Where your money goes when concerts get postponed

COVID has seen dozens of tours postponed — now music promoters explain where your money goes when tickets sit in limbo.

Where does your money go when live concerts get postponed? Pic: Supplied

CONCERT and event consumers worried their postponed tickets are being held for profit by promoters should not feel ripped off, tour operators said.

Millions is being held in trust by the industry after the pandemic forced the postponement of a vast number of events, including some not scheduled to happen until later this year or next.

But money from tickets purchased through major companies Ticketek or Ticketmaster sit in a trust for the consumer, a News Corp investigation can confirm.

Dion Brant, Frontier Touring’s Chief Operation Officer, said their company cannot access funds from tickets for postponed shows.

They have rescheduled gigs by Tame Impala, Faith No More, Simple Minds, The Killers and David Gray due to the pandemic.

“We can’t touch it, we don’t try to,” Brant said.

Tame Impala's Kevin Parker had Australian dates postponed. Pic: Iain Gillespie The West Australian

“We’re not sitting on the money at all, it sits with the ticketing agency or the venues. It’s held in a trust for the consumer if they want a refund.”

Some smaller ticketing agencies have options where promoters can access ticket funds before their event.

Duane McDonald, promoter of Red Hot Summer Tour, said this could be a major risk in a worst-case scenario.

“It’s a bad path to go down,” McDonald said.

“I don’t get paid until the week after an event has happened. The reason the big ticketing companies hold the money is to protect themselves. If the event gets washed out and everyone needs a refund, what if all the money had been spent?”

Brant said the number of consumers requesting refunds has been lower than expected.

“It’s been no more than 15 or 20 per cent tops which is reasonable. And in these times, people are struggling themselves. We get it, we know some people will need a refund and that’s why that provision is there.”

McDonald postponed three Red Hot Summer Tour dates headlined by Hunters and Collectors to March 2022.

“We offered refunds, a 28-day window, that money stays in trust. We had about 10 per cent of people getting refunds. The campaigning urging people to hold onto your tickets to support the music industry really helped people understand.”

The live music industry, which includes crew, venues and catering, as well as artists and promoters, has been ravaged by COVID.

Vika and Linda Bull are due to play the Bluesfest line-up at Easter. Picture : Ian Currie

Many national tours remain on standby as border issues and venue capacities continue to impact on tours either being announced or taking place.

Some punters on social media have questioned the financial interest postponed tickets are accruing, but in the current environment, the interest is minimal, Brant said.

“Some deals will mean ticketing companies or venues will be paid a share of whatever interest is earned but the rates are always very low. It’s usually well below what you could walk into a bank and get, and at the moment the issue of interest is neither here nor there.”

“It’s so negligible,” McDonald added. “Like .0001 of a per cent.”

Despite the uncertainty in the industry, promoters continue to opt for postponing shows over cancellations, and hope people will hold onto tickets.

Bluesfest promoter Peter Noble stated each returned ticket could cost a promoter up to $8 in fees from ticketing agencies.

The Byron Bay event had its COVID-safe plan approved by the NSW Government this week, with an all-Australian line-up including Jimmy Barnes, Missy Higgins, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Teskey Brothers, Vika and Linda, Dami Im and Kasey Chambers playing between April 1 and 5.

“There is a service fee on refunds,” McDonald said. “There is a cost involved in processing refunds for the ticketing companies.”

Promoters spend the majority of money on staging a tour initially paying deposits for artists, venues and suppliers and funding marketing campaigns. The rest is spent when the tour actually occurs paying for venue staff, lighting and sound and other costs.

“We’ve already expended a fair portion of the money that it takes to put on a show by putting it on sale and selling tickets,” Brant explained.

Singer songwriter Dami Im will play Bluesfest for the first time. Pic: Patrick Woods

“If we have to cancel rather than postpone we don’t get any of that back. That creates a big loss, it puts pressure on us as a promoter, it puts pressure on that artist to tour again in a year’s time or whatever … there’s an obligation there. It’s more beneficial to know those sales are still there, to know we’ve still got the fans hanging onto the tickets for the later dates. When these shows do finally come around, maybe for some people they spent the money so long ago it’ll feel like a free night out?”

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