Minus Zero Festival.. apparently was like Fyre Festival - On Ice!

Turns out a Music Festival in Vermont was turned into "an extreme clusterf***" by the organizer, Danny Bitar. Mr. Bitar owns a boutique marketing firm in LA, and arrived days before the festival opens and starts firing people on the spot. It appears he ran out of money and judging from the number of contractors that have come forward who haven't been paid, that seems an accurate statement. The 2019 festival has already been cancelled.

https://pagesix.com/2019/01/18/vermont-music-fest-was-an-extreme-clusterf-k-contractors/

The festival did go through and due to some very dedicated contractors, who put the safety of the public first. Hats off to them. I will be following this story and will post updates as I get them.

The Page Six article isn't really clear when Mr. Bitar went from 'being a part of' the festival to being its CEO. From appearances it looks like the early ticket sales paid deposits (or maybe entire fees) for the major performers. When late advance sales and walk-up sales failed to happen, Bitar went in damage control mode but it was too late. Lots of "holding the bag" here.

It would be nice to see actual attendance numbers and hard ticket numbers; those may come out in open court as the lawsuits crank up.

I'm seeing this pretty regularly on a small scale with concert and rave production here in San Francisco. Several big NYE parties this year left folks unpaid, despite the event being a "success".

I had a group rent some lights from me, I gave them a heck of a bro deal since they're friends of the shop owner I sublet from. The lighting crew they hired didn't use all of them, and they had the nerve to ask for a discount because the equipment didn't get used. What? It's not like they're expendable. You booked them, had them for the duration agreed upon, whether or not you turn them on is of no concern to me.

At least I wasn't abandoned in the snow somewhere!