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Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks be follow

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Speaker 1: this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: Joining us on the line equals entertainment co founder Brent

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Speaker 2: equals to discuss the potential law change when it comes

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Speaker 2: to festivals and the money that they hold for tickets. Brent,

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Speaker 2: very good afternoon to you.

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Speaker 3: How are you going?

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Speaker 4: Very good? Thanks, Brent. So just to get to the

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Speaker 4: just to just put this in a solid question to start, So,

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Speaker 4: when a concert festival proba uses a company like ticket Master,

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Speaker 4: what happens with the money as it comes in from

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Speaker 4: the punters buying the tickets?

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Speaker 3: Oh, you buy a ticket, The money is passes to

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Speaker 3: the ticket and the ticket that holds that money until

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Speaker 3: the show has played and then releases that money to

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Speaker 3: the promoter or the venue or both.

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Speaker 4: And so I'm assuming when it's a company, I think

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Speaker 4: we're talking about one called ticket Ferry. There's probably some

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Speaker 4: others they have a different model. Whereas the money comes in,

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Speaker 4: it just goes to the the promoter.

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Speaker 3: Well, they take their piece out of it, their booking

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Speaker 3: fees probably and pass it on to the promoter. Yes,

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Speaker 3: that's correct, and so so sorry, you can do well,

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Speaker 3: you hope that the promoter was cashed up enough to

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Speaker 3: be able to repay the money. If it is, the

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Speaker 3: show is canceled.

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Speaker 4: And so obviously you run a solid establishment equals entertainment.

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Speaker 4: You've been going for a very long time, and you

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Speaker 4: would propose legislation that How would that affect if there

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Speaker 4: was legislation that came in that basically said you have

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Speaker 4: to do it that way? Would it have to be

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Speaker 4: sorry you go?

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Speaker 3: The only effect would be that the promoter, that the

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Speaker 3: punter is protected and if things go wrong, and they

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Speaker 3: do go wrong, they go wrong for me as well.

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Speaker 3: But you know that the money, the ticket money, goes

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Speaker 3: straight back to the ticket buyer. It's the very first

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Speaker 3: thing you do it for a show is canceled, and

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Speaker 3: then deal with the consequences yourself, because that's your business

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Speaker 3: you're running. So that's no change. The punter wouldn't notice

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Speaker 3: any different, but to be a structural change in the background.

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Speaker 4: So, but they have to always go with one of

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Speaker 4: these established companies or could they just prove that they're

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Speaker 4: keeping the money themselves and appall somewhere else and a

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Speaker 4: bank account somewhere else and not touching it.

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Speaker 3: Well, you say a bank account. I mean, you know

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Speaker 3: it should already be held in trust so no one

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Speaker 3: can touch it. They can't touch it until the show

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Speaker 3: is run, but goes in the trust or something similar.

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Speaker 3: But there are many companies, ticketing companies in New Zealand

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Speaker 3: that do keep the money and don't pass it on

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Speaker 3: to the promoter, lots of them.

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Speaker 2: Is it unique to us print or how does it

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Speaker 2: work over in Australia. Australia obviously you've done festivals and

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Speaker 2: events and gigs over there. Have they got title laws?

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Speaker 3: I think they have a voluntary code of conduct that

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Speaker 3: a lot of the major players, not the major promoters

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Speaker 3: and tickets they adhere to. We don't quite have that

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Speaker 3: here yet. You know, our business is well, it's small

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Speaker 3: in comparison them, and there are less players, so we

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Speaker 3: really need help from the government to to to legislate

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Speaker 3: and to protect the punters and help the business. The

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Speaker 3: thing is, there's so much money going through these ticket

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Speaker 3: is now that it really is a potential problem that's

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Speaker 3: just waiting waiting in the wings to happen. Again.

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Speaker 4: Is it a checking an egg thing?

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Speaker 2: Though?

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Speaker 4: Whereas if you're a concert and you're trying to put

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Speaker 4: it on. Don't you need the money that's coming in

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Speaker 4: from the tickets to pay the deposits and be it

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Speaker 4: fears for them?

