Marktrock Needs To Up Revenues
Marktrock’s Guido Hoeven is making changes to the ticketing arrangements for this year’s festival in a bid to settle the event’s outstanding VAT demands and keep pace with ever-rising artist fees.
Instead of charging euro 15 each time a festivalgoer visits the Oude Market stage – the only area that isn’t free entry – he’s looking to switch to selling all-day tickets for about euro 25.
“It was costing fans euro 15 each time they visited the main stage area – like paying a toll. But now they’ll be able to go in and out as often as they like for 25.
“This will enable us to sell tickets in advance, which is something that we haven’t been able to do before,” he explained.
The 24-year-old outdoor in Leuven city centre – one of Europe’s biggest urban festivals – has three free stages at Vismarkt, M. De Layensplein and Hogeschoolplein.
Despite pulling 50,000 for last year’s gathering, Marktrock faced financial difficulties after being hit with a backdated VAT bill by the Belgian revenue authorities.
Hoeven and his team believed the event had a “tax free” charitable status but a clampdown on the law, which hit many street festivals throughout the country, left them with arrears amounting to “thousands and thousands of euros.”
Having agreed terms with the tax inspector, the festival will take about two or three years to settle.
Smaller non-profit foundations mainly in the art and culture sector don’t pay VAT, but pop festivals that pull huge crowds and carry their income as a cash “reserve” don’t qualify for the same protection.
They should be declaring six percent of their ticket income as VAT and 25 percent on VIP tickets that include food.
So far,
— John Gammon
