In it for the music

THE glitz and glamour of show business is nowhere to be seen in the offices of two of the state’s leading concert promoters.

At Sunset Events in Subiaco and Mellen Events in Fremantle, 1970s-style brown brick is the dominating feature, as staff navigate hallways lined with posters signed by some of music’s biggest names.

And while Sunset’s David Chitty and Mellen’s Brad Mellen may have some differing opinions when it comes to how they run their businesses, their motivation for being in the music business is the same – they’re in it for love, not money.

How very rock and roll.

Sunset Events was started by Mr Chitty and business partner Andrew Chernov in 1997 when the pair began running an outdoor cinema in Kings Park.

After introducing music performances before the movies, Sunset branched out into concert promotion, winding up the film part of the business in 2004 after its contract was handed to an interstate rival.

I was attracted to festivals,” Mr Chitty says.

“From travelling overseas, I could see this gap in Western Australia that there weren’t really any true festivals besides the Big Day Out.”

In 2004, Sunset launched the West Coast Blues ‘n’ Roots festival, which attracts 25,000 concert-goers annually to acts such as Crowded House, the late James Brown and this year, Bob Dylan and Grace Jones.

The following year marked the launch of Southbound, a two-day (and now three-day) music and camping festival held annually in Busselton early in the New Year.

Southbound sold out every year between 2007 and 2010, but a New Year’s Day start-date and extreme heat affected ticket sales this year, with about 20,000 people attending.

Sunset’s two flagship events were both created by forming partnerships with eastern states-based promoters to bring acts to WA, with Blues ‘n’ Roots sharing a lin-eup the Byron Bay Bluesfest and Southbound linked to the Victorian-established Falls Festival.

Sunset’s other ventures include Stereosonic, One Movement for Music, Groovin’ The Moo and the St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, which is happening next month in the Perth Cultural Centre.

Mr Chitty says he feels all the gaps in the festival scene are covered and that Sunset is no longer looking to expand its calendar of events.

“From here it’s a matter of building the brands and continuing to establish the events as iconic events in WA over a long-term period,” he says.

Brad Mellen established Mellen Events in 2000, having worked his way up the entertainment ladder, starting in venues then moving into promotion.

A brief foray into sport brought him to Perth as manager of the Western Reds rugby league team.

When that gig ended, he set up Mellen, bringing the Future Music Festival and acts like INXS and Chris Isaak to WA.

Mellen partners with Lloyd Events to present top Australian acts at the Quarry Amphitheatre, in Floreat, and until last year presented the ‘A Day on the Green’ concert series at Sandalford Wines.

Its agreement with Sandalford has ended (see page 12), but A Day on the Green continues and will soon announce a new winery home.

If you want to fire up Mr Mellen, get him talking about the hurdle local councils present to those trying to run or start up an event in this state.

“Council bureaucracy – that’s the single biggest hurdle that we face in this city,” he says.

“We seem to have a culture of finding a way to say no to something, rather than finding a way to get something done.

“If we spent as much energy on trying to do things and get them right as we do on trying to stop things from happening, we would be a more vibrant place.”

Mr Mellen says many councils and politicians talk the talk about Perth becoming a vibrant, cultural city, but refuse to walk the walk by approving events and easing restrictions on things like noise, parking and venue sizes.

Both promoters say their business is dominated by risks, where the costs of a failed event can be devastating to both the bottom line and the company’s reputation.

“It’s all risk,” Mr Mellen says.

“We take enormous risk every time we put a show on. It’s legalised gambling, in a sense.

“We’re making an informed decision about a product and its ability to be sold to a marketplace.

“If you get that right, it can be very, very rewarding emotionally and financially, and if you get that wrong, it can be very, very destructive, emotionally and financially.”

Mr Chitty agrees, but says the risks were a big part of what drew him to the industry. While they acknowledge risk is central to what they do, the men have a slightly different take on what can be done to minimise those risks.

For Mr Chitty, it’s all about the quality of the line-up.

“It’s great acts and at a good price,” he says. “In the consumer’s mind you have to offer a combination of acts that represents excellent value for money, that stands out among everything else.

“At the end of the day, without a good line-up people aren’t going to buy tickets.”

But for Mr Mellen, it’s about sitting down and figuring out the numbers.

“Getting your numbers right is the cornerstone of minimising that risk,” he says.

“You can have the world’s best act and still lose money if your costs outstrip the band’s ability to be able to sell tickets.

Despite the challenges, it’s clear both promoters think the rewards are worth it.

Mr Chitty says his is a job that continues to be incredibly interesting and satisfying.

“At the end of the day our job is to connect the artist with the audience, and to make sure that experience is a good one,” he says.

“It is a buzz when you see that working and know you helped to make that happen.”

Mr Mellen agrees that the feeling of putting on a successful show is unparalleled.

“The day you lose that feeling is the day you probably should get out of the business, and hopefully that will never happen to me.”

Mellen Events’ Live at the Quarry series continues from January 24 with Cat Power.

Sunset Events’ St Jerome’s Laneway is on at the Perth Cultural Centre on February 12.