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Speaker 3: Well, this is why it goes wrong at the very point. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: you know, and you have to have money to start

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Speaker 3: a business, any business, And you know, if you want

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Speaker 3: to be a promoter, you better have a fair whack

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Speaker 3: at money as a reserve because things do go wrong

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Speaker 3: and you shouldn't be assuming that a ticket buyer is

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Speaker 3: a partner with you when you get when you're going

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Speaker 3: to air concert. They're not as ticket buyers. So but.

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Speaker 4: Bring a lot of promoters would have would have got

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Speaker 4: where they are today through running a massive hail Mary

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Speaker 4: of a concert and just fly seat to the pants

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Speaker 4: and pulling pulling it off.

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Speaker 3: Right, Yes, I think, so good luck to them, Good

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Speaker 3: luck to them, But I just don't work that way.

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Speaker 4: So yeah, but so, but if we got a juicy fest,

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Speaker 4: which is sort of the topic that's brought the stuff,

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Speaker 4: But they didn't go down because of ticket sales. They

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Speaker 4: went down because they couldn't get their alcohol licens. And

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Speaker 4: this might not be exactly what you're talking about, but

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Speaker 4: I saw an excellent Facebook post from you talking about

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Speaker 4: how difficult events are and how different they are being

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Speaker 4: treated when it comes to alcohol licensing compared to say

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Speaker 4: a bar and a restaurant. What are the differences.

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Speaker 3: There, Oh, it's a horror show. I mean they limit

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Speaker 3: you to the amount. Well, you know, okay, if you

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Speaker 3: need to go to a green field, there's not a

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Speaker 3: normal venue. You need to get those special license and

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Speaker 3: to apply for a special license, they can shut you

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Speaker 3: down all over the park. Often they limit you to

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Speaker 3: two drinks per person, or they'll cut you down to

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Speaker 3: one drink during the show, or no drinks. They have

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Speaker 3: this power over you. But if you have something like

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Speaker 3: Eden Park or Mount Smart there's an on license. They

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Speaker 3: tend to work with an existing license that's more flexible.

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Speaker 3: But right across the country there's no consistency, so promoting

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Speaker 3: promoters don't really know what's what's going to happen when

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Speaker 3: when they're applying for a special license, and it makes

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Speaker 3: it very difficult. It's as if the powers that be

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Speaker 3: behind it or are trying to stop New Zealanders drinking.

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Speaker 3: My take on it, and to me, that's very non

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Speaker 3: key with key, he's like to have a drink and

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Speaker 3: if you don't want a drink. Don't. But if you do,

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Speaker 3: why can't you buy four drinks at once and give

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Speaker 3: three to your mates? I mean, it's it kind of

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Speaker 3: makes it almost makes it feel feel a bit wrong

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Speaker 3: to be buying alcohol.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, what do you think concerts? So if you're say,

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Speaker 4: and it does appear that they have some kind of

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Speaker 4: ideological opposition to alcohol. If that's the case, why why

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Speaker 4: do they Why do they target concerts and festivals as a.

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Speaker 3: Part of good point? That's a very good point, because

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Speaker 3: they think that it's a great source of alcohol harm.

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Speaker 3: Now I just I just don't agree. I mean, you

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Speaker 3: know you can buy on your way okay, on your

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Speaker 3: way to the gig, you can stop at a pub

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Speaker 3: and ad buy as many drinks as as you wanted

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Speaker 3: to have any drinks as you want to stand now,

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Speaker 3: I'm going to say anything, but you know you can

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Speaker 3: only when you go to a concert, which has a

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Speaker 3: lot of people to look after and monitor alcohol, you're

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Speaker 3: going to buy two drinks at once. It doesn't make

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Speaker 3: any sense.

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Speaker 4: Do you think that the people that you have to

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Speaker 4: go to get your license and sorted that they want

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Speaker 4: concerts to go ahead? Do you think that they or

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Speaker 4: is that is it a let's see if we can

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Speaker 4: get this done. We're going to make it work for you.

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Speaker 4: What what do you need because we want concerts? Or

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Speaker 4: is there a culture that of let's find a problem

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Speaker 4: to make this hard.

