The debate has been going on for as long as the Tamworth Country Music Festival (TCMF) itself, and the black-and-white of that talk often ignores the grey areas of the TCMF monetary windfall and the goldmine that has been country music for the city.
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It’s the crux of some passionate and often vehement argument that also envelops local debate about business levies that some say they get no benefit from.
For some businesses, of course, this is just the icing on the cake for the year.
For a handful, it’s a month that can deliver a financial boost that represents up to a quarter of their yearly take – albeit their expenses in additional staff and outgoings will jag a fair bit of the net worth.
For many, the flow-on effect will be seen in the money that delivers services and products for other business later on.
The flow-on effect, in effect, is also a positive for some who reap no direct financial advantage from the TCMF.
It’s the indirect results that see a trickling-down of the revenue accommodation and hospitality outlets and suppliers see.
Interestingly, that’s one of the tenets of the festival’s beginning; that the organisers recognised all those 47 years ago when they kicked it off.
It was the quiet month and those pioneers could see the economic benefit a music festival could deliver for advertisers and local business, the golden egg of dollars in local cash registers.
Retail, commercial and industrial sectors enjoy the post mortem effects of those financial gains – updated furnishings and fittings, extended and expanded facilities in venues, investment into other areas, not just music.
And don’t even mention the schools, community groups and charities, who can make more in 10 days than any number of cake stalls could ever realise.
And let’s not forget those who rent out homes or bedrooms – their money comes around in so many ways for the rest of the year to the rest of us, too.
As the drought bites, and bites hard, we need a boost to the local economy more than ever. So bring on the festival, and the music, and encourage the visitors to spend up in our city.