Editing Big Day Out (section)

==History==

===1992–1997===
Annual music festivals had been gaining momentum for some time, and the United States had launched [[Lollapalooza]] in [[Chicago, Illinois]] in 1991. Australia had seen various music festivals but nothing annual. Big Day Out was founded by [[Ken West]] and Vivian Lees&ndash;the festival began in 1992 as a Sydney-only show, with the headline act, [[Violent Femmes]], playing alongside [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], and a range of other foreign and local alternative music acts, at the [[Hordern Pavilion]]. In 1993 the scope of the festival was extended to include Melbourne, [[Perth, Western Australia|Perth]] and Adelaide. West revealed in an interview that he was looking to create "urban mayhem" and "controlled chaos".<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out: Best Bits Of Years Gone|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/big-day-out-best-bits-of-years-gone/|work=Music Feeds|access-date=7 September 2012|author=Alex Langlands|date=13 July 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Big Day Out 2007.jpg|thumb|right|Big Day Out Double Stages, Auckland 2007. The festival expanded to Auckland in 1994 and held shows there each year, with the exception of 2013.]]
In 1994 the Big Day Out was extended further to include [[Auckland, New Zealand]] and the Gold Coast, and was held over a three-week period. The geographical locations of the 1994 festival occurred on an annual basis until 1997, when organisers West and Lees announced a year-long hiatus, causing concern that the festival was nearing the end of its existence; however, the festival returned in 1999.<ref name="rocking">{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/rockingbraround-thebrclock-andbrthe-nation/story-e6frg8n6-1225819423766|title=Rocking around the clock and the nation|work=The Australian|date=15 January 2010|access-date=18 February 2010|first=Iain|last=Shedden}}</ref>

===1999–2013===
Following the start of the 21st century, the festival was involved in two major controversies. Firstly, 16-year-old [[Jessica Michalik]] was killed after she was crushed at a 2001 Sydney show during a performance by the band [[Limp Bizkit]]. Michalik's death temporarily placed the future of the BDO festival in jeopardy, but the event continued after the Sydney Coroner's Court criticised the crowd control measures at the site and inflammatory comments made by Limp Bizkit's [[Fred Durst]] after the crush occurred.<ref name="rocking"/>

The festival celebrated its 100th performance in 2010. In the period leading up to the 100-show milestone, which occurred at the second of two Sydney dates in 2010, Lees claimed in an ''[[The Australian|Australian]]'' article that the BDO's ability to build relationships with acts during their careers had become an important part of the BDO culture. In the same ''Australian'' article, journalist Iain Shedden described the BDO as one of the "most successful and long-running rock festivals in the world", aligning the festival with the established Australian horse-racing event, the [[Melbourne Cup]].<ref name="rocking"/>

Lees also explained the growth and increased complexity of the festival in the 2010 ''Australian'' article, stating that, while a crew of 70 people crossed Australia in 1993 for the inaugural event, the 2010 festival consisted of 700 people. Lees highlighted the increased needs of Australian bands in his explanation:

<blockquote>
It does get easier but it's also getting bigger and that makes it more complicated ... You're more confident about what you're doing and having some gravitas, but at the same time, because we're having more and more expectations put on us by everyone, the complexities are increasing. Even Aussie bands that used to take five or six people on the road are now taking 11. That seems to be the magic number, even for a new starting-off band. What they are doing is working to put on the best show they can. Through that the festival needs more production, more riders, more hotel rooms, more everything.<ref name="rocking"/></blockquote>

