Smart Company have today reported, that just last week, the embattled Supafest and its booking company Paperchase Touring have entered administration in an attempt to aid the massive $2 million debt shadowing the brand.
Jirsch Sutherland have now taken the reigns of the companies, as they recently did for Peats Ridge festival. The firm have started that they will looking towards restructuring both businesses via a deed of company arrangement which will be in the best interest of festival top dog Dwayne Cross, along with many of his creditors.
Speaking on behalf of JS, Sule Arnautovic tells Smart Company, “First we need to get rid of wind-up applications in various courts to procure support that concerts will go ahead and there is not a lot of time between now and April and we need to get financial resources in place to be able to pay artists. Our priorities are just to defer the wind-up app[lication] to try and save it and to try to give Mr Cross an opportunity to secure support from who he needs to.”
By the sounds of things, future concerts from the franchise will be the only way for the debt to disappear, with Arnautovic adding, “The creditors understand the high prospect they won’t get a return if the company doesn’t have any concerts,” as at this point in time, Supafest and Paperchase Touring “have no significant assets apart from the intellectual property assets such as trademarks.”
On top of that, we have word from Cross’s ex-business partner John Denison firmly stating that there will be a line up announcement in February of this year.
Last year the festival became the ultimate definition of a clusterfuck with artists pulling out, artists revealing they were never actually locked in despite being advertised as headliners and artists claiming they saw no followthrough on behalf of organisers.
UPDATE: 22/02/13
Supafest 2013 has been announced! Check out the details here.
