Joe GallopScotland’s largest outdoor camping music festival, Doune the Rabbit Hole (cap. 15,000), has been accused of failing to pay artists after its 2022 event, despite launching ticket sales for next year’s edition.
Organisers of the festival, run annually by Jamie Murray and his father Craig Murray, confirmed there are outstanding payments still to be made to musicians.
Headliners at the festival, which returned to the Cardross Estate, Stirling from 14-17 July for the first time in two years, included Amy MacDonald, Belle & Sebastian, Sleaford Mods and Teenage Fanclub.
According to Scottish news outlet STV, a spokesperson for the festival said supply chain issues affected income levels, which meant it has not been able to cover the budget costs.
Doune the Rabbit Hole organisers said they are seeking investment to fill the gaps and have reached out to the unpaid artists. But according to STV, one performer, who does not wish to be named, said they were ignored after contacting the festival about their payment.
The festival’s organisers said in a statement, “Supply chain issues increased costs across the board and our income levels, in spite of attracting our biggest ever audience, did not increase sufficiently to cover the full 2022 budget on top of the costs sunk throughout 2020 and 2021 as we waited for lockdown measures to ease.
“Half of all tickets were sold pre-2020 at prices which would have been considerably higher had we known that the event would be two years delayed and 40% more expensive to deliver. We only book acts who we love and the idea of leaving anyone out of pocket is the very antithesis of our intention.
“Investment has been sought to fill the gap and signs are very positive that this situation will be resolved soon. Those affected by this temporary cashflow challenge have been informed and kept updated and we are very grateful for their patience and understanding.
“Bringing a music festival back in 2022 was never going to be a walk in the park, and we are so grateful to all of the artists, crew, volunteers, suppliers, music fans and families who together created a really special and memorable event, which is now Scotland’s largest independent outdoor music festival. We look forward to moving forward and delivering our best festival yet in July 2023.”