the dance floor. When I meant a few houndred people, I meant in total.

Anyway, I packed up my stuff and left the same day. The promoter said he couldnt guarantee that I get paid for my projectors or artist pay. We busted our ass off, did way much more than what the contract states, and no income. They will probably declare themselves bankrupt, and not hand out money to anyone. They reasoned it with me not living up to my end of the bargain. They said I should have arranged an outdoor cinema, so they could get support from the Norwegian Film Association. That is something we never agreed on. They mentioned it during a small talk, and I said sure just borrow my projectors. Nothing more. And its not stated in the contract as well.

Fuck it, I´m rambling. The festival was horrible, I lost faith in mankind, and next time "pay before you play"