Maret Mikk: badly organized events tarnish the whole field

Last week it was announced that the Intsikurmu Festival will not take place this year due to economic reasons. Culture organizer and Jazzkaar marketing manager Maret Mikk told "Vikerhommik" that these situations tarnish the entire field.
When speaking about the latest Intsikurmu news and debts, Mikk said the culture field is, in a way, very exceptional because people are ready to put their time and effort into offering free services in hopes that everything will work out.
"It seems to me that the people in the culture field are very accepting since everyone is having a difficult time and one day all the debts will be paid off. I do not want to say that it is a usual occurrence, and I would like to believe that most of the organizers will pay off their debts on time because otherwise, we will not be able to have a sustainable and long-term cooperation," she said.
Mikk said the past year's festivals were successful thanks to consistency. "The festivals that have consistently worked over the years, have an all-year-round paid team that works on the festival all the time. Organizing festivals and concerts is mostly a hobby for people who have a main job, but the reality is that if your focus is elsewhere, then it is not possible to do it well all the time, especially if you do not have someone who worries about the festival's welfare every day."
She said the secret to a successful festival lies in having a good finance manager. "Alongside the artistic team, there also has to be a financial person with a conservative approach as well to simply understand that during good times you have to save the money to survive the rough times and sometimes you have to press break on the artistic ambitions. It is not bad to take risks, but the pros and cons have to sum up in Excel," the marketing manager said.
Mikk is concerned that the bankruptcy tarnishes the whole field. "People like to stereotype and then, what happens when you cannot organize something, they assume everyone is like that."
According to Mikk, concert organizers in Estonia try to be rather listener-friendly, despite the inflation, and high tax rise, and to not hike ticket prices due to the rising partner and artist fees. Still, Mikk also brought out that if you put aside the travel expenses, then attending a foreign concert will be cheaper than attending one in Estonia. "If I go and watch a summer show here for €85, then last year I went to watch John Mayer in Oslo for €65. There comes the question, how balanced is this scale when it is expensive for everyone?"
It is more difficult for new events and festivals to step into the culture field.
"The public will go to the events they are used to going to, the ones they trust, and have a long history. It is difficult for solo organizers because you must prove to people that you exist and are doing something. I am afraid that those people who start in the culture field now will have a more difficult time entering the field," Mikk told "Vikerhommik".
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Editor: Rasmus Kuningas, Lotta Raidna










