Mark Duckworth – Podcast

Turning Guilty Pleasures Into A Multi Million Dollar Business. Mark Duckworth wins a second Gold Coast Music Award for Blues On Broadbeach. Photo courtesy of Dan Maynard Photography As a musician, songwriter and producer music has been Mark Duckworth’s lifelong passion, but it’s as a festival director where he’s really made his name. For the past four years Mark has been at the helm of the Gold Coast music festival Blues on Broadbeach and while the event has been running now for 16 years, it’s under Duckworth’s direction where the festival has exploded exponentially. When he took on the role four years ago Blues on Broadbeach attracted some 80 000 fans, by last year that number had more than doubled with over 166 000 attending the event. Those big numbers bring big dollars into the local economy, to the tune of around $20 million. The festival was originally designed to boost local tourism during the slow winter period and with around 8 000 people turning up for the inaugural event it was an unqualified success, but today Blues on Broadbeach is now the most profitable week for many local businesses – bigger than the busiest weeks over summer, including New Year’s Eve. With 30% of the festival’s visitors arriving from interstate, it’s a chance to beat the winter blues by soaking up the musical variety instead across a range of intimate and big stage venues. With a stunning beachside location and a stellar line up of free entertainment  it’s no wonder the event has been such a success, but without the right balance of artists in the line up it could so easily become a white elephant and that’s where Mark Duckworth’s deft touch ensures Blues on Broadbeach as a festival has become a destination in its own right. This Gold Coast event that has turned the city’s quietest visitor period into a tourism bonanza brings the streets of Broadbeach alive with the sound of music – blues music. Strictly speaking the line up isn’t exclusively blues musicians, but it’s certainly the dominant flavour that sets the tone. This year big names like Ian Moss, Bonnie Tyler, Russell Morris and the Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom will draw the biggest crowds, but it’s those niche acts that really give the event some punch. They’re the acts Mark calls his guilty pleasures – artists with irresistible band names like Lachy Doley and the Horns of Conviction, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks or Byron Short and the Sunset Junkies. Check any of those acts out and you’ll not only be rewarded for being adventurous but you’ll most likely walk away having witnessed a smoking hot set of blues that you just can’t wait to tell your mates about. With a second Gold Coast Music Award for Best Live Event under his belt I caught up with Mark Duckworth in a Broadbeach cafe to discuss his love of music and to tap into why the event has become such a success. The post Mark Duckworth – Podcast appeared first on Sound Distractions.