Australia’s stand-up comedy industry is struggling. Touring costs have soared since COVID, making it nearly impossible for many comedians, established or emerging, to take shows on the road. Agencies report only a small portion of their rosters touring, and the impact is hitting everyone: tech crews, publicists, regional venues, and local comedy rooms. Meanwhile, international acts dominate major stages, leaving Australia’s comedic identity under pressure. A cultural levy on large scale entertainment, similar to models used in parts of Europe, could help fund local touring, but national policy support remains absent.
This sets the stage for our panel discussion, ‘Is Our Ticketing System Broken?’. In this session we explore how rising fees, limited ticketing competition, and opaque pricing structures affect comedians, venues, and audiences. With costs rising and affordability shrinking, is the current system serving anyone outside the biggest players? This panel examines what a fairer, more transparent, artist focused ticketing model could look like.
Adam McCurdie is a social entrepreneur reshaping the global events industry as co founder of Humanitix, the world’s first not for profit ticketing platform. Driven by a desire to improve ticketing for organisers, audiences and artists alike, Adam set out to challenge a traditionally profit driven model and turn it into a force for good. Humanitix reinvests 100% of booking fee profits into high impact education and community programs. Under Adam’s leadership, the platform has scaled internationally, championed accessibility, and redirected millions of dollars to charities, while helping artists keep more revenue and build fairer, more sustainable careers through better ticketing.
Linda Scott is a seasoned commercial leader and storyteller with over 20 years’ experience in sales and marketing across APAC. As Commercial Director for Eventbrite APAC, Linda leads the region’s commercial strategy, empowering event organisers, venues and creators with the tools and insights to grow their audiences and revenue. With four years in the ticketing and live events space, she brings a strong understanding of audience behaviour, market trends and the business mechanics behind successful live experiences.
Greg Curcio is an expert in helping industries and organisations get ready for their transformation. As founder and Chief Transformation Officer at Future Ready Now, Greg is highly capable in strategic transformations and facilitating exceptional outcomes to drive meaningful change. Greg recently graduated from the Hard Knock Knocks Comedy School which has helped his own professional development and the importance of failing, getting up and trying again.
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