Leicester Comedy Festival Delays Payments to 500-Plus Acts Over Cashflow Shortfall
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 14
Leicester Comedy Festival Delays Payments to 500-Plus Acts Over Cashflow Shortfall
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 14
Hundreds of performers and some event organisers are still unpaid nearly three months after Leicester Comedy Festival ended on Feb. 22, after settlements due on April 19 were delayed.
Big Difference, the non-profit behind the festival, said late incoming money from sponsorship, commission shows and third-party ticket sales created a cashflow gap and forced it to seek bank bridging loans.
Individual losses range from about £180 for comedian Zoe Brownstone to nearly £2,000 for Ben Alborough, while organiser Rachael Johnson said she is owed £600 after already paying her own acts and staff.
The festival drew about 100,000 spectators and more than 500 acts this year, and Equity said it had received assurances that all performers would be paid in full with updates on individual payments.
The dispute has widened concern over comedy's fragile finances, with industry groups saying grassroots comedy gets less support than other live arts and misses relief such as England's 15% business-rates cut for music venues and pubs.
Why is the £1B UK comedy industry denied government support that music venues already receive?
With public arts funding at a historic low, how can the next generation of British comedians survive?