{"id":624308,"date":"2026-04-22T21:09:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/624308\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:09:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T21:09:29","slug":"australian-musicians-claim-they-were-ripped-off-by-predatory-booking-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/624308\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian musicians claim they were ripped-off by ‘predatory’ booking agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian musicians are calling for changes to the live music industry, after an investigation by triple j hack uncovered allegations that a booking agency owes thousands of dollars to young artists.<\/p>\n

One of the musicians caught up in the scheme was 32-year-old Nathan Nicholson from Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Nathan was undergoing chemotherapy to shrink a tumour in his chest before surgery when his band, Flicker Vertigo, received an offer to play a show in February.<\/p>\n

“Got a random email through the inbox from someone called Michael who works for Aussie Gigs,” he said.<\/p>\n

“He’s like ‘I’ve got this slot, let me know if you guys are free.'”<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

The band was given a “lengthy contract” to sign, Nathan said.<\/p>\n

“We had to hit 20 ticket sales, and they had to be credited to us specifically.”<\/p>\n

triple j hack has obtained a copy of the contract Aussie Gigs gave to Nathan.<\/p>\n

It said there would be “no financial penalties if you don’t reach the ticket target” \u2026 but also stated, “funds are only released once you sell the ticket target”.<\/p>\n

Ghosted after gig<\/p>\n

Around three days before his surgery, Nathan said his band played the show.<\/p>\n

“It was like a big celebration for me \u2026 getting all my friends together before I had this big thing that I was going through.”<\/p>\n

“We rallied the troops and all the other bands did as well,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We all definitely would have hit that 20-ticket threshold.”<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Nathan Nicholson says he was chasing up Aussie Gigs for payment while he was in hospital recovering from surgery.\u00a0 (Supplied: Megan Nicholson)<\/p>\n

While Nathan believed the performance was a success, he claimed there were some “red flags” surrounding the booking agency.<\/p>\n

“I have no idea who Michael is, I don’t know his last name, I don’t know what he looks like,” Nathan said.<\/p>\n

“He was not at the gig, which was kind of talked about amongst everyone at the gig, like ‘where is this guy?'”<\/p>\n

When payment was due, Nathan said he was in the hospital recovering from surgery.<\/p>\n

He claims Michael from Aussie Gigs told the band they had failed to meet the 20-ticket target and therefore would not receive payment.<\/p>\n

In an email chain sighted by triple j hack, Nathan asked Michael from Aussie Gigs for screenshots of the night’s ticket sales as he was certain the band sold the required amount.<\/p>\n

Michael responded, claiming the venue handles the ticket sales, but he was going to request that information.<\/p>\n

“Then a week went by, no response,” Nathan said.<\/p>\n

“Sent another message being like ‘hey please send that screenshot ASAP’ and nothing since then.<\/p>\n

“So just kind of like ghosted.”<\/p>\n

\"facebook<\/p>\n

Multiple artists have told triple j hack they are owed money from Aussie Gigs. (Supplied: Aussie Gigs Facebook)<\/p>\n

‘Not the kind of country we live in’<\/p>\n

More Australian musicians began to suspect something was amiss with Aussie Gigs after Sydney singer-songwriter Lucienne published a TikTok about her experience with the booking agency.<\/p>\n

\"young<\/p>\n

Sydney musician Lucienne began investigating Aussie Gigs after she claims they failed to pay her.\u00a0 (Supplied: TikTok, Lucienne.music)<\/p>\n

After not being paid for her performance, Lucienne spoke to multiple artists and venues to figure out who was behind the booking agency.<\/p>\n

Twenty-four-year-old Ryan Thomas was one of the people Lucienne spoke to.<\/p>\n

He was stoked when he was approached by Michael from Aussie Gigs to play a show in August last year.<\/p>\n

“We did the gig, and we actually had a really good turnout, lots of people came along,” he told triple j hack.<\/p>\n

But over a month after the show, Ryan said the bands still had not received payment.<\/p>\n

“We were all texting the group chat with all the bands in it, and everyone’s like ‘yeah, I don’t know what’s going on,'” he said.<\/p>\n

“Haven’t heard anything and still haven’t been paid.”<\/p>\n

Michael from Aussie Gigs did email Ryan to apologise for the delay, stating he had been “unwell with influenza A” and that he “still haven’t received settlement from the venue”.<\/p>\n

But Ryan said he followed up with the venue, and it claimed to have already paid Aussie Gigs.<\/p>\n

The whole experience left Ryan out of pocket.<\/p>\n

“I’m not made of money so if I don’t get paid it’s hard to pay my band,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I just want everyone to be paid; like, no-one should work for free, it’s not the kind of country we live in.”<\/p>\n

Aussie Gigs were contacted for comment, but did not respond.<\/p>\n

\"young<\/p>\n

Ryan Thomas says that if he does not get paid by the gig booker, it makes it difficult to cover the cost of his band.\u00a0 (Supplied: Ryan Thomas)<\/p>\n