Due to the increasing popularity of the event, a second Sydney show was occasionally held. The extreme popularity of [[Metallica]] in 2004<ref>{{cite web|title=2004 Big Day Out Lineup|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s954405.htm|website=triple j|publisher=ABC|access-date=30 June 2014|date=26 September 2003}}</ref> led to this addition, followed by another second-show addition in Sydney for the 2010 event, when [[Muse (band)|Muse]] was the headline act.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Jack Tregoning|title=Big Day Out 2010 line-up|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/20548/Big-Day-Out-2010-line-up|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=28 September 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821191956/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/20548/Big-Day-Out-2010-line-up|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> A second Sydney date returned in 2011, in response to the co-headline acts, [[Tool (band)|Tool]] and [[Rammstein]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out Summer 2011 Line Up|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/bigdayout/11/lineup/|website=triple j|publisher=ABC|access-date=30 June 2014|year=2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823163014/http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/events/bigdayout/11/lineup/|archive-date=23 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Date">{{cite web|author1=Al Newstead|title=Big Day Out 2014 Cancels 2nd Sydney Date, "Perhaps We Were A Bit Ambitious"|url=http://www.tonedeaf.com.au/348308/big-day-out-2014-cancels-2nd-sydney-date-perhaps-we-were-a-bit-ambitious.htm|website=Tone Deaf|access-date=30 June 2014|date=27 September 2013}}</ref>

In November 2011, the business partnership between Lees and West was dissolved, and the latter next partnered with [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], United States (US)-based company [[C3 Presents]], which runs the [[Lollapalooza]] festival in the US. C3 purchased a 51 per cent stake in the company following a split that was caused by "internal and external" pressures, whereby Lees severed all connections with the business. Prior to November 2011, Creative Festival Entertainment was the production company of the BDO festival.<ref>{{cite web |last=Waddell |first=Ray |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring/exclusive-c3-presents-forms-partnership-1005784352.story?imw=Y |title=C3 Presents Forms Partnership With Big Day Out |publisher=[[Billboard.biz]] |date=4 January 2012 |access-date=7 May 2012 |archive-date=23 July 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723042421/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring/exclusive-c3-presents-forms-partnership-1005784352.story?imw=Y |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 17 January 2012, West announced that the Auckland BDO event, held on 20 January 2012, would be the last Big Day Out in New Zealand, explaining that the festival would only be held in Australia in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out cancelled in New Zealand, as of next year|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-Day-Out-cancelled-in-New-Zealand-as-of-next-year/tabid/418/articleID/239607/Default.aspx|work=3 News|publisher=MediaWorks TV|access-date=6 September 2012|author=David Farrier|author2=3 News online staff|date=17 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218142707/http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-Day-Out-cancelled-in-New-Zealand-as-of-next-year/tabid/418/articleID/239607/Default.aspx|archive-date=18 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, in April 2013, the promoters said that they were seeking to reschedule an Auckland event in 2014 (at [[Western Springs Stadium]] instead of Mt Smart).<ref name="3news">{{cite news| url= http://www.3news.co.nz/BDO-organisers-awaiting-Western-Springs-resource-consent/tabid/418/articleID/293915/Default.aspx| work= 3 News NZ| title= BDO awaits Western Springs consent| date= 11 April 2013| access-date= 12 April 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140221143830/http://www.3news.co.nz/BDO-organisers-awaiting-Western-Springs-resource-consent/tabid/418/articleID/293915/Default.aspx| archive-date= 21 February 2014| url-status= dead}}</ref>

