Melbourne Podcast Festival

Frontier Touring, Mushroom Group, Acast and Schwartz Media regret to advise that due to the current COVID outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria and subsequent border closures, the Melbourne Podcast Festival 2021 will not go ahead as planned.
 
This is a proactive decision appreciating the uncertainty of the pandemic in Australia and the necessary precautions taken by State Governments to minimise the spread of Covid-19. It’s highly likely capacity limits, travel restrictions and other health measure will remain too restrictive to hold an indoor festival come September.
 
The Melbourne Podcast Festival organisers would like to apologise to all those affected by the cancellation and thank everyone for their understanding.

Courtney Carthy, Melbourne Podcast Festival’s Curator and Creative Director, said:
“It’s not ideal but we wanted to give everyone certainty about the Festival this year. The Delta strain has brought a new level of unpredictability and with some shows coming from states other than Victoria we couldn’t guarantee fans that it would
all go ahead. 
 
“Over the past months, we have worked with the incredible local podcasting community and fans to create a new event that celebrates the unique medium in a fitting way. The enthusiasm for a live podcast festival was immediately felt in the willingness of shows to participate and listeners to purchase tickets. The program includes some of Australia’s best shows across a range of genres representing the ecosystem here in Australia, along with the support from Acast, Schwartz Media and the public.
 
“It's safe to say that when the climate is a little more stable, the Melbourne Podcast Festival will return for its inaugural year, and we can't wait to unveil those details as they are solidified.” 

Ticketholders do not need to take any action; Ticketmaster will refund back to the original credit card used to purchase tickets. Please be patient, as it can take some time for the funds to appear in your account, depending on where you bank.

Only the original credit card holder will receive a refund. If you received your ticket(s) any other way, including via “Ticket Forward”, you will need to contact the original credit card holder for your refund.

Frontier Touring, Mushroom Group, Acast and Schwartz Media wish to advise that due to the current COVID outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria and subsequent border closures, the Melbourne Podcast Festival is not able to take place as planned this July-August, and will be rescheduled to September 2021.

Courtney Carthy, Melbourne Podcast Festival’s Curator and Creative Director, said:
“Whilst we’ve had to make the difficult decision to reschedule the Melbourne Podcast Festival, we’re looking forward to staging our inaugural event in September of this year, and announcing some exciting new additions to the line-up in the coming weeks too!” 

The Melbourne Podcast Festival will now kick off on Friday 17 September at the Village Cinemas Jam Factory in South Yarra, and take place across the weekend of Saturday 18 September and Sunday 19 September.

Tickets for the original performances will be valid for the rescheduled dates without taking further action, and fans are encouraged to hold onto their tickets for the new dates. Patrons unable to attend new show dates may obtain a full refund from point of purchase.

Frontier Touring, Mushroom Group, Acast and Schwartz Media are thrilled to announce the first ever annual Melbourne Podcast Festival will take place at Melbourne’s Village Cinemas Jam Factory this July and August. Kicking off on Friday 30 July and continuing across the weekend, the festival will live record 25+ of the country’s finest podcasts across a range of genres; from news to true crime, parenting, sport, beauty, science, comedy, food and much more.  

Mushroom Group CEO, Matt Gudinski, said: 
“We’re thrilled to be launching a new annual event from the Mushroom family showcasing some amazing podcasters. We believe this festival will become a mainstay in the Melbourne events calendar moving forward.” 

The Melbourne Podcast Festival will celebrate the creators, content, and the listeners of podcasts, offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience the recording of their favourite pods in a completely live format, within a unique intimate setting. The epic line up of shows stars some of the best loved talent from across Australia, from the thrilling Australian True Crime with Meshel Laurie, to hugely popular daily news podcast 7AM hosted by Ruby Jones, The Chaser Report with Dom Knight and Charles Firth, It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield’s It’s A Lot, AFL Exchange and much, much more; the Melbourne Podcast Festival has something for everyone.  

Courtney Carthy, Melbourne Podcast Festival’s Curator and Creative Director, said: 
“Live podcasts have been huge in the UK and North America for some time now, but are still emerging in Australia. With the annual Melbourne Podcast Festival, we see an opportunity to change that, to really weave podcasting into the fabric of the local live event landscape.  

“We’ve programmed the festival to showcase genres from right across Australia’s vibrant podcast ecosystem, and I think we’ve done a pretty good job! The diversity of the local podcast-sphere is reflected across the 25+ sessions on offer over the weekend. We’re looking forward to kicking off next month, and hope Melburnians enjoy the opportunity to watch some of their favourite podcasts come to life on stage.” 

Guy Scott-Wilson, Content Director at Acast Australia and New Zealand, said: 
“As the home of independent podcasting in Australia, Acast has the privilege of working with many of the country's biggest and best podcasts. We are passionate about helping our creators to find new ways to engage with their audiences, and passionate about supporting this dynamic, emerging industry. We’re thrilled to be the principal sponsor for the inaugural Melbourne Podcast Festival - after the year we’ve all had, it’s great to be able to look forward to the return of live entertainment and to see the breadth of Australian podcasting celebrated in this way”. 

Schwart Media’s Osman Faruqi, Editor of 7AM, Host of The Culture, said:   
"We're really excited to be involved with the inaugural festival. There's so much exciting stuff happening in the audio space in Australia, and it's great to be involved to help showcase it. 
"Schwartz is investing seriously in the audio space. We think there's a huge appetite amongst audiences, and the event is going to be a great opportunity for people to see how their favourite shows are made and get inspired. In particular we can't wait to make 7AM and The Culture for the first time in front of a live audience." 

Podcasts have become a powerful and compelling medium, the intimate, open and democratic nature drawing out an incredible variety in content. With no boundaries on genre, style or format, the depth of the Australian podcasting space will well and truly be showcased over the weekend of 30 July to 1 August, with sessions spanning the worlds of pop culture to politics and everything in between.