The number of 18-24 year olds attending music festivals has dropped in the past five years, with a new report warning rising costs and over-policing are key factors.
Young people have turned their backs on music festivals in alarming numbers over the past five years putting the future of the sector at risk, a landmark survey by the peak federal arts body Creative Australia has found., the first large-scale survey of the music festival sector, people aged 18-24 made up 41 per cent of festival audiences in the 2018-19 financial year, by far the largest cohort of attendees. But in 2022-23, they constituted just 27 per cent.
Significantly, it does not cover the period since July 1, 2023, a nine-month stretch that has seen a number of large events – including Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo – cancelled, meaning the true state of affairs right now could be even worse than the report suggests.“Until now, the size, scale and impact of the industry has not been well documented or understood,” said Creative Australia’s head of strategic development, Georgie McClean.
The report does not factor in all the smaller festivals and bush doofs that take place across Australia, many of which have managed to withstand the body blow affecting the industry due to their niche audience and lower costs. “One potential explanation for this drop is the impact of rising attendance costs for music events combined with the increasing cost of living in Australia,” the authors said. “Contemporary music festivals had the highest average ticket price of all arts events in 2021, and many come with additional costs for patrons such as travel and accommodation,” they added.
It is, however, regional events that are most at risk from environmental factors and cost-of-living pressures . “When you’re negotiating with your talent ... because it’s so remote … they feel there’s a lot of risk in coming to Australia,” the promoter said.
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