Another local promoter pulls-up stumps and calls it a day, citing economic difficulties, attendance downturns and the loss of a venue as the main reasons for her departure.
For the past three years, Karen Andrews has worked tirelessly promoting new and aspiring rock, hard rock and heavy-metal bands in south-east Queensland through her self-operated, promotional company, MMK Productions.
Karen explains the local, music scene in Brisbane is struggling compared to cities like Sydney and Melbourne. “There is so much happening in Brisbane and not just in the music scene,” she says.
“You could name a lot of things that go on in Brisbane, from comedy right through to everything else and it all hits hard on the hip pocket.“We all struggle to make a living these days and the cost of living is very high. So trying to divvy that up between all the things that are going on, people are limited to what they can go and see and therefore that affects the industry.”
“It’s a very bad state of affairs as a promoter.”
In addition to increased competition from international touring forces, which the next six months alone include Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and AC/DC, Karen also lost her second venue on the Gold Coast due to poor attendances.
This severely limited the performance options she could provide. “The fact I lost the second venue on the Gold Coast, which meant I was able to offer bands two gigs that toured up the coast, and losing that venue and with very little venues down there to call on was what forced the hand and the decision.
“Bands are not going to tour for one-show only; I mean it’s expensive touring these days with fuel costs because most of them do drive, very few of them fly, and at least the opportunity to play Gold Coast and Brisbane they had those two events. But to only offer the one event in Brisbane, it’s just not enough for a touring band.”
Dwindling numbers and the high show costs proved a toxic combination for the MMK business model, leaving Karen with a heart-wrenching decision to make: get out of Dodge or face bankruptcy. “It’s a very bad state of affairs as a promoter,” she laughs awkwardly.
“I was never in it to make a lot of money, but you’d still like to be able to walk away with something from it and be able to give the band something for their trouble, especially if they’re coming from Melbourne and Sydney.
“In my case, it was the promoter who was the last person getting paid,” she laughs again, “but when I put in 70-odd hours a week doing what I do, putting line-ups together and making sure we’ve got quality line-ups with quality live music for people to come out and see; it got to the stage where it was pretty heartbreaking for me to stand in an empty room watching very talented bands play to nobody; I just can’t do it anymore, I just can’t.”
Through these trials and tribulations, Karen remains positive and upbeat about the experience; in the meantime, the final MMK show takes place at the New Globe Theatre 13 November headlined by Darkc3ll.
As for Karen, she returns to the 9-5 working world, but will remain in the music industry as a freelance consultant for emerging bands. “It’s been a great ride. I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve met a lot of people and I’ve got a huge amount of knowledge, and a lot of people say I’m pretty much an encyclopaedia on the Brisbane metal scene, what’s going around etc.
“I’ve nurtured a lot of bands and I sit back now [and] watch them continue to grow their careers, which is a great thrill for me to see that. Unfortunately, the workload involved and not being financially viable, I had to go back to a real job – to juggle the two is quite hard.”
The final MMK Productions show is headlined by Darkc3ll and features The Wrath, Gimpus and Terror Parade at New Globe Theatre 13 November.
