Source: Radio New Zealand
Supplied / Farrel Music / Leo Baron
There is more discord in the music industry over the government helping fund two Robbie Williams concerts.
It has contributed an undisclosed amount from its $70 million Major Events and Tourism Package, $40 million of which is to secure large-scale international events that will attract international visitors.
But some in the industry say it is corporate welfare and believe commercially viable big-name acts would still come here without the funding.
Rob Warner, who has been involved in the local music industry for over 30 years, told Checkpoint the government is being taken for a ride by big players.
“It should worry both taxpayers and anyone who likes live events or values music culture. The schemes, as happened in Australia, have taught the biggest promoters they can hold events to ransom and the minister and MBIE apparently don’t recognise they’re being taken for a ride. Or they’re more concerned about looking good in the lead up to this year’s election.”
Dion Brant is CEO Of Frontier Touring, the company bringing Robbie Williams.
He told Checkpoint the money would not go directly to the popstar but instead make it viable to put on two Aotearoa shows, contributing to around half of what the freight to and from Australia and New Zealand will cost.
He did not disclose how much the government had put towards the shows, and said it was commercial in confidence.
While he said the money wasn’t paying Williams directly to come and play, the money makes it “worthwhile” for the star to play in New Zealand.
“Robbie Williams has a lot of places he can go and play concerts around the world, and these major concerts generate a really big economic impact for the cities and the places they play.
“He’s popular in a lot of places around the world. He has to prioritise that time, and he has to work out where he can get the best return for the machine that is Robbie Williams.”
Brant said putting on the show came with many costs, and the government contribution was a way of ensuring the costs don’t outweigh the returns.
He could not confirm whether Williams would have been able to play the shows without the funding but said it would have been “touch and go”.
“It certainly helps make the balance or the ledger look better, then when we put the options in front of Robbie, it allows him and his people to make a decision.
“[It’s] a way in which the returns on the incredible cost to get there and play there and for the infrastructure is able to be recouped without relying on lots of people buying lots of really expensive tickets.”
Brant said the benefit returned the taxpayer with the livelihood international shows bring to Aotearoa’s shores.
“Cities are alive when these shows are on. You can’t sit in the foyer of a hotel, you can’t sit in a cafe, you can’t walk around the shops without seeing, you know, hundreds of people wearing a T-shirt and dining in the restaurants and eating in the cafes and catching the Ubers and the taxis.”
While each show was expected to bring a $3.50 return for every $1 invested, Brant said he didn’t have any numbers reflecting how much of this would come from international visitors.
Attracting international visitors with big events is a key part of the fund’s purpose.
Brant said Frontier pitched the Williams concert to the government using results from past concerts.
“[What the] audience profiles were like at those concerts, and the budgets for these concerts. So therefore, what we’re projecting in terms of audience, sales, costs.”
Frontier will report back to the government after the two shows.
“We’ll report back who’s come to the shows, where they’ve come from, there’ll be some surveys on how long they’ve spent in the city, if they’re from out of the city.”
Splore Festival producer Fred Kublikowski applied for event funding through the Major Events and Tourism Fund but was denied.
Kublikowski told Checkpoint there needs to be more transparency around the fund.
“I think when taxpayer money is involved and it’s going into a pool that’s going to, international interests, if there’s no clarity around that, people ask questions.”
Kublikowski said there have been a countless number of successful international shows both in and outside of New Zealand without the government funding.
While it was hard to say whether the government was being influenced by these multinational promoters, Kublikowski said similar things had occurred in Australia.
“There’s been examples where funding’s been made available and it’s easy for large conglomerates to access that.
“Certainly easier than local homegrown events without the resources or the backup of that kind of admin facility.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/19/robbie-williams-shows-touch-and-go-without-government-funding-says-frontier-touring/