The 2012 festival was beset by difficulties and was described as "disastrous" by the ''Faster Louder'' website in June 2014. Headline act [[Kanye West]] did not appear at the Perth and Adelaide events, while a media report at the time alleged that "staging and fencing contractors had not been paid, sponsors were angry and the festival was beset by internal rifts, namely the firing and then apparent re-hiring of CEO Adam Zammit."<ref name="Not">{{cite web|author1=Darren Levin|title=Not even AJ Maddah could save the Big Day Out|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/39796/Not-even-AJ-Maddah-could-save-the-Big-Day-Out|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=25 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140628025807/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/39796/Not-even-AJ-Maddah-could-save-the-Big-Day-Out|archive-date=28 June 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2013 the festival received staunch opposition from the [[Town of Claremont]]'s mayor Jock Barker, who stated that music festivals in general introduce "appalling antisocial and criminal behaviour into a residential area." Although a study revealed that large-scale music festivals contribute approximately A$5.2 million to the state's economy, in addition to increased tourism and employment levels, Claremont councilor Peter Browne supported Barker's position by stating that the benefits of events such as the Big Day Out are "hopelessly outweighed by the intolerable noise, the late finish, the high level of criminal activity and general social misbehaviour in and outside of the grounds." Despite such opposition, the [[Claremont Showground]] venue in Perth, Western Australia was used by the BDO organisers for the 2013 event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Why don't bands go to Perth?|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/36226/Why-dont-bands-go-to-Perth|work=FasterLouder|publisher=[[FasterLouder]]|access-date=12 July 2013|author=Tom Mann|date=11 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716164702/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/36226/Why-dont-bands-go-to-Perth|archive-date=16 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Sarah Smith|title=Big Day Out 2013 lineup|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/33179/Big-Day-Out-2013-lineup|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=15 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821191943/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/33179/Big-Day-Out-2013-lineup|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Perth leg of the 2014 BDO was held at the Arena Joondalup venue.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Court McAllister|title=Big Day Out Perth – Arena Joondalup, 02/02/14|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/photos/big-day-out-perth-arena-joondalup-020214/|website=Music Feeds|access-date=30 June 2014|date=2 February 2014}}</ref>

West announced to the media on 17 September 2013 that [[Arash "AJ" Maddah]], a fellow Australian music festival promoter, had joined the Big Day Out enterprise. Although West explained that "the BDO team will now be C3, AJ Maddah and yours truly", Maddah stated to the media: "It's Ken's vision and I'm working for him. For 20 years it's been my ambition to work for the Big Day Out. It's been a great festival for 22 years. I don't need to fuck with that." As of the date of the announcement, Adam Zammit was the CEO of the company and [[Fairfax Media]] reported numerous job cuts.<ref name="Levin">{{cite web|title=Ken West: Why I'm co-running Big Day Out with AJ Maddah|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/36963/Ken-West-Why-Im-co-running-Big-Day-Out-with-AJ-Maddah|work=Faster Louder|access-date=20 September 2013|author=Darren Levin|date=17 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921081018/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/36963/Ken-West-Why-Im-co-running-Big-Day-Out-with-AJ-Maddah|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

An October 2013 Fairfax Media article then reported that the company's office space in the inner-city Sydney suburb of [[Surry Hills]] was being sold for A$5 million and an unnamed source informed Fairfax that the BDO company had also "recently lost some or all control over the lucrative sideshows." During the same time period, Lees publicly revealed that West had sold his stake in the company and the festival was facing serious problems.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Chris Johnston|title=The crisis rocking Australia's music festivals|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/the-crisis-rocking-australias-music-festivals-20131019-2vtbx.html|access-date=30 June 2014|work=Sydney Morning Herald|agency=Fairfax Media|date=20 October 2013}}</ref>

===2014–present===
Shortly after Maddah joined the BDO team, the headlining act for the 2014 festival, [[Blur (band)|Blur]], cancelled eight weeks prior to the commencement of their first 2014 BDO show.<ref name="Blur">{{cite web|author1=Darren Levin|title=Blur's shock Big Day Out cancellation: How it unfolded|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/37743/Blurs-shock-Big-Day-Out-cancellation-How-it-unfolded|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=24 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140821191951/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/37743/Blurs-shock-Big-Day-Out-cancellation-How-it-unfolded|archive-date=21 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> The band announced the cancellation on their [[Facebook]] fan page:

<blockquote>
Devastated to report that Blur won't be performing at BDO in 2014. It's a shock that it has come to this. Only 8 weeks to go, the band feels that with the constantly shifting goalposts and challenging conditions of the organisers, they can't let it drag on any longer and want to make this announcement, to be clear to Blur fans that they won't be there. We've done our very best to work with the organisers and considered every option to make it happen, but they've let us down and let everyone else down too.<ref name="Blur" /></blockquote>