Who are Aussie Gigs?<\/p>\n

Sydney venue Lazybones Lounge hosted a show put on by Aussie Gigs last year.<\/p>\n

Co-owner Alex Heffernan explained the venue pays the booking agency from ticket sales, and the booker is then expected to pay the artists.<\/p>\n

But Ms Heffernan said she became concerned when she went to pay Aussie Gigs and her bank flagged that the account name was in fact listed as Revolt Entertainment.<\/p>\n

“That was alarm bells because we’ve previously dealt with Revolt and I know that they didn’t pay artists,” she said.<\/p>\n

“They’re the same bank account, they just re-branded.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Aussie Gigs and Revolt Entertainment have both held shows at the Lazybones Lounge venue in Sydney.\u00a0 (Supplied: Alex Heffernan)<\/p>\n

triple j hack has spoken with more than 20 Australian artists who claim either Aussie Gigs or Revolt Entertainment failed to pay them after a performance.<\/p>\n

Many claim they were ghosted; some assumed they must not have hit the ticket target, while others say they did hit the ticket target but still were not paid.<\/p>\n

Four acts allege they were only paid after threatening legal action.<\/p>\n

While other musicians claim there were significant delays in payment, with some alleging they only received money after “hounding” and “begging” the booking companies.<\/p>\n

Revolt Entertainment were contacted for comment, but did not respond.<\/p>\n

The company is registered to 29-year-old Jonathan Ertansel, who is also listed as director and secretary of Revolt Entertainment.<\/p>\n

Mr Ertansel is in a pop\/funk band from Western Sydney called Strip of Cleeve.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Strip of Cleeve played a show for Aussie Gigs in September last year.\u00a0 (triple j hack: Supplied)<\/p>\n

His band has appeared on several line-ups for shows put on by both Revolt Entertainment and Aussie Gigs as recently as September.<\/p>\n

Mr Ertansel previously told triple j hack he was no longer involved with Revolt Entertainment, but he did not respond to a list of questions relating to his involvement with the company.<\/p>\n

What to do if you are not paid<\/p>\n

Louise Buckingham, the CEO of the Arts Law Centre of Australia, said they hear “several times a day” from artists who have not been paid.<\/p>\n

While she was unable to comment on specific allegations, the organisation does support artists in similar circumstances as the country’s only national community legal centre for the arts.<\/p>\n

\"Professional<\/p>\n

Louise Buckingham says the Arts Law Centre receives multiple calls a day from artists who have not been paid.\u00a0 (Supplied)<\/p>\n

“We hear from artists who are distressed about not being paid in various ways, reasonably often,” she said.<\/p>\n

“In the case of young and emerging artists, they’re so keen to be working and to be getting gigs or commissions that they’ll, perhaps in the excitement of getting work, kind of not pay attention to the arrangements around the deal and whether or not it actually suits them.”<\/p>\n

Ms Buckingham said artists can protect themselves by understanding their rights and the law.<\/p>\n

“They should expect that there’s a clear written agreement that they can look at,” she said.<\/p>\n

“They can make sure that they’ve understood the same way that the person issuing it to them has understood it.<\/p>\n

“If the other party, who’s given them the contract, has a problem with answering their questions or doesn’t seem amenable to hearing their concerns, then that usually would be a little red flag.”<\/p>\n

‘Feels very predatory’\"black<\/p>\n

Nathan told triple j hack that he never met Michael from Aussie Gigs in real life.\u00a0 (triple j hack: Aneta Urbonaite)<\/p>\n

Nathan wants to be paid the money his band is owed.<\/p>\n

“I did the maths in my head and if everyone hit the 20-minimum each for ticket sales, times four, that’s $1,600 that he’s pocketed,” he said.<\/p>\n

“The idea that this guy has just pocketed all this money off the work that we put in, that doesn’t sit right with me.<\/p>\n

“It feels very predatory.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ryan would like to see changes to how the live music industry operates to prevent this from happening again.<\/p>\n

“I think there should be more vetting from the venues that work with these booking agencies,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Because there’s nothing stopping someone like Michael, just starting an Instagram, calling it Aussie Gigs, and just finding four random bands and just saying ‘hey, I’ll put this on’ and then just running off with it, you know.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Ryan Thomas is calling for changes to how the live music industry operates to protect artists.\u00a0 (triple j hack: Supplied)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australian musicians are calling for changes to the live music industry, after an investigation by triple j hack…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624309,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[302381,64,302377,63,302379,302380,134,136,302382,302378,3953,44318],"class_list":{"0":"post-624308","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-artists-not-getting-paid","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-aussie-gigs","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-booking-agent","13":"tag-booking-agent-fraud","14":"tag-entertainment","15":"tag-music","16":"tag-musicians-not-getting-paid","17":"tag-revolt-entertainment","18":"tag-triple-j","19":"tag-triple-j-hack"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}