Where does the festival money go?
First, thank you to all the Soulshiners, for every dollar, hour of labour, song and late night dishwashing shift. By pooling our resources, we are proving that a truly co-created community festival can flourish and endure.
As most of you know, Soulshine Festival is a community-building, volunteer-operated festival that is flipping the script on how we gather. Here is a quick outline of how this has been expressed over the years, along with an overview of exactly where the money goes.
Year 1: Passholders paid $240. Most musicians received a very small honorarium, while volunteers attended for free. The total income was $48,937, and the total cost was $51,800. Interesting note: The loss was almost precisely the pass refund amount.
Year 2: Passholders paid a maximum of $320, with an average price of $244. Musicians were paid an even smaller honorarium than in Year 1, and volunteers continued to be in service and attend for free. Total contribution was $79,460, total cost was $77,912.
Year 3: Passholders paid a maximum of $420, with an average price of $311. Musicians were largely unpaid and instead contributed $80 for a food and logistics pass. Most volunteers and organisers paid for the $80 food and logistics pass. Total contribution was $119,860, total cost was $117,600.
Year 4: All participants, no matter if organiser, musician or volunteer contributed equally at a maximum pass price of $300 and an average of $210. Total contribution was $72,800.00, total cost was $71,060 with an additional $11,000 in outstanding loans for the purchase of the kitchen trailers.
Year 5: For the first time, we are keeping the model the same. The only difference is the addition of the Soulshine Membership, which is $20.
Now that we have an appreciation for the contribution and expense ratios over the years, let’s discuss the cost breakdowns, highlighting exactly how the money is spent using last year as an example. The attached screenshot displays the percentage distribution of all incurred expenses and their corresponding dollar amounts.
We were required to design and build a kitchen solution from scratch on our new premises (And any that may follow). It made up the most significant percentage. Similarly, we invested substantially in lighting and power assets in Year 2, and in tents, including the Stretch Tent, in Year 3. With every purchase, we insure more stability, resilience, opportunity and ease of production.
If we get enough help this year, I hope to create a closing report similar to the one we released in year 3, with as much detail as we can provide. You can check out year 3’s report on the updates page on the festival website.
I believe that by removing money motivation out of the equation, specifically for our core community gathering, that we will all experience a perspective shift and co-create more fully and in service to each other. Additionally, resources can stretch further to support richer programming, sturdier infrastructure, and higher-quality food for everyone. This model doesn’t mean we won’t create opportunities for income as a community, but it does mean we will always have a gathering that we can rely on to fulfill our connection, aligning with our deepest values.
Thank you for your interest in the inner workings. I want to continue bringing visibility to whatever the community needs to see. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about this.
With gratitude,
Anas