West previously explained in July 2013 that he had attempted to secure Blur for 14 years and their high status meant that they were considered a "white whale" act: "That [securing Blur] was a long negotiation ... Blur were going to be a headliner in various years but they couldn't get it together and more importantly they weren't connecting as a band." BDO organisers were as shocked by the cancellation as those people who had purchased tickets, as they had not received prior notification. Social media was the forum in which the public and media received updates, with Maddah first stating on [[Twitter]] that, in the time he had been with the festival, he had only seen the BDO team work as hard as possible to fulfil each of Blur's requests. Maddah later stated on Twitter that refund options would be available for those ticket-holders who no longer wished to attend due to Blur's announcement.<ref name="Blur" />

The second 2014 Sydney show was then officially cancelled on 26 September 2013 due to poor ticket sales—the show was merged into the first show on 26 January. In an official statement, West explained, "Perhaps we were a bit ambitious expanding to two dates in Sydney for this year's Big Day Out."<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Day Out cancels second Sydney show|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/37070/Big-Day-Out-cancels-second-Sydney-show|work=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=27 September 2013|author=Tom Mann|date=26 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928235147/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/37070/Big-Day-Out-cancels-second-Sydney-show|archive-date=28 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Overall, the attendance figures for the 2014 festival were equivalent to around 50 per cent of the 2013 event. Approximately 15,000 tickets were sold for the Perth leg of the festival,<ref>{{cite web|title=Maddah clears up confusion about Big Day Out's future|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/38268/Maddah-clears-up-confusion-about-Big-Day-Outs-future|work=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=4 February 2014|author=Tom Mann|date=29 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202112000/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/38268/Maddah-clears-up-confusion-about-Big-Day-Outs-future|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> leading to an announcement that the Big Day Out would not return to the western capital city. Maddah confirmed to the media that 31,000 people attended the Sydney leg on 26 January.<ref>{{cite web|title=Last Big Day Out for Perth|url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/21153392/last-big-day-out-for-perth/|work=The West Australian|access-date=30 January 2014|author=Simon Collins|date=29 January 2014}}</ref><ref name="Loss">{{cite web|title=Big Day Out faces $15 million loss, legal battles|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/38282/Big-Day-Out-faces-15-million-loss-legal-battles|work=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=4 February 2014|author=Tom Mann|date=30 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202112005/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/38282/Big-Day-Out-faces-15-million-loss-legal-battles|archive-date=2 February 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Maddah participated in an interview with the [[triple j]] radio station in February 2014 and said that he had not expected the festival to be financially successful in 2014:

<blockquote>
I was under no illusion that it was going to be [anything but] a financial catastrophe—to say the least—this year. That was not even remotely in my mind, that I was going to walk in there and make any money this year.<ref name="Perth">{{cite news|title=Big Day Out won't return to Perth, promoter confirms, citing 'financial catastrophe'|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-02-07/big-day-out-promoter-says-event-a-financial-catastrophe/5247002|access-date=30 June 2014|work=ABC News|date=7 February 2014}}</ref></blockquote>

Maddah further explained that the festival lost around [[Australian dollar|A$]]10 million, but at the time of the interview, he was still awaiting the final financial results.<ref name="Perth" /> Maddah cited overhead cost issues from the Perth leg as detrimental to the festival:

<blockquote>
When you look through the financial history of most of the national festivals, the east coast has to subsidise events in Perth ... That's another reason why Big Day Out ticket prices were so high this year, because generally speaking you lose money in Perth. You've got two days to get there, three days to get back, all the trucking, all the production... a hotel room that you would pay $180 in Sydney is $320 a night in Perth in the same hotel chain. The price of hiring everything is ridiculous over there. Combine that will dropping public support for festivals over there and attendance figures and then for all your trouble you get a kicking from the local government and state government. It just got to a point where it's become unbearable.<ref name="Perth" /></blockquote>

