Since announcing the cancellation of Soundwave 2016 last week, Soundwave promoter AJ Maddah has revealed just how many tickets had been sold for the festival before it was officially scrapped.
Speaking with triple j‘s Hack program, Maddah says that he was told at the beginning of last week that around 20,000 tickets had been sold for Soundwave 2016.
Maddah once said that Soundwave 2016 would “sell out instantly”, and on the day of the festival’s cancellation he took to Twitter to say he “tried very hard” to get Rage Against The Machine to reform for the occasion, but things “didn’t work out”.
For ticket sales comparisons, Maddah has previously said the Melbourne leg of Soundwave 2015 came “very close” to selling out the Melbourne Showgrounds, which has an approximate capacity of 35,000. Maddah also told News Corp Australia that Adelaide’s 2015 numbers hit just over 12,000.
In 2013, when Soundwave billed the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park and Blink-182, around 45,000 tickets were sold in Adelaide and 75,000 in Sydney, Maddah has said. That same year, Soundwave is reported to have generated $63 million.
Soundwave 2016’s 20,000 tickets sold at $170 a piece puts its ticketing revenue at around $3.4 million, of which $1.9 million has reportedly been paid to Maddah’s previous company, which went into liquidation. Of the remaining $1.5 million, Hack says Soundwave’s contract with its 2016 ticketing agent Eventopia shows that 80 per cent of the funds would have been passed on to Maddah.
Maddah has told Hack that Eventopia didn’t want him to cancel Soundwave 2016, but he decided to do just that after a “Mexican standoff” in which the company refused to give him more money for artist deposits. “If I’d had $50,000 the gig would still be on,” he says.
Soundwave 2016 was cancelled just over a month out from its scheduled dates in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Since Eventopia’s “Mexican standoff” with Maddah, the company announced yesterday that they will honour refund requests for Soundwave 2016 ticket-holders.
Maddah has said that Soundwave “definitely” isn’t going ahead in 2017, and has confirmed that the Soundwave Touring company will also soon cease to exist.
Gallery: 11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments
.@zacdoyle Tried very hard to get RATM back together. It didn't work out.
— AJ (@iamnotshouting) December 17, 2015
11 Unforgettable Soundwave Festival Moments
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Gwar - Soundwave 2014
Interstellar gods of metal GWAR well and truly made their mark on Australian audiences at Soundwave 2014 when front-thing Oderus Urungus used his mighty sword to decapitate an effigy of our widely-loathed PM Tony Abbott and soak the cheering crowd in his blood. Not even Napisan Plus could remove those pink stains which, for many, would soon become a sweaty memento from one of the last performances Urungus would ever give. His human alter ego, Dave Brockie, died tragically just weeks later from a heroin overdose. -
Mike Patton - Soundwave 2010
Nothing like a bit of mid-set nudity to make Faith No More’s headlining slot at Brisbane Soundwave in 2010 even more, uh, Epic. Frontman Mike Patton proved he was Just A Man by unleashing Mike Jr. from his trousered hideaway and literally rocking out with his cock out. -
Bloodhound - Soundwave 2009
An honourable mention must go to the Bloodhound Gang, who took the stage in 2009 to effectively reduce the throng of adult metalheads into sexually frustrated 13-year-olds. They did it like they did on the Discovery Channel, with healthy dose of Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo. Nostalgia was everywhere. As were bewbs. -
Alexisonfire - Soundwave 2010
As anyone who was on the scene for Sydney Soundwave 2010 can attest, that was the hottest fucking day in the history of the earth. The festival, then-held out near Eastern Creek Raceway, was one giant dustbowl, and those who withstood the 40+ temperatures were coughing up dirt for the next three days. Alexisonfire must have pre-empted this outcome and decided: fuck it. Frontman George Pettit jumped into the crowd mid-set and gave himself a dirt-bath in the middle of the pit. Who needs sunblock when you’re covered in a 2-inch thick layer of dust anyway? Epic. -
All Time Low - Soundwave 2015
When the sky opened up and unleashed a rainstorm of hell upon Sydney Soundwave earlier this year, right in the middle of All Time Low’s set, the Baltimore pop punk’s gear got wrecked, and the band were unable to play on. However, instead of letting the storm beat them, frontman Alex Gaskarth ploughed onward, leading fans in an a cappella singalong of his band’s track Weightlessas well as some of Queen’s We Will Rock You. Many people became All Time Low fans that day. -
Dallas Green – Soundwave 2008
Dallas Green performed a musical screaming eagle in ’08 when he appeared as the frontman of both Alexisonfire and City + Colour. Crushing skulls and melting hearts. All in a day’s work. -
Fucked Up - Soundwave 2011
The spirit of punk was alive and well at SW11 when Fucked Up gave an expectedly insane performance, complete with hair-ripping, sweaty hugging, and beast frontman Damien force-feeding the mic to members of the crowd. This set will probably go down in Aussie festival history. -
Killer Be Killed – Soundwave 2015
After a hurricane of hype leading up to their global live debut at Soundwave 2015, metal supergroup Killer Be Killed – featuring Max Cavalera, Greg Puciato, Troy Sanders and Ben Koller – did not disappoint, delivering an absolutely pulverising set. -
Blink-182 – Soundwave 2013
A Travis Barker-less Blink-182 shot their love all over the crowd during their headlining set at Soundwave 2013. With Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman filling in on the skins, the pop punk trio capped off their first show in Australia since 2004 by wheeling out a massive confetti canon and opening fire on a sweat-drenched mosh pit, absolutely smothering fans in the coloured stuff. Many shower drains got clogged, that fateful night. -
Slash – Soundwave 2012
Alter Bridge pulled a rabbit out of their hat during their Sydney set in 2012, and by hat we mean top hat and by rabbit we mean guitar legend Slash, who was wearing the hat. The ex-Guns N’ Roses icon wasn’t even known to be in the country at the time, but he majestically appeared to claim an unused Marshall stack and Gibson Les Paul and join his singer Myles Kennedy for a few choice AB jams. You really never can tell just when #wunterslaush is going to turn up somewhere. -
Jane’s Addiction – Soundwave 2010
Soundwave 2010 was bittersweet for Jane’s Addiction fans, marking the band’s last ever tour. As ladies danced onstage and punters tried to mask their lonely tears, Eric Avery’s words rang home: “That’s it. With equal parts regret and relief, the Jane’s Addiction experiment is at an end.”
