Pemberton Music Festival cancelled after filing for bankruptcy

Facing a possible cash shortfall of over $10 million, B.C.'sPemberton Music Festival (PMF) has been cancelled due to bankruptcy.

Thefestival's website, which had been online and selling tickets until 4 p.m. PT on Thursday, now consists of a single page, confirming the partnership organizing the concert hasfiled for bankruptcy, with Ernst & Young appointed as trustees.

"Unfortunately there are no automatic refunds from PMF," it read.

"As PMF is now in bankruptcy, it has no ability to provide refunds for tickets purchased. However,ticket holders may file a proof of claim form as an unsecured creditor with [Ernst & Young] in accordance with the claims process."

Ticket holders who used a credit card for their purchase are advised by the website to contact their bank or credit card issuer to see if they can obtain a refund.

The festival was scheduled to take place from July 13 to 16.Organizers announcedChance the Rapper and Muse as this year's headlinersthree weeks ago.

A fact sheet posted byErnst& Youngsaid the festival had budgeted expenses of $22 million, and so far had received $8.2 million in revenue.

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In a notice on itswebsite,HukaEntertainment, which produced the festival, said itwas"heartbroken" to make the announcement.

"As a contract producer,Hukadid not make the decision to cancel the festival. That decision was made by thePembertonMusic Festival, LP. We are extremely disappointed for our fans, artists and all of our partners who have supported the festival over the years," it says.

Weak loonie hurt bottom line

ThePembertonMusic Festival originally began in 2008 under the management of Live Nation, but the company opted for it not to become an annual event.

Hukaannounced its revival for 2014, and headliners since have included Pearl Jam, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar and Outkast.

TheSquamishValley Music Festival, another weekend-long concert just north of Vancouver, was cancelled in 2016 after a six-year run.

Both the Pemberton and Squamishfestivals began when the Canadian dollar was closeto par with the U.S. dollar,and with most artists being paid in U.S. dollars, the loonie's decline played a big role in the festivals' long-term viability.

"In addition, the Pemberton Music Festival experienced increasing difficulty in sourcing talent for the 2017 festival due to a limited number of artists touring in 2017," says a fact sheet posted by Ernst & Young.

A blow to community

The loss of the festival will come as a blow to the economy of Pemberton, a small city 150 kilometresnorth of Vancouver. A $3 surcharge on each ticket went to local governments.

"That was so beneficial to the community. Now obviously we've lost that. That's hard to make up any other way," saidRussell Mack, local director for the Squamish-Lillooet regional district.

Pemberton Mayor Mike Richman said the city had been given no warning that bankruptcy was imminent, and presumed the festival was going ahead after the lineup was revealed.

But Mack said the community knew the festival's long-term future was precarious.

"They've lost of a lot of money in the lastthree years, and you can only do that for so long," he said.

"It just seems that festivals aren't the easiest thing to make a profit at."

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