Australia News: Australia Festival Association, Live Nation/TEG, Driift & More

Festival Association Board Expands
As it gets set to “restart right” from three setbacks – bushfires, COVID and restrictive regulations – the Australian Festival Association unveiled a new extended board representing the A$2.7 billion ($1.96 billion) sector.
The 10-strong setup has members in each state and territory across promoters, venues, suppliers and sole traders.
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 – Jessica Ducrou

Re-elected were original members Adelle Robinson (MD of Fuzzy Operations which stages Listen, Tough Bas and Field Day), Danny Rogers (director, Laneway) and Jessica Ducrou (co-CEO, Secret Sounds, Splendour In The Grass, Falls).

They were joined by Christopher Reid (partner, Ernst & Young), Denis Sheahan (director, event manager DESM), Diane Sneddon (Melbourne’s Port Phillip Council), Jacqui Elmas (in-house counsel, Chugg Entertainment), Kat Dopper (director, queer party coordinator Heaps Gay), Kathryn Holloway (general manager, tour promoter Cattleyard) and Zack Alcott (director, disability advocates Get Skilled Access).
AFA general manager Julia Robinson said: “The election of this new board by our members shows a commitment to the future of festivals, as well as embracing the idea of ‘restarting right.’ 
“That begins with always considering our role in acknowledging First Nations people, ensuring equity for minority groups and ensuring a sustainable future of the industry – both environmentally and for the longevity of the industry.
“We are confident in delivering COVIDSafe festivals that meet these objectives, while helping Australia’s local tourism and wider economy recovery.”
Live Nation, TEG Team For Major Indoor Event 
In a first-time team up, Live Nation and TEG are staging Greatest Southern Nights, the first major indoor concerts in the country since March when mass gatherings were banned. 
TEG’s chief executive Geoff Jones called the two shows “vital…(to show) that we can stage large scale live concerts safely.”
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 – Qudos Bank Arena

Being part of the New South Wales-funded Great Southern Nights series makes it financially viable to be held at the 21,000-seat Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney to 6,000 distanced fans.

The Nov. 29 show is headlined by hit psychedelic surf band Ocean Alley with singer-songwriters Jack River, Ruby Fields and Jack Botts.
Major live drawcard Bernard Fanning tops the Dec. 5 date with fellow singer-songwriters Matt Corby and Merci Mercy.
Firm Driift Opens Down Under
UK livestreaming firm Driift, set up in August by Ric Salmon and Brian Message of ATC Management, opened in Australia and New Zealand citing a strong demand for its services.
Headed by Perth-based promoter Paul Sloan (Supersonic Enterprises / Billions Australia), Driift A/NZ will produce shows for local artists in venues across both countries.
Sloan said: “In this weird year I’ve been horrified by the amount of artists dropping their pants, literally and financially, by offering free, poorly produced livestreams in their underwear.
“What the industry needs now is a mechanism other than live performance to ensure artists and all their connected industry partners can still connect with fans and survive in a world where physical shows are just so uncertain and unreliable.”
Nov. 7 streams by Kylie Minogue and Niall Horan at London’s Royal Albert Hall had global pre-sales of 125,000.

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 – Mardi Gras Parade

Sydney Mardi Gras Parade Becomes Ticketed Event

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, which draws 200,000 spectators to watch 12,000 participants and 200 floats along Oxford Street, will be a subdued ticketed event in 2021.
Due to COVID restrictions, it moves March 6 to the 48, 601-seat Sydney Cricket Ground where floats will lap of the stadium before a crowd of 23,000. This year’s four-hour broadcast on SBS had 500,000 viewers, with a global  estimate in the millions.
In 2021, the Mardi Gras and rights organization APRA AMCOS partner for a series of Express Yourself – Queer Discovery showcases to foster the next generation of LGBTQI+ music artists.
Kim Dotcom Extradition To US Delayed
The Supreme Court of New Zealand found Nov. 4 that a 2015 ruling, that 12 of 13 charges against digital entrepreneur Kim Dotcom by US prosecutors, satisfied obligations under New Zealand law to allow the German-born’s extradition from his adopted country to the US to face criminal copyright infringement charges.
But the Court simultaneously delayed the process by agreeing that earlier judicial reviews of the file-transfer MegaUpload founder’s 2015 case – he claimed procedural and substantive errors were made – should have taken place, and Dotcom had the option to now request it.
Since MegaUpload’s shut down 2012 by US authorities, Dotcom’s lawyers argued that the extradition treaty between the US and New Zealand does not cover copyright infringement. US prosecutors responded Dotcom’s alleged copyright constituted fraud, which is allowable.
Festivals, Venues, Lauded In South Australian Awards
A number of live music events and identities were lauded at the South Australian Music Awards, held Nov. 3 at Adelaide’s UniBar.
St. Jerome’s Laneway Adelaide was best major festival and Porch Sessions took the best small festival, Lion Arts Factory was best venue, Luke Hancock best live technician and the Play/ Pause/ Play podcast won best innovation:
Scoring triple wins each by beats producer Motez and bubblegum-punk duo Wing Defense.
The day after the celebrations, the South Australian government announced A$800,000 ($580,673) support package to kickstart the music sector. 
A$500,000 ($362,920) goes to inaugural grants of up to $50,000 ($36,292) to reimburse venues for artist, sound and lighting technician fees. The remaining $300,000 ($217,749) goes to artists and managers for creative development and to  promoters, booking agents, managers, recording studios, and other music entrepreneurs.