Australasia News: BIGSOUND Attendance Up; Destroy All Lines Adds Country; More Bluesfest; NZ: Promoter Doug Hood Dies

AUSTRALIA

BIGSOUND Attendance Up 40%

BIGSOUND conference and showcase, Sept. 3-6 in Brisbane, had a 40% rise in attendance, organiser QMusic reported.

The largest in the southern hemisphere with 1,500 delegates and up to 2,000 checking out 130 showcasing acts, it focused on being a source of music discovery for global ears.
Its International House was where deals were made and global brands profiled, “and dramatically increased the footprint of both overseas artists and organisations within BIGSOUND,” CEO Kris Stewart told Pollstar.

Brij Gosai, Pollstar’s London-based director of sales and marketing, international, hosted a panel during which the results of the Australian and New Zealand special were revealed.

Gosai was joined by Handsome Tours promoter Brinley Stanovsek, Select Music agent Casey O’Shaughnessy and QLD Music Trails engagement manager Michaella Harrison to discuss Australia’s appeal to international acts, and how they’re changing the local market.

From the live sector, there were 248 artist managers, 158 booking agents, 120 venue operators, 166 promoters, 79 tour managers and 38 ticketing company personnel in attendance.

Destroy All Lines Goes Country

Destroy All Lines launched a country music division, headed up by one time Foxtel/Country Music Channel executive Danny Keenan.

Australia is global launching pad for many U.S. country names. In 2023 Luminate placed it as third-largest country music market in the world, with streaming numbers up 55% from 2022.

The 21-year old Destroy All Lines ranked fourth largest promoter, and largest independent, in Pollstar’s Australian & New Zealand special with sales of 700,000 in 12 months.

Last year it set up a comedy division, tapping into the A$115 million ($77.09 million) a year sector which draws 2.1 million attendees.

Bluesfest Generated $130.5M For NSW

As a petition circulates for the New South Wales government to bail out a struggling Bluesfest, which will end after 2025, the Byron Bay event released its annual economic report.

Compiled by Lawrence Consulting, it showed that the 2024 edition brought $130.5 million ($87.4 million) to NSW, $42.4 million ($28.4 million) to Byron Shire and $83.2 million ($55.7 million) to the Northern Rivers region.

It created 358.5 full-time jobs in Byron Shire, and generated $54.4 million ($36.4 million) in wages and salaries.

47% of attendees came from outside NSW, including 2% from overseas. 57% were female, and 60% aged 35 and older.

Executive chairman Peter Noble called these figures “remarkable,” telling Pollstar, “The government needs to provide support just on our contribution to the economy, as a job creator, and for A$1.1 billion ($737. 4 million) worth of inbound tourism.

“I still believe there’s a place for Bluesfest, but we lost money in 2024. We don’t need a handout, just a hand up for the time being.”

NEW ZEALAND

Veteran Promoter Doug Hood Dies

Veteran promoter Doug Hood died after a two year battle with cancer.

He founded Looney Tours which toured the Violent Femmes, Billy Bragg, Paul Kelly, New Order, John Cale, PiL, Iggy Pop and Australia’s Big Day Out festival.

The one time Clean member became a recording engineer and venue booker.

Hood was made Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for services to the music industry in 2023.