Festivals left hundreds of thousands of euro out of pocket following the collapse of a major ticket agency have called for legal safeguards to protect ticket revenues.
Follow the cessation of Tickets.ie, two north west festivals that took place over the June Bank Holiday weekend are owed more than €400,000 in ticket sales.
The Rory Gallagher Festival in Ballyshannon in Co Donegal is owed approximately €283,000 while the Cowboys and Heroes Festival in Leitrim is owed more than €130,000 in revenue.
Both festivals have initiated legal proceedings in an attempt to recover lost revenue. Tickets.ie was one of the State’s largest ticketing platforms.
Festival organisers became aware of the issue when attempts to withdraw revenue led to an online notice stating Tickets.ie had ceased trading and was entering liquidation.
Managing Director of the festival Simon Power described the situation as “absolutely devastating” for the festival, which is in its 12th year.
The Cowboys and Heroes Festival started in Drumcoura, Co Leitrim, in 2014 after Garth Brooks cancelled his Irish tour following the Croke Park five in a row fiasco.
A four-day country and Americana festival held at a purpose-built 50-acre ranch, Drumcoura City, outside Ballinamore; the event attracted under 10,000 people this year.
Mr Power told RTÉ News that the festival is “owed over €130,000”, adding that the ticketing company ceased operations “the day after the festival completed”.
“We’re going to ensure all our suppliers get paid, but we’re probably end up with debt and be struggling to get through to 2027.
“What should have been a fantastic year of celebration, great feedback, has become a disastrous year for us. There were no indications whatsoever, given.
“50% of our sales happened about the month before the festival. If they told us at any stage, we could have switched to other ticket vendors,” he said.
Mr Power said he is “hopeful, but not overly optimistic” that the revenue can be recuperated, adding they may need some government assistance to get “over the line”.
He has called for legislation that would compel ticket agents to follow same financial practices as auctioneers and solicitors, where client funds must be ring fenced.
“I think that comprehensive legislation is needed to make sure the money is ring fenced.
“Auctioneers have got client accounts and rules and regulations the same as solicitors with serious consequences, if they breach it,” Mr Power said.
Read more: Independent ticketing company Tickets.ie ceases trading
Organisers of the Rory Gallagher Festival, that has taken place annually in south Donegal say the situation “has cast a shadow” over its future, after 23 years.
Renowned blues-rock guitarist and festival spokesperson and Johnny ‘Boxty’ Gallagher told RTÉ News that the situation “has cast a shadow over the festival to where it might not happen again.”
“This festival that’s gone by was the largest festival we’ve ever had; everybody gets something from it.
Young kids come to perform on the streets beside the statue.
“We’ve also gained the respect of some of the most famous guitar blues rock and roll heroes. The festival has incredible respect all over the world.
“I’m gutted got it for what the festival has become – a pilgrimage to come and celebrate Rory Gallagher,” he said.
Concern festivals will not go ahead without Government support
William Doogan of the Ballyshannon Business Chamber said the Rory Gallagher Festival is worth between €5-7 million per year to the regional economy.
Mr Doogan said he is concerned if there is no short-term Government support that “the festival and other similar festivals won’t go ahead”.
“It’s a huge footprint. A lot of the visitors are European; German, Dutch and French, who spend five to seven nights in the region,” he said.
Mr Doogan said the Government should consider a credit insurance system to protect regional festival promoters when ticketing companies fail.
He said small local committees need support because they take personal risks to sustain festivals that bring significant economic benefits to their areas.
“I hope Government will support these festivals in the short term because they’re small committees, people putting their personal lives on the line to run festivals,” he said.
The Dáil recently heard calls for safeguards that would ensure funds from ticket sales are protected.
Leitrim-Sligo Sinn Féin TD Martin Kenny has echoed those calls while making comparisons to other industries.
“if you’re an auctioneer or a solicitor, you’ve a clients account; there should be a similar situation in cases like this, where they’re dealing with very large sums of money.
“We have community-run festivals and organizations, which are going to be out of pocket. The government needs to ensure that there’s proper legislation in place to regulate this,” Mr Kenny said.
Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke told the Dáil last week that several deputies have raised the matter with him.
He said given a High Court case was under way that he was limited in what he could say, however, he added there may be regulatory gaps in relation to clients’ funds.
“We will look at that because we want to ensure maximum protections are afforded to client moneys being held by any organisation,” he said.
RTÉ News has sought a statement from German entertainment group Deutsche Entertainment Aktiengesellschaft – DEAG Entertainment.
