Festival Furore: Greens MP Blasts Minns Gov’t For Funding Fests Owned by KKR

A New South Wales Greens MP has put the Minns government on blast for the allocation of its “financial lifeline” to a handful of music festivals — and suggested the funds were indirectly contributing to the troubles in the Middle East.

Earlier this year, the NSW state government revealed the first round of the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund, established by Sound NSW, with up to $500,000 available to each fest as a means to alleviate the pressures of doing business.

Among the recipients were Sydney’s Listen Out and Field Day, operated by Fuzzy Operations. The cash injection was much needed, Fuzzy managing director Adelle Robinson said at the time.

“We were seriously considering not moving forward with Field Day as the market was so precarious at the end of last year,” she commented. “A reset with our programming and the Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund were the two reasons the show went ahead.”

Cate Faehrmann, a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, has questions.

In a provocative speech to state parliament, Faehrmann addresses the eligibility criteria for the Fund, which states that only those festivals that Australian-owned or have part international ownership may apply.

“So how then was funding awarded to festivals run by Fuzzy, including Listen Out and Field Day, which are majority owned and controlled by Superstruct Entertainment, a private equity backed international conglomerate,” she remarks in a video, reposted this week to her socials.

Superstruct Entertainment was acquired in a multi-billion-dollar deal in June 2024 by KKR, the private equity giant whose “track record includes investments in weapons systems and surveillance technology, including some which have supported the Israeli government’s actions,” Faehrmann continues.

Fuzzy has since been bought out by Superstruct, lifting its portfolio to more than 85 festivals across the UK, Europe and Australia, and includes the recently-acquired the Boiler Room brand.

The statement government, she adds, is “handing taxpayers dollars to a multinational conglomerate that is acquiring local festivals as part of its international expansion.”

By funding those festivals, she added, “the Minns government has in turn increased the stock portfolio for an investment fund actively investing in the genocide of and displacement of Palestinian people.”

@greencatensw

Our beloved NSW music festivals are struggling. So why has the Minns Government given a million dollars to two music festivals – Listen Out and Field Day – essentially owned by global equity giant KKR that’s investing in companies in the West Bank and profiting from the genocide in Gaza??

♬ original sound – Cate Faehrmann

The Australian Festival Association (AFA) and Minns government have separately responded to Faehrmann’s comments.

“This grant decision went through a rigorous assessment process by Sound NSW,” comments Minister for Music and the Night-time Economy John Graham in a statement to The Music Network.

“Our music festival sector is really struggling, so we’re surprised to see the Greens attacking it based on a tenuous link to the parent company of a parent company.”

The AFA “strongly advocated for this much-needed support for festivals doing it tough—those that didn’t sell out or turn a profit,” reads a statement attributed to Olly Arkins, Managing Director, AFA, seen by TMN.

“The funding went directly towards covering government-related costs including user-pays police, medical and ambulance services, and fees for NSW Government-owned venues, as well as local supplier costs. We welcomed the funding and are confident the NSW Government followed all proper processes to deliver investment that keeps our festival scene thriving for artists, fans, and the broader economy.”

Fuzzy’s brands are members of the AFA, and Robinson is chair of the not-for-profit organisation. TMN is not alleging unscrupulous behaviour by Robinson or Fuzzy, and has reached out for comment.

The fund was established in September 2024 to prevent events from going the way of Splendour in the Grass, Groovin’ the Moo, Souled Out, Esoteric and so many others that have skipped a season or two, restructured, or disappeared entirely due to a combination of ticket buying behaviours, inflation, insurance, freight costs, currency exchange and more.

Fuzzy isn’t the first to feel the fury for its ties to Superstruct Entertainment and KKR.

Earlier this year, a pressure group with the signatures of hundreds of artists, including Brian Eno and Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, urged organisers of the annual London Field Day and Mighty Hoopla to distance themselves from KKR.

Those two festivals issued statements doing just that, by pointing out that their connection with Superstruct pre-dates the acquisition and that the fests retain creative control.