2011 Illawarra Folk Festival
Performer Application & Remuneration Guidelines

The following information may help you decide whether you should apply to perform at the 26th Illawarra Folk Festival at Bulli to be held from 13-16 January 2011.

GENERAL ON-LINE APPLICATIONS will open in April 2010 and close 31 July 2010

Please read through the information and instructions below before submitting an application.

The link to the online application is at the end of this page. Please read through the page before submitting an application.

Please ensure you take less than 60 minutes to fill it in or you may lose all your data!

If you need help with the on-line application contact Graeme Morrison 0412 358 333

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General festival enquiries with Ros Shieldhouse, rosshield@optusnet.com.au tel/fax: 1300 887 034
Illawarra Folk Club, PO Box 5289, Wollongong, NSW, 2500, Australia

For Illawarra Folk Club concerts, generally held 1st Friday and 3rd Saturday of each month
contact Russell Hannah, tel: 02 4297 1777, email: bigruss43@bigpond.com

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About the Festival

The 26th Illawarra Folk Festival will be held from the 13th to 16th January 2011 at the Bulli Showground and surrounding venues.

The Festival will also be holding its 8th Folk Summer Music School over the 12th and 13th of January a short distance from the main festival site. Students and tutors are welcome.

The festival begins on Wednesday evening with a bush dance, followed by Italian Lunch, an Opening Chairty Concert and the Tripe Folk Concert on Thursday. Up to 12 venues will then operate from Friday morning to Sunday evening.

We are looking for folk music artists who will be part of the event and be involved not only in concerts but also sessions, singalongs, workshops, theme concerts, dances, childrens events where possible. The Illawarra Folk Festival is an event which exubes friendliness, participation and having a good time with new and old friends.

Many of the performers camp on site. Some limited accommodation may be provided with billets or hotels, caravan parks nearby.

All fees quoted are to be totally inclusive of all costs such as GST, travel, visas, meals.

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International Performers

There are only a limited number of international performers we accept who generally are visiting Australia. We DO NOT PROVIDE AIRFARES but minimal expenses. International artists are also to arrange their own visas.

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Selection Criteria

We select performers mainly by the following criteria:

a) Type of material performed - Folk style performers are preferred, with minor inclusion of other musical elements. We generally don't book performers who solely perform Blues, Jazz, Acoustic Pop or Country as we find there are more than enough 'folk style' performers around to fill our spots.

b) Type of performances - Performers with workshops and theme presentations are always more favoured rather than just concert performers. Also performers who can play for seniors, children and dancers are also sought, although not essential. Performers who can stay the whole Festival and participate in sessions and the general festival atmosphere are also highly considered.

c) Price of course - Low to modest fees are provided dependent on the number of performers, performances proposed and where they are coming from. Very limited accommodation is available however there is plenty of camping space on the Festival site. You need to indicate in the notes section if the fee proposed is negotiable as well. We have provided some guidance as to what you might quote below. You are still welcome to provide the fee you like.

d) International Performers - We provide modest fees only and DO NOT PROVIDE AIRFARES or ARRANGE VISAS. Large groups should seek their own funding from their countries or other sources.

e) Partners - We welcome performers partners and children - providing their details are supplied in the application in advance. We do not provide any additional tickets for other guests.

f) Street performers, buskers, artists - are more than welcome to apply to perform but please be aware that the focus of the festival and the limited funds are provided towards the musical aspect.

g) Volunteering - We will welcome and look favourably upon artists who will also contribute by helping make the festival happen! We always need MCs, Venue Manager, Instrument Lockup staff and many other tasks. So please also consider strongly about volunteering.

h) Support for the Folk Music Scene in Australia – We also like to support artists that support their local and national folk music scene. There are some questions in the application that reflect this such as are you a member of the Illawarra Folk Club, another folk club / organisation; have you attended / performed at other folk music events; are a member of Folk Alliance Australia or a subscriber to Trad&Now.