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Speaker 3: Well, well, the people they're often called the try agencies

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Speaker 3: of alcohol harm and health and police figures, but it

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Speaker 3: would appear that they don't like the fact that the

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Speaker 3: alcoholic concerts. That's how it appears, and it also appears

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Speaker 3: they're not responsible to counsel. They're responsible to a minister,

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Speaker 3: and the minister doesn't seem too keen to be talking

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Speaker 3: to them.

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Speaker 2: Are you getting any movement in this area, Brent, because

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Speaker 2: obviously you're pushing this and it seems.

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Speaker 3: Well maybe after this I will, yeah.

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Speaker 2: Well hopefully, But I'm just going to say, you know,

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Speaker 2: you the stuff we're doing it the founders of electric

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Speaker 2: ere laan way, I mean, every single organizer of major festivals.

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Speaker 2: So what happens, you know, if you keep getting this

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Speaker 2: sort of behavior from these alcohol committees, then you're just

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Speaker 2: going to shut up shop and not have festivals here.

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Speaker 3: Right. Well, it just makes it really unpalatable. And the

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Speaker 3: thing about what I care about with ticketing money alcohol

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Speaker 3: all stuff is the punter. Why can't I go to

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Speaker 3: a concert and buy a few beers for me? Em mate?

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Speaker 3: They won't let me at a concert, even though it's

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Speaker 3: highly monitored. It just seems like it's it's Kiev's like

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Speaker 3: to have a drink and to try and talk us

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Speaker 3: into something else. I think it's just wrong and it's.

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Speaker 4: A strange thing, isn't it, Because you're beholden so keev's

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Speaker 4: do want a drink and concerts need to be able

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Speaker 4: to sell drinks to stay in business. So if we

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Speaker 4: want concerts and festivals, then we're going to have to

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Speaker 4: have some drinks, is I mean? Look, the sober concert

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Speaker 4: is a very quiet concept. Another reason. So do you

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Speaker 4: think just the people that are choosing to and are

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Speaker 4: getting into the positions that make this decision are anti

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Speaker 4: alcohol chicken licking? Well that as opposed to you know,

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Speaker 4: people from the industry like you you know.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, look, I think I don't know what drives them.

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Speaker 3: I already don't. But think about this, what's happened. What's

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Speaker 3: happened with personal responsibility? If I go to a concert

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Speaker 3: and have so many drinks like a pall over, whose

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Speaker 3: fault is that? Your my faults, but they would say, no,

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Speaker 3: it's the promoter's fault because they let them get to

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Speaker 3: that situation. Yeah, and they could even be you know,

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Speaker 3: the person's sold in the drinks security that they could

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Speaker 3: all be in the firing line. I think it's just wrong.

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Speaker 3: I think personal responsibility is where it's at. And if

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Speaker 3: you try and legislat and make rules for people in

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Speaker 3: every sense, you're going to fail because you can't.

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Speaker 4: Yeah. Well no, no, I agree one hundred percent. And

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Speaker 4: what annoys me is the people that are trying to

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Speaker 4: build things and put things on and and make things

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Speaker 4: happen are the people that get absolutely put through the

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Speaker 4: ringer to the point where they're pulling out their hair

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Speaker 4: to get past these people that are putting up barriers

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Speaker 4: that aren't in line with the thinking of the people

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Speaker 4: that they're supposed to be working for. That that's that's right. Yeah, no, no,

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Speaker 4: you go.

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Speaker 3: They seem to be tasked to stop people drinking. You're

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Speaker 3: not going to do that. It's not going to happen, and.

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Speaker 4: We don't want to stop Another news, Brent, it's twenty

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Speaker 4: years since we made the excellent album Brown Sabbath Together

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Speaker 4: that you produced. Have you listened to that lately.

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Speaker 3: I hand it on Other Nation is a very good record.

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Speaker 3: It's buddy it is as a classic. Yeah, there are

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Speaker 3: so many good songs on that album. It's just the

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Speaker 3: hit after hit after hit.

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Speaker 4: It's a great album. You've got some powerful song sounds

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Speaker 4: out of the lab recording studio. Anyways, thank you so

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Speaker 4: much time.

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Speaker 2: Brent good to share, Brent Good phone guys, go well

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Speaker 2: that is Equals Entertainment co founder Brent Equals.

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