If you’ve been paying attention to the coverage of the Commonwealth Games, you might have heard about the apathetic reception that the Games’ opening ceremony inspired. However, as Brisbane band Sheppard have explained, the supposedly minimal fees offered to performing acts may be the reason why the opening ceremony was lacking some huge names.
Last Wednesday night saw the Gold Coast’s Carrara Stadium explode with light and excitement as the 2018 Commonwealth Games kicked off. The opening ceremony of the Games featured a number of musical artists, including Christine Anu, Delta Goodrem, and Ricki-Lee Coulter, but many were left wondering why organisers hadn’t booked more, or bigger acts.
As News.com.au reports, Sheppard took to Facebook overnight to air their grievances about the low offer they received to take part in the ceremony, calling it an “honorarium fee”, and noting that they were told the “exposure” from their performance should be considered an incentive.
“We all felt like they were ripping off artists, so we declined,” said George Sheppard. “It would have been great to play, but at the end of the day this is our job and we would have lost money. I’m sure the organisers were paid properly, so why not the featured artists?”
According to George Sheppard, the group was offered a fee of $6,000, which may sound like a decent figure at first, but fails to take into consideration the work this performance would entail, including rehearsals, pre-recording, and the performance itself. However, the band notes that had they taken the offer, they would have lost money considered the fees involved in extra crew and the logistics involved.
“It would have cost us a lot more money to do it than they were going to pay us,” the band explained to Brisbane’s Hit 105. “We couldn’t, deep in our hearts, say yes to it because we knew that it would be setting a precedent… If Sheppard are going to be able to play for that fee, then everybody else is going to.”
A spokesman for Queensland’s Minister for the Commonwealth Games, Kate Jones, explained that “Jack Morton Worldwide was appointed by GOLDOC as the official producer of the Games and was responsible for negotiating all contracts with performers in the opening ceremony.”
“It’s important that artists are paid a fair price for an honest day’s work and I understand GOLDOC (Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation) is investigating.”
However, GOLDOC is yet to respond to these claims, issuing a statement that explained, “It’s not appropriate for us to discuss commercial in-confidence arrangements with any of our artists involved in Commonwealth Games ceremonies.”
While the final lineup for the closing ceremony is yet to be revealed, News.com.au notes that artists such as Guy Sebastian, Dami Im, The Veronicas, Amy Shark and Samantha Jade are all hotly rumoured to be on the bill.
Check out Sheppard’s ‘Boredom’:
