As more and more of our favorite festivals succumb to the coronavirus (COVID-19), many of us are asking ourselves what to do next. On the other hand, festival promoters are faced with the challenge of refunding thousands of fans. In addition, they must face huge financial losses, especially if the event spaces had already begun construction. Dave Clarke, a techno DJ, and producer based in Amsterdam, put forth a strong message to artists during this stressful time.
In the midst of cancellations, Clarke advised artists that were scheduled for now-canceled shows, to return their fees back to the promoters. It can be assumed that promoters use ticket earnings for advertising, stage production, and much more. Most of these are not refundable to the promoters, resulting in huge debts. On top of that, artists on the lineups each receive large payments to play at these events. With money tight, it makes it much more difficult to refund thousands of customers during times like these.
“It enables them to refund the fans and helps everyone survive to get through this very long hardship”.
Clarke reminded artists that fans deserve refunds to survive during these challenging times. Events like Tomorrowland Winter were canceled just about a week before it’s official start date. People from around the world likely made travel plans months in advance and are now hoping to get refunds for plane tickets and hotels. Losing hundreds of dollars on festival tickets would likely affect many people’s chances of future travels.
All in all, we appreciate Dave Clarke’s message and hope artists will follow to help aide their fans and festival organizers. We can only hope that the virus is under control by the summer!
You can read Daves full Facebook post below:
