Fringe Fringe is a Melbourne festival running 29 September to 18 October. Artists and producers first. Six proposals we want to talk through together. This page is the long version of why and how.
Makers are the engine of a festival, not the cost centre. We're building a festival around that idea. Low fees, fixed take, no festival-managed venues, open judging, and a board that's down to earth.
Same city, same spirit, different rules. Makers first. Audiences welcome. Venues respected.
What follows is what we think a fairer festival looks like. Each point is open for discussion at the town hall, and we'll publish any changes that come out of it.
A governing board made up of people familiar with the day-to-day reality of being a working performer. Governance shouldn't drift from the stage. We propose capping chief executive tenures at five years so the festival can't calcify around any one person's vision.
A reasonable registration paid by all participants, artists and venues alike. Free for the first year of Fringe Fringe. From year two on, a published fee that's fair and reasonable.
Our cut of ticket sales is five percent, locked forever. Every festival takes a share to fund the resources artists rely on, that's normal and that's fair. Locking the rate means we can't quietly grow our take year after year.
The festival should not also be running its own venues. When a festival programs the shows, runs the venues, and hands out the awards, that's three conflicts of interest in one chair. We pick a lane: connect artists, audiences and venues. Nothing more.
Judge attendance is published, not their names, just the fact they were in the room. A fairer open system that keeps us accountable. Attendees may even form an academy-like model.
Humans have been trading for millennia. We believe artists can make a living sharing their craft. We're not anti-money, we're anti-extraction. It starts with a fair cut, fair fees, and a structure that doesn't squeeze the people doing the work.