Union calls for payout as missing app could hit ticket sales

Performers’ union Equity is calling for organisers of the Edinburgh Fringe to refund part of the registration fee it charfes comedians after failing to provide an app.

The service was discontinued this year as a money-saving measure post-Covid, to the chagrin of comedians who believe it to be vital in driving audiences to shows, especially via the ‘nearby now’ function.

Rob Lugg, Equity’s organiser for comedians, said: ‘We appreciate that the Fringe Society has apologised and acknowledged that they got the communication badly wrong regarding the removal of the Fringe app.

‘However, after consulting our members, we feel that the Fringe Society should go further and offer partial refunds to those who paid for registration before the announcement that the app would not be available this year. This would be an important goodwill gesture and help repair the damaged relationship with performers at this year’s Fringe.

‘The removal of the Fringe app could impact ticket sales as well as accessibility for disabled audience members.  This is concerning as two years of Covid restrictions have hit our members hard, and with an out of control cost-of-living crisis, the biggest threat to the future of the Edinburgh Fringe is performers deciding that they cannot afford to take part.’

The ‘nearby now’ function has now been added to the festival website.

After the Live Comedy Association wrote an open letter to the Fringe Society with a number of concerns, including the loss of the app, chief executive Shona McCarthy said: ‘I am sorry.  We really should have better communicated that the app would be one of the casualties of our financial constraints this year. I apologise unreservedly for the distress that this has clearly caused.’

She said it would have cost at least £100,000 to make the app viable for this year.

McCarthy’s letter also revealed that the Fringe Society was bankrolling one of Chortle’s rivals to be at the festival – providing accommodation for the Beyond The Joke website as well as reporters from many national newspapers. In contrast, Chortle pays into the Society via registration fees for our Fast Fringe and Student Comedy Award Final.

An Equity spokesman added: ‘Performers are facing numerous obstacles at this year’s Fringe Festival. This includes extortionate – and rising – accommodation, venue and transport costs.

‘Equity believes that these problems are systemic and can only be addressed by working together collectively – for instance, by coming together to lobby for rent caps in Edinburgh and for theatre digs beyond.

‘We are therefore calling on comedians and performers across the country to join the union and work to build collective power to transform the industry.

Equity will also launch its Comedians’ Charter at the Fringe, comprising a set of standards for venues and promoters to sign up to, include policies on pay transparency and late-night safety.

Published: 28 Jul 2022