Lack of Summer music festivals costing Gold Coast $60 million

THE Gold Coast was once known for its line-up of summer music festivals, but this season there’s not one planned, and it’s costing the community millions of dollars.

All the colour and excitement of the Gold Coast leg of the Big Day Out music festival, held for the first time at Metricon Stadium, Carrara. The crowd goes crazy for Arcade Fire as the sun sets over Metricon Stadium. Picture: Brendan Radke.

THE Gold Coast needs to reinvent itself if it is to reclaim the $60 million music and events pie following the demise of two daylong festivals.

Leading promoter Billy Cross said artists had become too expensive to make most daylong festivals viable for promoters and affordable for punters.

“The tide is changing,” the former Summafieldayze promoter said. “The daylong festivals have seen their day.

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Coast festivals have attracted big names like Snoop Dogg.

“They’ve become quite expensive because artists now get so much money around the world, to bring them in for a day festival is hard for a promoter. They have to put ticket prices up.”

Music fans have instead embraced multi-day camping events such as Splendour in the Grass and The Falls ­Festival, both held in Byron Bay, and made them sold-out successes.

“For value for money, the camping festival is killing it,” Mr Cross said.

This time last year, music fans were making a beeline for the Coast to see some of the world’s biggest dance acts perform and help the Big Day Out christen its new home at Metricon Stadium.

Traders on the Glitter Strip have become accustomed to the sweet sound of cash registers ringing for festival season each January as the now-defunct Summafieldayze dance music festival, at The Spit, injected an estimated $25 million into the local economy before the Gold Coast leg of national touring festival the Big Day Out delivered another $40 million boost.

This summer, the 80,000- plus punters who traditionally poured through the festivals’ gates have been forced to hit the highway for the Falls Festival in Byron or the Woodford Folk Festival on the Sunshine Coast.

Jessica Boon (20), Steph Kates (20) and Riannon Harper (21) from Woolongong are enjoying the Falls Festival at Byron this week. Picture by Scott Fletcher

Mr Cross said the Coast had missed the boat when it came to camping festivals and should now work to secure more big single-act shows at Metricon Stadium.

“Instead of putting on multiple acts for $180 a ticket, we should be putting on one big act with a couple of supports like the Foo Fighters show at Metricon in 2011,” he said.

“Single-show stuff is killing it — acts like The Black Keys and London Grammar.

“People can see one band they like instead of multiple acts for $180.”

Mr Cross, who replaced Summafieldayze with the two-day Beachlife concert on the sand in Surfers last summer, is sitting out festival season this year after staging a two-day concert on the beach during NSW Schoolies Week in November.

The BDO’s new owners, Live Nation, are also resting their big gig until 2016.

Mr Cross said the popularity of electronic music in the US had pushed up prices for dance music acts.

“We need to be smart and look at what else we can do to draw numbers here,” he said.

“We need to entice promoters to come to the Coast and use Metricon.

“It’s the best stadium in the country but we need to do more to entice them,” Mr Cross said.