Dear Melbourne Fringe,

We are artists, producers, performers, arts workers and supporters of Melbourne's independent arts community.

Your mission is to "democratise the arts" and uphold "a vision of cultural democracy, empowering anyone to realise their right to creative expression." We believe in that mission. It is why we keep showing up. But the current terms for Festival Managed Venues are pulling in the opposite direction.

We value Melbourne Fringe. Many of us have made work through the festival, taken financial risks through the festival and helped build the culture the festival depends on. But performing should not just be for people who can afford to lose money.

We are asking Melbourne Fringe for two clear changes for 2026:

1. Revert the venue cut back to 30% across the board.

   A percentage cut already grows with rising costs and ticket prices. Raising the rate to 35% is not keeping pace with inflation. It is taking a bigger share of every dollar artists earn.

2. Stop charging the ticket cut on gross ticket sales. Artists should not pay fees on fees.

   If an artist needs $25 from each ticket, Fringe requires them to advertise it at $28.25 ($25 for the artist, $3.25 Per-Ticket Fee to Fringe). At an FMV, Fringe then takes 35% of the full $28.25, not the $25 the artist set. That is roughly an extra $1 per ticket charged on Fringe's own fee, money the artist never sees. Across a season it adds up to hundreds of dollars per artist.

   This is a fee on a fee. Take the cut from net sales after the participation fee.

We are also deeply concerned that larger productions with stronger sales histories have been able to negotiate their cut back down to 30%, while smaller, emerging, experimental or less commercially proven artists are left paying the full cut. A fair rate should not depend on who has the bargaining power to ask for one.

That sets a frightening precedent.

While these terms apply to FMVs, the precedent reaches further. When the festival sets a 35% venue cut and then adds a Per-Ticket Participation Fee worth roughly 10% on top, the real starting point is already closer to 45%. This is not sustainable.

Melbourne Fringe exists because artists make work. The terms should reflect that. We want Melbourne Fringe to thrive, not by shifting disproportionate cost and risk onto independent artists, but by honouring the mission that built it.

This letter will remain open for signatures until Monday 11 May 2026, after which it will be formally submitted to the Melbourne Fringe Board alongside the full list of signatories. We ask Melbourne Fringe to respond with a clear commitment to these changes ahead of the closure of the 2026 registration period.

Give artists a fair cut.

Sincerely,

The undersigned artists, producers, performers, arts workers and supporters of Melbourne's independent arts community

Dear artists, producers, arts workers and supporters of Melbourne Fringe,

Thank you for your open letter regarding Fringe Programmed Venue hire fees.

Melbourne Fringe exists because artists care deeply about the future of independent art in this city. Public advocacy, challenge and debate are all part of a healthy cultural democracy, and we respect the time, care and concern that sits behind your letter and the conversations it has generated.

We also want to clearly acknowledge that the concerns you raise are reasonable. The cost of making and presenting work is increasingly difficult for independent artists to sustain. Financial risk in the arts has become heavier. Artists are operating in an environment of rising costs, reduced opportunities and growing pressure across the sector. Melbourne Fringe shares these concerns deeply.

After extensive financial modelling and discussion, the Melbourne Fringe Board supports the 2026 Festival Programmed Venue model, including the move from a 30% to 35% venue hire contribution. We have carefully considered the requests outlined in your letter, as well as the details presented by Melbourne Fringe management that explain why these changes aren’t possible.

The Melbourne Fringe Board is not able to adopt these requests for the 2026 Festival.

This decision is not made lightly. Under the current model the artist-related costs such as operational and production staff, venue rental, and equipment hire, are projected to be $525,000. Of this, artists are proposed to contribute approximately $225,000. The remaining $300,000 subsidy of these spaces will be covered by Fringe, thanks to a variety of means: core and project contributions from local and State government, donations made through our EOFY campaign or Fringe ticketing systems, grants and partnerships from philanthropic organisations, and profit earned from our commercial activities such as the Festival bars and the year-round Common Rooms venue.

The Melbourne Fringe Board has approved this subsidy for 2026, but the organisation does not have the means to extend it beyond the current figure.

There is a lot of detail and assumptions operating across both the letter and the surrounding social media campaign, and we see this as a unique opportunity for the sector to engage more deeply in some of the nuance in this conversation.

Melbourne Fringe staff have prepared an information pack that responds to your requests in more detail, and explains why a change to our Fringe Programmed Venue plans isn’t possible for 2026. This is available as an attachment to this letter, but will also be hosted on our website with our Festival resources ongoing.

However, we do not want the conversation to end here.

The concerns raised in your letter are meaningful, and we believe there is value in a broader conversation with artists about what the future of the Festival Hub should look like. If our community prefers a lower-cost Hub model, then we need to openly discuss the trade-offs required to make that possible. That may involve changes to staffing models, equipment inclusions, venue configurations, infrastructure expectations, and more broadly the balance wanted from Hub artists between support and affordability. No option is off the table for future years.

The door to Melbourne Fringe is always open. If something about how Melbourne Fringe operates feels unclear, unfair, or worth questioning, please ask us.

Thank you again to everyone who signed the letter. We remain committed to continuing this conversation with care, openness and respect, now and into the future.

Warm regards,

Michael Kantor, Chair
Melbourne Fringe Board of Directors