On 25 June 2014, the Australian ''Music Feeds'' website published an article after it received documents showing that Maddah "stepped down as Big Day Out director and transferred his stake in the Australian festival entirely over to American partners, the Austin, Texas-based C3 Presents"—the arrangement was effective on 4 June 2014. Maddah's shares (held under the business name "Madjo BDO Pty Ltd") were transferred from West and an unnamed company in November 2013, thereby removing the last remaining cofounder from the business. The documents also revealed that the newly appointed director of the "BDO Presents" company, as of 4 June 2014, is a person named Blake Kendrick, while the company's new registered address belongs to an Australian law firm.<ref name="Bar" />

On 26 June 2014, the C3 company—founded by its managers, Charles Attal, Charlie Jones and Charlie Walker, in 2007—released an official statement in which it announced the cancellation of the 2015 Big Day Out;<ref name="Cancellation"/> however, the company also stated that it enjoyed its involvement in the BDO festival and intends to "bring back the festival in future years".<ref name="Bar">{{cite web|author1=Nastassia Baroni|title=AJ Maddah Pulls Out Of Big Day Out|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/aj-maddah-pulls-out-of-big-day-out/|website=Music Feeds|access-date=30 June 2014|date=25 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Peter Vincent|author2=Michelle Duff|author3=Jess Etheridge|title=Brown disappointed with BDO demise|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/10201896/Big-Day-Out-2015-cancelled|access-date=30 June 2014|work=Stuff.co.nz|agency=Fairfax Media|date=26 June 2014}}</ref>

In the wake of Maddah's sale and the C3 announcement, differing perspectives emerged in the media. On 26 June 2014, following the release of C3's official statement, Maddah insisted in a triple j interview that he remained involved with the festival and holds the option of buying back his stake in the company for 2016, the year that he insisted the festival will return. However, an anonymous source stated that Maddah is no longer involved, with C3 in control of all aspects of the BDO brand—from social media to intellectual property—while another unnamed source believes that C3 will "bankrupt the company, go back to America and forget about Australia."<ref name="Not" /><ref>{{cite web|author1=Nastassia Baroni|title=AJ Maddah Needs "A Dollar" For BDO v2.0|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/aj-maddah-needs-a-dollar-for-bdo-v2-0/|website=Music Feeds|access-date=30 June 2014|date=26 June 2014}}</ref> Lees also spoke with triple j on 26 June and, in addition to stating "It's a very dysfunctional arrangement with AJ [Maddah] being in the driver's seat", expressed an ongoing belief in the high status of the BDO festival:

<blockquote>
The Big Day Out has been, and will always be, the festival in Australia. And if people are expecting something better to come along tomorrow, then they shouldn't be holding their breath, because it's not going to happen. Big Day Out set the high benchmark which is not going to be succeeded by a one-day festival in the near future for sure.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Darren Levin|title=Big Day Out founder Viv Lees lashes out at AJ Maddah|url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/39811/Big-Day-Out-founder-Viv-Lees-lashes-out-at-AJ-Maddah|website=Faster Louder|publisher=Faster Louder Pty Ltd.|access-date=30 June 2014|date=26 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629140931/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/news/39811/Big-Day-Out-founder-Viv-Lees-lashes-out-at-AJ-Maddah|archive-date=29 June 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>

After the ''New York Times'' announced "advanced talks" between Live Nation and C3 Presents in early October 2014,<ref>{{cite news|author1=Ben Sisario|title=Live Nation Seeks Deal for Stake in Promoter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/business/media/live-nation-in-talks-to-buy-stake-in-c3-presents.html?_r=2|access-date=25 January 2015|work=The New York Times|date=6 October 2014}}</ref> the purchase of a 51-per cent stake in the Austin company was confirmed on 22 December of the same year. Described at the time of the acquisition as "the largest independent concerts company in its space", C3 reported revenue to the value of US$124 million in 2013 and was targeted by Live Nation for its festival portfolio. The C3 founders told reporters that they were "excited" by the development, but made no mention of the Big Day Out festival.<ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Lars Brandle|title=Live Nation Completes Deal for C3 Presents|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/6414053/live-nation-completes-deal-for-c3-presents|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Billboard|access-date=25 January 2015|date=22 December 2014}}</ref> It has not returned since then.