Please note that the Festival is run by volunteers including a number of musicians and dancers and survives solely on ticket sales and sponsorship and through their goodwill. Performers who offer to help as well are also looked upon favourably.

All performance fees submitted are to include GST if applicable and all other costs including travel costs to get to and from the Festival site.

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Fee Request Advice

The following will give artists some advice as to what is generally provided for remuneration for the festival.

The global financial crunch has hit us as well. It is very likely that our corporate sponsors will not be supporting us for this festval so potentially this will mean a 20% reduction in our income. Please be conscious of this when asking for fees. We have noticed quotes from various perfomers increasing by 20% and more! This obviously makes it more difficult for selection.

You are of course welcome to ask for what you want but this gives you an idea of what we are expecting and is acceptable within our budget.

We provide free camping sites and in some instances may provide accommodation based upon circumstances. For this fee we expect the performers are available for the whole of the festival in general and where possible.

BASE LOCAL FEES
Single performer - $100
Duo - $150
Band (more than 2!) - $200 to $500 dependant on the number of members
Dance groups, choirs - up to $150 or Day/Season Tickets dependant on number of performances. A Day Pass is provided if performances are on one day only.

BASE SYDNEY FEES
Single performer - $150
Duo - $200
Band - $400 to $800 dependant on the number of members
Dance group, choirs - up to $250 or Season Tickets.

OTHER AUSTRALIAN AREAS FEES
Performers who are not local or Sydney based might like to consider the base fees for local performers and then add the travelling costs to arrive at a figure.

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS
Fees are negotiable but in general the offered fee can range anywhere between $100 and $1000 and more dependant on the number of performers, suitability and appeal to the festival. Have a look at the local and Sydney base fees as well. Airfares are not provided by the festival. Performers are responsible for arranging their own visas, transport to and from the festival.

YOUTH ARTISTS
A Season Pass will be provided to Youth Artists who perform in the Youth Concerts. A Season Pass is also provided to a parent.

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Artists Responsibilities

Performers accept responsibility for their own Public Liability Insurance. When performing, you are a Festival service provider and as such, are not covered by the Festival's public liability insurance.

We suggest investigating insurance options with Folk Alliance Australia, see www.folkalliance.org.au and follow the links to 'insurance'. You need to be or become a member of Folk Alliance Australia.

Performers also accept all responsibility for their Tax Obligations, Superannuation and WorkCover requirements.

Artists to provide their own equipment such as guitar amps and drum kits.

Artists are responsible for their meals and drinks. Water will be provided at stages.

For more information on your responsibilities if you are booked click here.

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Registration Instructions

1. Click here to go to the online application (will be active in April 2010)

PLEASE TAKE LESS THAN 60 minutes TO DO THE APPLICATION OTHERWISE DATA CAN BE LOST.

If you need help contact Graeme Morrison 0412 358 333

It is wise to have a biography prewritten and ready to paste and to also have a Digital Photograph ready to upload with your application.

2. Email an electronic photograph preferably in colour, minimum 10cm wide, 300 dpi, JPG format to media@illawarrafolkclub.org.au or attach to the application.

3.Go to the STAGE PLAN page and submit online. Provide any sample recording, photograph and supporting information to Illawarra Folk Festival, PO Box 5289, Wollongong, NSW, 2500.

4. If you can also provide some time over the Festival as a Volunteer then please indicate so on the application form or go to the Volunteer Registration after completing the performer application.

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Join Email List

If you would like to keep up to date on folk happenings in the Illawarra area and the Illawarra Folk Festival why not join the Folk Club Email List?

Please provide addresses to David: info@illawarrafolkclub.org.au

We also encourage membership of our Illawarra Folk Club, Folk Alliance Australia, Folk Federation of NSW, Australia’s Folk Music Magazine Trad&Now and the Illawarra Folk Club.

regards

David De Santi
Artistic Director
for 2011 Illawarra Folk Festival Booking Committee