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Amnesia Rockfest’s founder says the event lost money this year despite growing to more than 200,000 ticket-holders, thanks to a lower-than-expected grant from Quebec’s Ministry of Tourism.
Alex Martel says he found out three weeks ago that the June 20 and 21 event would get a $65,000 grant, the same as 2013.
“We were expecting between $300,000 and $400, 000,” he says of the event held in Montebello, Que.
It didn’t help that 2014 was a “huge investment year,” including the hiring of a production company to run the logistics after last year’s festival, which was plagued by overflowing toilets, hours-long ticket lineups and traffic nightmares in the tiny West Quebec village.
Martel says the grant is based on an outdated survey using 2011 numbers when the festival clocked between 20, 000 to 30,000 visits. Last year, the festival attracted 160,000 people who logged 600,000 entries. This year, the numbers were even higher.
“The budget pretty much is 10 times bigger than it was back then. It’s really outdated,” says Martel who started the festival nine years ago when he was 17. The inaugural edition had three bands and 500 people. “We have way more people every year so we were really relying on having our grant updated.”
Last year, Amnesia Rockfest paid $30,000 for an independent study, which Tourism Quebec requires every couple of years to determine the economic impact of the event. Martel says the study found the economic spinoffs jumped to $10 million from $3 million in three years.
Martel says tourism representatives visited the 2013 festival and reviewed the recent study.
“They flat-out told me that (the grant) would be at least doubled or tripled.” But that was before the shift in Quebec’s provincial government.
Before, Martel says festivals could expect a grant to fulfil between three and four per cent of their budget. Martel wouldn’t reveal how much his festival made, citing privacy, but crunching numbers means an expectation of a $300,000 grant would translate to three per cent of a $10-million budget.
Martel says the festival has sponsorship and several other grants — including a federal economic grant between $200,000 to $300,000 and a provincial grant at $15,000 — but these would not be enough to sustain the size of the festival for the size it is now.
Martin Roy is the CEO for RÉMI, an organization that represents 28 festivals in the province, including Amnesia Rockfest.
When the Ministry of Tourism met with the group in late May, Roy says they were told total tourism-related funding for more than 130 events would be the same as 2013 — $17.5 million — and most festivals could expect to receive the same amount, with only a few receiving less money.
But Roy is suspicious of that claim in matched funding.
“I don’t have to do a lot of math to conclude that if there are no raised and some lower grants that basically there is less money.” In his group, one event received a lower grant but Roy says he knows of 10 or 12 outside his association.
To him, it doesn’t make fiscal sense, and Amnesia Rockfest is a prime example.
“We create a lot economic impact,” Roy says “We know that for each and every dollar the government spends in festivals and events it gets back $5.”
Tourism Quebec did not provide comment in time for publication.
Even with the dire prognosis, Martel says he’s confident there will be a 10th anniversary.
And if the ministry sticks to its funding?
“They can keep in mind we have almost 115,000 followers on Facebook, two million people visiting our website, and 50,000 on mailing list. So far we haven’t really used these tools,” Martel says.
“We’ll fight until they give us what we want, basically. Our fans are passionate and they can make a lot of noise.”
sallen@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
Alex Martel says he found out three weeks ago that the June 20 and 21 event would get a $65,000 grant, the same as 2013.
“We were expecting between $300,000 and $400, 000,” he says of the event held in Montebello, Que.
It didn’t help that 2014 was a “huge investment year,” including the hiring of a production company to run the logistics after last year’s festival, which was plagued by overflowing toilets, hours-long ticket lineups and traffic nightmares in the tiny West Quebec village.
Martel says the grant is based on an outdated survey using 2011 numbers when the festival clocked between 20, 000 to 30,000 visits. Last year, the festival attracted 160,000 people who logged 600,000 entries. This year, the numbers were even higher.
“The budget pretty much is 10 times bigger than it was back then. It’s really outdated,” says Martel who started the festival nine years ago when he was 17. The inaugural edition had three bands and 500 people. “We have way more people every year so we were really relying on having our grant updated.”
Last year, Amnesia Rockfest paid $30,000 for an independent study, which Tourism Quebec requires every couple of years to determine the economic impact of the event. Martel says the study found the economic spinoffs jumped to $10 million from $3 million in three years.
Martel says tourism representatives visited the 2013 festival and reviewed the recent study.
“They flat-out told me that (the grant) would be at least doubled or tripled.” But that was before the shift in Quebec’s provincial government.
Before, Martel says festivals could expect a grant to fulfil between three and four per cent of their budget. Martel wouldn’t reveal how much his festival made, citing privacy, but crunching numbers means an expectation of a $300,000 grant would translate to three per cent of a $10-million budget.
Martel says the festival has sponsorship and several other grants — including a federal economic grant between $200,000 to $300,000 and a provincial grant at $15,000 — but these would not be enough to sustain the size of the festival for the size it is now.
Martin Roy is the CEO for RÉMI, an organization that represents 28 festivals in the province, including Amnesia Rockfest.
When the Ministry of Tourism met with the group in late May, Roy says they were told total tourism-related funding for more than 130 events would be the same as 2013 — $17.5 million — and most festivals could expect to receive the same amount, with only a few receiving less money.
But Roy is suspicious of that claim in matched funding.
“I don’t have to do a lot of math to conclude that if there are no raised and some lower grants that basically there is less money.” In his group, one event received a lower grant but Roy says he knows of 10 or 12 outside his association.
To him, it doesn’t make fiscal sense, and Amnesia Rockfest is a prime example.
“We create a lot economic impact,” Roy says “We know that for each and every dollar the government spends in festivals and events it gets back $5.”
Tourism Quebec did not provide comment in time for publication.
Even with the dire prognosis, Martel says he’s confident there will be a 10th anniversary.
And if the ministry sticks to its funding?
“They can keep in mind we have almost 115,000 followers on Facebook, two million people visiting our website, and 50,000 on mailing list. So far we haven’t really used these tools,” Martel says.
“We’ll fight until they give us what we want, basically. Our fans are passionate and they can make a lot of noise.”
sallen@ottawacitizen.com
查看原文...
